IRISH GARDENING 



^5 



, Climbers. — These should be frequently examined 

 to see all fastenings are secure; any ties that are 

 too tight and cutting into the bark nuist be cut 

 and retied. Use a piece of sacking or canvas to 

 prevent injury to the bark, and tie tightly. Roses 

 on warm walls may be pruned. 



Bulbs. — (Snowdrops and Aconites should have a 

 slight top-dressing of leaf soil and sand before 

 they show througli the soil, especially under trees. 

 The first growtli appeared here at Straffan on 

 December ord; last season the first Snowdrop 

 opened on December 9th. 



Sweet Peas. — A sowing of these beautiful 

 annuals may be made, using 5-inch pots, and five 

 or six seeds in each. Select good, clear-colured 

 varieties, according to the use of the establish- 

 ment; use three parts loam, one leaf soil, and one 

 of sand, with a 5-inch pot of soot per barrow- 

 load. Stand in a cold frame, and grow very 

 sturdily; the stouter the better for later planting. 

 Watch most carefully for slugs, which are most 

 destructive; of course, exhibitors have their own 

 favourite varieties and methods of cultivation. 



East Lothian Stocks are best sown during 

 January. Select a good known strain of self 

 coloms — pink, mauve, crimson and white — and 

 sow in boxes in a warm temperature, removing 

 to cooler quarters when the plants are well up. 

 Be very careful of the watering, and always use 

 warm water — 5 degrees warmer than the tempera- 

 ture of the house in which they are growing. 



Antirrhiinums. — These are best treated as half- 

 hardy annuals. Select the colours suitable for 

 the various situations in which they are to ,be 

 used ; they are very effective in the formal gardens, 

 herbaceous borders, or borders to themselves. 'The 

 intermediate strain is generally used,; although 

 the tall varieties are magnificent in the centres 

 and l)ack of the herbaceous borders. Pre])are and 

 fill a number of boxes with two parts fine loam, 

 one leaf soil, and one part sand ; sow thinly, and 

 germinate in a warm house; remove when the 

 plants are nicely through to cooler quarters. 



Hardy Fruit Garden. 



Push forward the pruning and training of all 

 fruit trees during mild weather; this operation is 

 a life-study, and I am afraid no work is less 

 understood. A perfectly pruned and trained tree 

 is a great joy to Ijehold. 



In pruning Apple trees a knowledge of the 

 different varieties is absolutely essential, several 

 varieties fruiting on the tips. Irish Peach is a 

 good example of this; these trees nuist be simply 

 thinned and not spurred. 



Continue to prune and train all wall trees, ex- 

 cept the Peach and Nectarine; these should be 

 loosened from the wall and secured to stakes 

 away from the wall, to retard their flowering as 

 much as possible. 



Allow a little more extension to the _ Sweet 

 Cherries than to most fruits, and train the 

 branches about 12 inches apart. Where Morellos 

 are growing on north walls, endeavour to get 

 these tied in before the weather is too cold; they 

 are often left till last. I think all trees on northern 

 aspects should be attended to first; tie Morellos 

 in 6 inches apart, and allow plenty of strong 

 young shoots from the base, and cut away the 

 stubby growths at the top of the walls. 



Raspberries.— Tie these in now. Where wires are 

 used, bend the canes to meet each other, facing 

 north; cut away any weak canes that have not 



properly matured; fasten securely, and cut off 

 tips; where stakes are used, tie in the three best 

 ripened shoots. 



Autumn fruiting Raspberries may have the last 

 season's fruiting canes cut away; leave the new 

 growths till later before cutting them down. 



Red and White Currants. — May be pruned. 

 Keep the centres well open, and allow four to six 

 buds' extension. Try and take a few old growths 

 away each season, Ijringing up young growths to 

 take their place. 



Fruit Room. — Go over all the fruit frequently, 

 rt'uioving at once any showing signs of decay. 

 Watch the temperature does not fall below obo 

 in frosty weather. Use all fruit m its proper 

 season as it becomes fit, and handle most care- 

 fully. Keep the rooms scrupulously clean, dark 

 and sweet. 



Southern and Western Counties. 



By Mr. J. M.\tthews, Gardener to Sir Richard 



J. Musgrave, Bart., Tourin, Cappoquin, 



County Water ford. 



The Kitchen Garden. 



One of the principal matters in January is the 

 purchasing of seeds : catalogues are being pre- 

 sented to us from the seedsmen giving food 

 for thought and consideration. There are few seeds 

 one can rely on to give satisfactory results whicli 

 have been kept over from the previous year. A 

 wet day may be usefully spent in giving the seed 

 cupboard a good clean-up, taking notes of all the 

 necessary requirements for the season. Iii the 

 long evenings go over your favourite catalogues, 

 ticking off the quantities required, according to 

 the extent of the garden. Make up your lists, and 

 dispatch as early as possible, to make sure of 

 having your seeds at hand when sowing time 

 comes round. Meantime get all vacant ground 

 numured and dug or trenched, so as to get the 

 full l)enefit of frost and snow. The results will be 

 apparent when sowing time arrives ; the soil will 

 l)e found easier to work, and many ground pests 

 are destroyed, apart from the extra yield of crops. 

 Deep cultivation is a guarantee against dry 

 weather. 



Clean Asparagus and Rhubarb beds, lightly 

 stirring the surface of the soil with a fork, after- 

 wards giving a mulch with decayed maniu-e. 

 Give some light protection to Celery and late 

 Cauliflower in frosty weather, removing the 

 covering on fine days. I am cutting fine curds of 

 Drununond's Late "Frankfort Cauliflower at the 

 time of writing these notes. December 12th, after 

 the severe frost in mid-November, when 17° was 

 registered; this speaks well of that variety as a 

 good self-protecting one. 



■ Where hotbeds are required for the, forcing of 

 early Potatoes Carrots. Lettuce and Radishes, 

 collect suitable material, and make up as soon as 

 I)ossible. 



Peas.— I am an advocate of sowing the earliest 

 crops in pots or boxes, eventually planting out 

 on warm borders. Our soil retains so much mois- 

 ture that a large percentage of the seed decays, 

 and from experience in different gardens, I have 

 fomid the above method more profitable. There 

 are several good dwarf varieties to be recom- 

 mended but which will not succeed in every 

 locality. Little Marvel is a good dwarf one, alsa 



