IKISH GARDENING 



175 



edly it is, for not only will it supply food for plants, 

 but also improves tlie state of the soil. Nearly all 

 soils- will benefit by the regular application of good 

 dung. Pig-manure is a strong manure, and it 

 should be well mixed with litter and soil. Poultry 

 manure is rich, but it is often sticky when fresh 

 and lumpy when it is dry. The best way to keep 

 it is to store it under cover and mix it well with 

 soil. Where seaweed can be obtained it is a good, 

 cheap miinure for Potatoes. 



Lime.— Practically all soils used for the growing 

 of vegetables stand to benefit by the application of 

 lime. On allotments where club-root is present, 

 lime becomes then an urgent necessity. On heavy 

 soils lime will be found beneficial in allowing 

 water to pass away more freely. Unless there is 

 a certain amount of lime in the soil in some form 

 or another, full value is not obtained from the ap- 

 plication of natural manures. Farmyard manure 

 and lime should, however, not be mixed together 

 in a heap; also, lime should not be mixed with 

 soot when they are used together for the purpose 

 of manure. Perhaps some agricultural soils are 

 not improved very much ])y liming, but gardens 

 and allotments will nearly always be benefited 

 thereby. The winter months are the best time to 

 apply lime, which should be in as fine a powder as 

 possible for proper distrilnition. A worcl of warn- 

 ing may be saicl in regard to gas lime. This sub- 

 stance contains a good deal of poisonous material, 

 and it should not be applied to growing crops. A 

 very slight dressing will be safe if applied some 

 considerable time before seeds are sown. 



Soot. — Soot from a kitchen fire is very useful as 

 a top-dressing in the spring for vegetable crops 

 Many will, no doubt, have observed how dark 

 green and robust Onions become after one or two 

 dressings of soot. It is also valuable for making 

 liquid manure. If soot is raked into the soil before 

 sowing Turnips it often forces these plants into 

 growth and helps them to grow away from the fly. 

 The soot from a factory chimney is generally a 

 totally different substance to that obtained from a 

 kitchen chimney, and a l)etter name for it is flue 

 dust. As a general rule it is a more or less worth- 

 less material so far as its manurial properties are 

 concerned. Sometimes the flue dust, however, 

 from certain blast furnace chimneys contains an 

 appreciable amount of potash, which makes it valu- 

 able for applying to the land for Potatoes. 



Allotment holders have had a great variety of 

 soils to contend with, but the most stubborn soil 

 will yield to deep cultivation and good manuring. 

 A case occurred in Belfast, where plots have been 

 laid out on the site of a l)rick works, which was one 

 of those scenes of desolation common to large in- 

 dustrial towns. It has now been transformed into 

 a veritaV)le garden — a credit to the promoters of 

 the scheme for utilising waste places and an ex- 

 ample of industrious labour. We are beginning to 

 realise the capabilities of the soil for producing 

 vegetables. Our land in the past has only been 

 half cropped. The rural districts are even worse 

 than that in the vicinity of the towns, but happily 

 there are signs of improvement. G. H. O. 



Plants in Rooms. 



From now onwards tmtil spring pot plants in rooms 

 should be carefully watered. On no account should 

 water be given iniless the pot rings when rapped 

 with the knuckles, and then sufficient water should 

 be given to moisten the soil down to the bottom. 

 Further, in very cold weather the chill should be 

 taken off by adding a little warm water to that to 

 be applied to the soil. 



The Month's Work. 



By T. E. ToM.\LiN-, Gardener to the Eight Hon. 

 The Earl of Bessborough, K.P., Bess- 

 borough, County Kilkenny. 



The Flower Garden. 



The transplanting of flowering shrubs and trees 

 may be undertaken during this month with the 

 prospect of better results than if left until spring, 

 but the work should not be attempted when the 

 ground is very wet or very dry. The new positions 

 should be well prepared beforehand by trenching 

 or deep digging, and by the addition to the soil of 

 plenty of leaf mould or peat in the case of poor land. 

 When all is in readiness, the actual lifting and re- 

 planting should be carried out as speedily as 

 possible, so that the roots do not suffer from undue 

 exposure to drying winds. Each specimen should 

 afterwards be secured to a good stake and a light 

 mulch provided. 



Climbing Roses. — These may now he planted, 

 and, where the root room is restricted — as is often 

 the case when they are planted on arches and per- 

 golas — a good large hole should first be excavated 

 to a depth of two feet. In the bottom of this a good 

 layer of manure should be placed, and the hole 

 then filled up w4th good loam, to which a sprink- 

 ling of bone meal has been added. If planting is 

 done now one or two growths may 1)e tied in to 

 flower next season, and the rest cut down to the 

 ground level, but if yjlanting is deferred until 

 spring it is best to cut 1)ack all the growths, as this 

 will encourage the formation of strong shoots, 

 which will provide a good display of flowers the 

 following season. A selection of the best Climlnng 

 Roses would include American Pillar, Blush 

 Rambler. Tea Rambler. Dorothy Perkins. Alberic 

 Barbier, Rene Andre, Francois Juranville, Evan- 

 geline — a most sweetly-scented variety— and Adrian 

 Riversham, which flowers continuously from July 

 to December. 



The planting of bulbs should be completed as 

 soon as possible, as the earlier these are planted 

 the better the results will be. The well-known and 

 well-tried varieties of Daffodils are the best for 

 planting in grass, but for the garden a few of the 

 newer kinds should be procured each year. Many 

 of these increase rapidly, and are far in advance 

 of the older kinds for garden decoration and <is cut 

 flowers. I have this autunui nlanted some hmi- 

 dreds of bulbs each of such kinds as Glory of 

 Leiden. Mdme. Plemp, Mdm. de Graaf, Golden 

 Bell, Victoria, Lucifer, Albatross, White Lady, ancl 

 many others, being the produce of 1 doz., and in 

 some cases only i doz., bulbs of each kind pur- 

 chased a few years ago. 



Violets in frames should be freely ventilated 

 except when it is a<-tually freezing. Stir the sur- 



