IRISH GARDENING 



167 



round clusters of white tlowers, in June; Sp. 

 discolor, a tall, branching shrub, with plumes 

 of creamy white tlowers, in July and Aiigust ; 

 Sp. japonirn Anthomj ^^'aicl•^:l■, with flat 

 cor\mbs of carmine flowers in August and 

 September; >S/*. prunifoUa fi- /'?•, double white 

 tiowers in April; and Sp. Van HouHei, a 

 vigorous leafy shrub, bearing clusters of white 

 tlowers in June. 



Sijrinya is the little-known botanical name 

 of the Lilacs. Some of the wild species are 

 attractive, but for the average garden the 

 named varieties, now so numerous in nursery 

 catalogues, are best. The following is a selec- 

 tion : — Single flowered, Marie L('(jr(iije, white; 

 Leon Siiuo>i, rose; Ecau))iur, dark reddish 

 ])urple ; Pasteur, large flowers, wine red. 

 Double — Mad. Casimir Perricr, creamy white; 

 Mad. Lcnioine, white; Cliarles tiargeni, violet 

 mauve; Edouard Andre, rose; and Victor 

 Leinoinc, lilac-mauve. 



Vihurniims are numerous, but the best for 

 general planting is T'. tonieyiiosuin pJicatum, 

 which, as shown in ovn- illustration, is a shrid) 

 of exceptional merit, bearing numerous trusses 

 of pure white tlowers in June or earlv Jidv. 



Cottagers 1 Grow Your Own 

 Apples. 



NoAV, that planting time for all classes of fruit 

 trees and bushes is at hand, a few words of ad- 

 vice to cottagers and owners of small gardens 

 may not be amiss, especially to those who look 

 upon fruit as an essential article of diet ; and 

 I think it is quite recognised that the general 

 public now thoroughly realise that fruit, and 

 especially apples, are a valuable, and should be 

 an economical, food. I add the foregoing re- 

 mark in case some one should quote me market 

 prices for first grade fruit; and certainly the 

 prices of late years have been almost prohibitive 

 except to those blessed with ample means. 

 Hence my advice — Grow your own Apples. 



It matters not how small your garden is if the 

 proper class of tree is planted. 



Many times, of late years, I have been asked 

 by allotment holders and owners of small 

 gardens to advise them about the planting, 

 pruning, Arc, of fruit trees, and almost invari- 

 ably I foimd that small gardens had been 

 planted indiscriminately with standard or half- 

 standard trees, with tlae result that in a few 

 years practically half of the ground was ren- 

 dered useless for the cultivation of vegetable 

 crops. 



Now, I should like to say a word in favour of 

 espalier and cordon-trained Apple trees; these, 



properly jjlauted and well looked after in regard 

 to pruning, training, &c., are both decorative 

 and useful. They take up very little room in the 

 garden, are easily trained, pruned, and sprayed, 

 and all the work can be done without the aid of 

 a ladder. Assuming that the garden to be 

 planted with espalier and cordons is devoid of 

 walls or wire fences, all that is required is a few 

 well-seasoned oak posts, about 7 feet long, and 

 a roll of ordinary fencing wire. 



It matters not whether the garden is round, 

 square, or oval; knock in the posts 4 yards apart 

 and 2^ feet in the ground, all round the garden, 

 leaving, say, two or three open spaces for con- 

 venience in getting in and out of the vegetable 

 garden. 



After the posts have been " well and truly 

 })lanted," all that is necessary is to drive in 

 strong staples in the posts every 12 inches, then 

 draw a length of wire through each staple, and 

 by means of a few wire strainers draw quite 

 taut. The trees may now be planted. 



I am in favour of planting both espalier and 

 cordon trained trees, so I should plant, say, 

 one half with espalier and the other half with 

 cordons. 



The espaliers, owing to their having more 

 room for top growth than single cordons, live to 

 a greater age, and continue to bear good fruit 

 long after a single cordon is exhausted. On the 

 other hand, cordons come into full bearing much 

 sooner than espaliers, and remain in a fertile 

 condition for quite a number of years. It is, of 

 course, essential that the trees have the ad- 

 vantage of light and sunshine, and to be 

 successful the ground must either be naturally 

 or artificially drained; boggy ground is fatal to 

 Apple trees, and it is hopeless to try to grow 

 Apples under overhanging trees or smothered 

 uj) with tall, herbaceous plants and such like. 

 A narrow border, 2 feet w^ide, should be kept 

 on either side of the espalier, which may be 

 utilised for growing dwarf flowers, or vege- 

 tables, such as lettuces, radishes, &c. 



Single cordons may be planted obliquely to 

 give as much top growth as possible, and should 

 be planted 2 feet apart. 



Espalier trained trees should be planted from 

 12 to 15 feet apart. 



If the soil is fairly good, deep digging f)r trencli- 

 ing is all that is required; no animal manure 

 should be added, and the roots should be care- 

 fully spread out and covered to the depth of 

 about 6 inches and well firmed, when the soil is 

 \\orkable, by treading or ranuiiing. 



If the soil is very poor, holes about 3 feet wide 

 and 18 inches deep should be taken out and 

 filled in with some chopped turf or roadside 

 parings, to which may be added a few handfuls 

 of bone meal. Two important things for the 

 novice to be careful about are to firm the soil 



