IRISH GARDENING. 



73 



for the last few years, but we trust that hence- 

 forth his labours will be lighter and that Kew men 

 will rally to his assistance in acquainting him of 

 their whereabouts, and in eommunicating items of 

 news likely to be of interest to old friends. 



B. 



Manuring of Fruit Trees and Bushes. 



(Continued.) 

 Apart from other considerations previously 

 mentioned it will be quite obvious that different 

 kinds of fruit trees or ))ushfs may require different 

 manurial treatment, and also that a tree in its 

 old age requires even more careful attention than 

 in its youth, assuming that the object of manuring 

 is to assist the tree to carry maximum crops of 

 high quality fruits over an extended period of 

 time. 



Thorough Cultiriifion shoiild be considered the 

 first essential part of any manurial scheme or 

 system; attention should he particularly paid to 

 the dvainaijp of the land in which the trees are 

 growing. If the ground is at all waterlogged the 

 soil water soon gets sour and is imfitted for the 

 use of the plant, while the lack of air in such 

 soils will also militate against effective root de- 

 velopment and action. Trees existing inider such 

 conditions usually develop weakly growths, which 

 soon fall victims to canker or other disease?. 

 Surface cultivation should also be vigorously 

 carried out. Where grass or other plants com- 

 pete with the trees for water and its containing 

 salts or food elements, stmited growth results, 

 with consequent development of small fruits. 



Surftice CuJtivatinn not only gets rid of these 

 competitors but also helps to check the loss of 

 water through evaporation, as a loose layer of 

 soil or mulch acts as a nearly impassable barrier 

 between the soil water which lies below, and in 

 addition ventilates the soil, so that roots breathe 

 and develop more freely. Other usefid germs of life 

 in the soil become stimulated, and various 

 chemical and other changes take place, which 

 result in an increased fertility of the soil and 

 consequently increased production of fruit. 



Pruniufj, whether of branches or roots, should be 

 carried out efficiently and with care, otherwise the 

 value of expenditure on manure may be entirely 

 lost. 



Bush or Berry Fruit. — These, as a general rule, 

 are gross feeders and benefit by liberal applica- 

 tions of manure and water, particularly so if the 

 soil happens to be of a sandy or gritty nature. 

 Farmyard, cow or horse manure will give good 

 results, but the latter, unless partially rotted, is 

 not as suitable as the two former. Applications 

 are best made during the autumn by spreading 

 the manure in a circle of four feet diameter at the 

 rate of al^out half a hundred weight to each plant, 

 where the plants are matured specimens, and 

 forking it into the soil at a depth of about nine 

 inches. A dressing of basic slag on the surface, 

 at the rate of four ounces to the square yard, sho)ild 

 be given after the forking over has been done. 

 In the early spring a dressing of wood ashes or 

 sulphate of potash should be given, the former 

 at the rate of six ounces to the square yard and 

 the latter at the rate of two ounces to the squjire 

 yard. If no slag was applied in the autumn'an 

 application of superphosphate at the rate of two 

 ounces to the square yard should be made, and 

 as growth commences a little nitrate of soda or 

 nitrate of ammonia (Ammonium nitrate) should 



be given during showery weather at the rate of 

 one ounce to the square yard. Two applications 

 within a month of each other will be of value. 

 Where seaweed is available a compost can be 

 made by using equal quantities of seaweed and 

 horse manure, and api)lying it as a topdressing 

 in the spring. Soot, shoddy from woollen mills, 

 &c., rape dust, hop cleanings and some other bye- 

 products of industries are valuable if applied 

 with care. The supply of lime in the soil should 

 be regularly maintanied, and annual or biennial 

 dressings of about four ounces to the square yard 

 will prove of great value. Bushes so cared for will 

 produce top quality fruit, and it is only the fruit 

 of top quality that is worth growing". Poultry, 

 pigeon, or sheep droppings, if available, should 

 be mixed with about six times the quantity of 

 loam or sand where the garden soil is tenacious 

 to form a compost before being applied to the 

 soil. In such a case less of the other fertilisers 

 should be subsequently used. 



Liquid manures, made in the usual manner to 

 supply the different necessary food elements, will 

 also be of value during the growing season, more 

 especially where extra large fruits are desired. 

 Such manures should always be applied in a 

 dilute form. 



Stone Fruit (Apricots, Peaches, Nectarines. 

 Plums, Cherries. &c.). — With the stone fruits great 

 care should be taken at all times, as they appear 

 to be more sensitive in many ways than most 

 fruits. Inefficient drainage, lack of lime in the 

 soil, over dryness at any period, a plague of 

 aphides. overdoses of fertilisers containing 

 nitrogen, are all factors which may militate 

 quickly against success. As a general rule it can 

 be said that over-manuring for these trees is worse 

 than none at all, and that lime, which should be 

 used freely, is the dominating factor. 



With young trees very little farmyard manure 

 should be used, and that only in a partially rotted 

 condition. Basic slag, superphosphate, wood 

 ashes and sulphate of potash should be used as 

 recommended for the Berry fruit. Occasional 

 applications of soot will supply the necessary 

 nitrogen. Where the trees are getting older, 

 carrying heavy crops and showing signs of re- 

 duced vigour, recourse should be had to heavier 

 applications of farmyard manure, poultry com- 

 post and liquid manures (taking care to keep the 

 branches and fruits sufficiently thinned). 



Apples and rears. — In the earlier stages of 

 growth these also need careful treatment to secure 

 the natural vigour without that extreme sappiness 

 which is inimical to successful cultivation. For 

 the first three years, excepting on sandy or chalky 

 soils, cultivators should rely mainly on potassic 

 and phosphatic fertilisers, but where little growth 

 is being made owing to the stocks being of a too 

 dwarfing nature, or through other cause?, attempts 

 should be made to induce vigour by means of 

 hard pruning, heavy applications of farmyard 

 manure, occasional applications of nitrate of soda 

 and of liquid manures, keeping the balance by 

 judicious applications of basic slag or other phos- 

 phatic fertilisers. 



Wood ashes, sulphate of potash, seaweed or 

 other suitable sul)stances containing potash, will 

 help to produce those large, rich-coloured fruits 

 so often seen at exhibitions. Many of the very 

 old trees in this country can be made really profit- 

 able by such means, and by careful attention to 

 spraying and other cultural details. 



with such trees their feeding roots are often at 



