12 



IRISH GARDENING 





Allotments. 



A LARGE rmnil)er of allotment holders cease work 

 on their plot-;, from various causes, directly the 

 crops are luirvested. This is unfortunate,, because 

 notwithstanding the lack of opportunity to ^^.olk 

 the allotments owing to the shorter days, it is 

 important that all vacant ground should be dug 

 over as early in the winter as possible. Apart from 

 the aspect of order and cleanliness, Miien hmd is 

 dug early it derives the benefit from frost, and 

 the weather is also able to act on insect pests 

 hibernating in the soil. 



New Allot.ments. — With the enormous develop- 

 ment of allotments which lias taken place since 

 the outbreak of war, it is not expected that this 

 season will witness a corresponding increase, l)ut 

 in cases where new plots are taken, and still 

 under gras-i, the ground should be bastard trenched 

 if possible. Failing this, deep digging to the full 

 depth of the spade should be resorted to, chopping 

 the grass turves up and completely burying them. 

 Previous to this, if large growing weeds are pre- 

 sent, these shoidd be cut with a scythe and 

 burned. With newly broken gra:s land insect 

 pests are often troublesome during the first season 

 and it would l)e an advantage if the land could 

 akso be dressed with lime. 



Cultivated Plots. — Already, mm who rcali/.i' 

 the advantages of early digging have commciici d. 

 A point that cannot be too strongly emphasized i ; 

 the necessity to avoid digging or trenching allot- 

 ments when the land is wet or in an imsuitable 

 condition owing to being frozen, &c. The bad 

 effects which follow when land is dug under un- 

 suitable conditions are apparent throughout the 

 whole of the .season. 



Manure. — The carting of manure oti llic plot 

 should be seen to at once if it has not almidy l)rfn 

 done. The demand pn^sently will ixci-ed the 

 suuplv in large towns, and nmch tronlilc and also 

 additional expense will be avoided bv making 

 early aT)T)lication. A good average dressing of 

 farmvard mnnure for a unit T)lot of .'500 sf|Uiire 

 yards wouTd be 25-.30 cwts. 



Lime. — T>ime should not be apnlicd at the -aiiic 

 time as farmyard manur(\ Quicklime should l)e 

 procured and slaked into a fine nowder. It can then 

 be evenlv distriliuted over the plot. A good 

 dressing for .'!0n square ynrds is 4 cwt. applied 

 once in three years, or luilf the quantitv applied 

 overv other year. The ;ipp1ication of lime i' 

 particularly advised to allotment holders, to pre- 

 vent the disease known as Club Root or Finger- 



and-Toe in Cabbages and Turnips. This disease 

 is quite as jirevalent on old allotments as Potato 

 Blight in bad seasons, and moreover, is very 

 difficult to eradicate once it is firndy established. 

 I shall continually draw attention in these notes 

 10 this disease, being convinced it requires the 

 jjlotholders most earnest attention. Lime is the 

 Ijest and most practical preventive of Finger-and- 

 Toe known. It is important to remember that 

 land having produced a diseased crop is certain 

 to' be infected, and that it will be impossible to 

 combat the disease unless proper precautions are 

 taken. 



Pot.atoes. — Where " seed '' has been saved from 

 last year's crop, they should now be sorted over 

 and placed in sprouting boxes. The best practice 

 i-:, of course, to place the tubers in the sprouting 

 boxes directly they are lifted, but this is not 

 always practicable. No time should now be lost 

 or the tubers will connnence to sprout. The 

 " seed " should he placed in single layers with the 

 eyes uppermost, removing tubers which show 

 signs of decay or are unsound. Keep the boxes 

 in a position well exposed to the light and where 

 they will be in no danger from fro^t. 



Seeds. — A large number of allotment holders 

 can afford to purchase the best seeds that are 

 offered, and as uuuiy of the finer stocks are limited 

 it is wise to obtain seeds early. In any case a 

 better selection can be obtained, and seedsmen 

 appreciate the buyers of snuill qmintities who 

 purchase before the rush of orders commence. 

 On nmny allotments in England plotholdtu's co- 

 operate in the purchase of seeds. A considerable 

 saving can be effected in this manner, and in the 

 case of bulky articles, such as Potatoes, it is a 

 most desirable jjrocedure. Very little organisa- 

 tion is necessary, where there is already a working 

 committee and secretary. In the case of a small 

 town the varieties of seeds which succeed locally 

 will be known, and it would l)e wise to confine 

 allotment holders to this selection. Notices could 

 l)e posted on the plots that orders would be re- 

 ceived by the secretary on or before a certain date. 

 These could be collected and added together and 

 then forwarded to the approved seedsman. Ex- 

 perience has demonstrated that in transactions of 

 this kind, the secretary should state ardrrs must 

 be pre])aid. 



Planning the I'i.ot. — In Belfast a model i)lan 

 is published giving suggestions to <xuide allotment 

 holders. A selection of vegetal)les is includ(>d, 

 quantities of seeds required and distances apart 

 of the rows, attention being also paid to the rota- 

 tion of crops. 



n. TI. ().. Belfast. 



Pinus Parviflora. 



The .Taiwanese Wuiti: Pine. 



This is on(> of the five-leaved Pines, and was in- 

 troduced from Japan by the late John Gould 

 Veitch. Of comparatively slow growth it is well 

 adapted for small gardens, and forms neat speci- 

 mens which cone freely at an early age. The 

 general aspect of the tree is distinct, and the 

 silvery appearance of the leaves enhances its 

 value as an orn;unental species. Abundance of 

 cones. younL' and fild, are generallv to be found on 

 the tree at the sanic time, and owint; to the slow 

 growth they are generally easy to reach, render- 

 ing this one of tbe best species for studying the 

 profluction of the flowers and cones. 



