IRISH GARDENING 



43 



of furuishing it, by planting creeping or carj^eting 

 plants. The advice is, don't. The Terns them- 

 selves will soon grow np and do the fnrnisliing. 

 Two plants especially are liable to get in, or be 

 deliberately introduced, and undoubtedly look 

 pretty, but should be rigorously excluded. One 

 is the small-leaved yellow-flowered sorrel : it is 

 dainty and spreading and a.ttractive, but it 

 greatly encourages greenfly, a very troublesome 

 enemy. Anoth.er, the larger-leaved white- 

 flowered wood-sorrel, is also most attractive, but 

 becomes intolerable, and then ineradicable ; it 

 creeps under ground, puslies into every cranny 

 between stones, insinuates itself into the very 

 crowns ard rootstock of the ferns, and forms such 

 a mass of luxuriant growtli. that it smothers the 

 smaller plants, and draws no little nourishment 

 from all. Both these jolants have exploding seed 

 capsules, which scatter tlie seeds far and near, so 

 that when you attempt to clear them from a space, 

 it soon appears green with ijinumerable seedlings. 



The conimon mossy .Selaginella is another 

 plant pest to be avoided. Tt grows rankly and 

 smothers things in summer, spores itself freely, 

 and so appears in most luiexpected places. In 

 winter it with dilYiculty survives. .Masses of it 

 die nnd get mouldy, starting decay all around 

 and spreading it over the house ; as it decaj-s it 

 is almosb impossible to gather and throw it out, 

 as at the sligVitest touch it breaks up and floats 

 away to spj'ead decay else\^here. The only one 

 we would admit is Sibthorpia, but even it runs 

 and grows rankly in the moist warmth, so should 

 not be planted near any small-growing forms, or 

 it will smother them. It also seeds itself about 

 freely. It is a most beautiful creeper, but should 

 be strictly kept in bounds ; this is very much 

 easier than is the case of tlie other two, and it has 

 no fault except that named. 



Now concerning sonie animal pesos. If our 

 adxice has been followed about the construction 

 and preparation for the fernery, there v.ill })e 

 surprisingly little trouble experienced with either 

 slugs, snails or \\ orms. This is a iiiost comfort- 

 ing assurance. An odd slug or snail may have 

 got in : if its traces are seen, either in an eaten 

 plant or a slimy streak, seek assiduously foi it, 

 and if not found, set traps of orange-peel or 

 potato slices, or damp bran with a drop of 

 vinegar in it. .'ind examine the traps both by 

 night and day till it is caught, fearing not only 

 the depredations it may cause, but the eggs it 

 may lay, which would let loose a horde of spoilers 

 on your preserves. Worms you need not trouble 

 about, except that wlien yon see one secure it 

 and get it outside the house ; we will deal «ith 

 them otherwise later on. 



Woodlice (or "slaters") will certainly make 

 their appearance, and increase to enormous 

 numbers. Their natural food is really dead or 

 decaying vegetable matter, but in your anxiety- 

 bo clear th's all away, you leave the rapidly- 

 increasing host too little food to subsist on, and 

 so they will soon take to ibe green fronds, and 

 cause alarming destruction. They creep up the 

 mid-rib of a frond, attack the base of a leaflet, 

 eating it through it soon falls to the ground, and 

 they proceed to the next. Soon you will have 

 the ragged mid-rib and secondary "^ ribs standing 

 gaunt and bare, and will find the ground below 

 covered with curled uj) withered leaflets. We 

 will also deal with these gentry later. 



(To be continued.) 



Border Carnations. 



With the revival in llower growing which is bound 

 to take place after the years of anxiety we have 

 passed through, the Carnation is likely to come to 

 the front. Hardy, free-flowering, and ofttimes 

 sweet scented, what plant is more entitled to take 

 its place in our gardens ? Moreover, the border 

 Carnation is everyone's plant, and may be grown 

 on the allotment, in the cottage and villa garden 

 as well as in the largest garden or park. 



Its requirements are comparatively simple, but, 

 such as they are, must be met. The wild form of 

 the Carnation grows on old walls and ruins in 

 apparently little else than mortar, and in this way 

 shows its preference for lime. So with the culti- 

 vated varieties of the present day; if the soil in 

 which they are to be grown is deficient in lime 

 then an additional supply must be provided, either 

 in the form of slaked lime or, better still, well 

 indverised old mortar rubble. A fairly heavy soil 

 produces the best plants and flowers, "init it "must 

 l)e well and deeply dug and thoroughly broken up. 

 If exceptionally heavy, the addition "of leafmould 

 or well rotted manure will be advisable when 

 digging; this tends to keep the soil from packing 

 too close, and favours the development of roots. 

 Light, sandy soils are improved by the addition of 

 leafmould, decayed garden refuse, burnt soil from 

 a bonfire when available, road or walk trimmings, 

 or any other material that will give body to the 

 staple soil. Soot is also a suitable material for in- 

 corporating in soil for Carnations, and may be 

 scattered on the surface and raked in just prior to 

 planting. 



From the middle of March to the middle of April 

 is a suital)le time to plant, choosing a time when 

 the soil is dry enough on the surface to work com- 

 fortably. At this early season there is quite suffi- 

 cient moisture below to serve the plants for some 

 time. Young plants from last season's layers are 

 best to begin with, and the present is a good time 

 to acquire a stock, if such is not already in hand. 

 They may be planted in beds of a sort or in groups 

 of anything from six to twenty plants at intervals 

 in a flower border. The particular form in which 

 they are planted must be left to the discretion of 

 the planter. As each young plant planted now 

 will produce a number of shoots from its base 

 during the ensuing summer, it is obvious that not 

 less than a foot of space should be left between 

 each plant. This allows for the development of 

 the side growths, and also facilitates layering in 

 July should this operation be contemplated. It is 

 well, when possible, to plant a few specimens for 

 layering in an out-of-the-way part of the garden, 

 as the plants in beds or borders may be left in 

 their positions for two or three years, and will give 

 a far greater nuird)er of flowers the second and 

 third years, more especially if given some 

 assistance in the way of a top-dressing of light, 

 well-rotted manure in the second and third 

 .springs. 



Layering, which is usually begim about the 

 middle of July, consists of selecting one or more 

 side shoots from as many plants as will give the 

 desired stock, and, with a sharp knife, removing 

 the lower leaves close to the stem for about half 

 the length of the shoot; then from jnst below a 

 joint where leaves liave been removed cut about 

 half way through the stem, and at the same time 

 cutting towards the point of the shoot for about 

 half an inch. This results in the formation of a 

 " tongue," which must be gently pressed into the 

 soil, which should be previously loosened with a 

 fork or trowel. To keep the layer in position a 



