164 



IRISH GARDENING. 



tions. As a rule it means cutting the shoots 

 back into the old wood and sacrificing one 

 season's flowers. This, however, pays in the 

 long run with such important and beautiful 

 shrubs as Ehododendrons, including Azaleas, 

 Olearia Haastii, Eosa rugosa, and other wild 

 Koses, Veronica Traversii, and Viburnum 

 Tinus. W=hile many shrubs are improved by 

 cutting out thin and crowded twigs annually, 

 a number require no systematic pruning, but 

 the appearance of the bushes may at times be 

 improved by drawing (cutting) out a long shoot 

 here and there. Berberis stenophylla is an 

 example. The appearance of Erica carnea and 

 E. darleyensis (hybrida) is improved when the 

 longer slioots are trimmed off with a pair of 

 shears after flowering. This may also be prac- 

 tised with good results in the case of the 

 autumn-flowering Heaths, Callunas, E. cinerea, 

 E. tetralix and E. vagans, trimming the long 

 ends off in spring when new growths are due to 

 commence. 



A. Osborne. 



Spraying and Spray Fluids. 



The modern gardener has probably no more 

 diseases and pests to combat than his prede- 

 cessor of 50 years ago, but owing to the greater 

 number of gardens, large and small, and conse- 

 quently the greater number of i>lanls grown, 

 diseases and pests have greater facilities for 

 spreading and becoming epidemic. No doubt, 

 Apple and Pear Scab Canker, American Blight, 

 Codlin Moth and many other pests existed in 

 gardens long years ago, but not in such virulence 

 as to alarm the gardeners of those days. However, 

 in the writer's own time it was common practice in 

 gardens, say 25 years ago, to prepare emulsions 

 of parafline and soft soap for use in combating 

 insect pests, while gardeners of 25-30 years ago 

 were very familiar with mixtures, such as clay 

 and cow manure and even tar, for painting on 

 to Vines and Peaches when afflicted with mealy 

 bug ; and outdoor wall trees of various fruits 

 when affected with scale or American Blight were 

 often subjected to the same treatment. It has 

 to be admitted, however, that in the best 

 managed gardens such pests rarely found a 

 home ; high class cultivation then, as now, being 

 the surest safeguard against disease. In the old 

 days, however, there was probably more time to 

 devote to each individual plant, since the 

 number of plants grown in gardens was small 

 compared to the jiresent day, when the intro- 

 ductions of the last twenty years or so have 

 filled our gardens to overflowing and the 



hybridist is more than equalling the seeker after 

 new plants in distant lands. 



Hence the present day need for strict attention 

 to spraying and its adoption as a matter of 

 routine in every garden large and small. 



The Vegetable Garden. 



Here the chief crop which calls for spraying is 

 the Potato, and until the raisers of new varieties 

 produce Potatoes wholly resistant to disease it 

 will remain necessary to spray. The two ' 

 specifics for ordinary Potato disease (Phytophora 

 infestans) are Bordeaux mixture and Burgundy 

 mixture, the former composed of copper sulphate 

 and lime, with the necessary water, and, the 

 latter of copper sulphate and washing soda. 

 It has been usual to prepare these mixtures at 

 home, and with care a satisfactory fluid is 

 obtained. Some aversion has been evident to 

 the use of the readymade mixtures on the 

 market, and probably with reason in the past. 

 Nowadays, however, manufacturers, with the 

 help of trained and experienced chemists, are 

 able to offer a satisfactory article at a moderate > 

 price, and it is doubtful if it is worth while going 

 to the trouble of purchasing the necessary 

 ingredients separately and doing the mixing at 

 home ; this is particularly so w^here the quantity 

 required is comparatively small. 



During the j^ast summer, in the writer's own 

 garden. Potatoes were sprayed early in July with 

 Burgundy mixture, home made, yet by the 

 middle of August a good deal of " blight " was 

 evident and spreading. To avoid the trouble of 

 preparing more material at home a tin of 

 Berger's Bordeaux mixture (Bergercide) was 

 obtained and mixed with water according to 

 directions. In spite of the difficulty of applica- 

 tion at that late dale, when the haulm was long 

 and in cases lying down, the disease was dis- 

 tinctly checked and the crop lifted comparatively 

 clean ; in this 3ase there was no doubt the 

 proprietary article was equal to the home made 

 mixture. It is perhaps needless to say that many 

 other vegetable crops are subject to fungus 

 diseases and insect pests and, although spraying 

 is not so necessary, in many cases it is beneficial. 

 Caterpillars, for instance, are a frequent source 

 of annoyance and loss. They may be got rid 

 of readily by spraying with Katakilla, obtainable 

 from seedsmen and sundriesmen. It is non- 

 poisonous and may be used safely. Onion 

 Mildew has been serious in recent years and every 

 effort should be made to combat it on account 

 of the great importance of the Onion oroj). 

 Various excellent recommendations have been 

 published in this Journal which, if properly car- 

 ried out, would greatly reduce if not exterminate 

 the disease. One of the best preventives is to 



