IRISH GARDENING 



flora fl. pi. in splendid flower in the open. E. 

 Diadem is just going off. Of the Cape Heatlis we 

 hiive E. melaittlieia going over after being a 

 regvilar picture for w^eeks. E. persulvta alba and 

 E. King Edirard are coming in. Andromeda pub- 

 folia is in flower for some time. I could go on in- 

 definitely if time and space would permit. 

 Glengarriff, March 2.'5. J. P. O'Dwyek. 



Show Fixtures, 1920. 



July 24.— Terenure and Districts Horticultural 

 Society at Oaklands. Eathear Entries close July 

 21. Hon Sec, A. Phipps, Tyuion Lodge, Taliaght, 

 Co. Dublin 



Agos Products. 



Agos, Ltd., 7a St. Mary's Row, Birmingham, 

 have favoured us with a copy of their booklet de- 

 tailing their various Fertilizers. Insecticides, 

 Weedkiller, and Soil Fumigant. This is of intense 

 interest to farmers and gardeners, as the high- 

 class manures manufactured by the firm are 

 designed to meet the requirements of both farm 

 and garden crops. That they have been success- 

 ful was demonstrated at The British Isles Inter- 

 national Potato Trials, when the £50 War Bond 

 and Gold Medal were won by the competitor using 

 Agos, and four days later the I'hiily Mirror £50 

 prize was won by the user of the same fertilizer; 

 this is the celebrated No. 3 Fertilizer, and readers 

 interested in food production woidd be well ad- 

 vised to make enquiries regarding Agos. The 

 booklet contains abundant information and full 

 analyses showing the composition of the various 

 manures. Fertilizer No. 4 is recouunended for 

 Vegetables and Flowers. 



Agos Spring and Sunnner W'ash for Fruit Trees 

 and Bushes, Winter Wash, Hopwas, Woolly 

 Aphis Cure, Weed Killer, and Soil Fumigant are 

 other Agos products, and we may add that the 

 prices compare favourably with other similar 

 articles on the market. 



Weedy Walks. 



A GOOD arsenical weed-killer is the most effective 

 and lasting preparation for keeping garden 

 and other walks free from weeds, and of these 

 weed-killers the most reliable is that made by 

 Messrs. Mark Smith, Ltd. An advertisement 

 (giving prices) willbe found in this issue. The 

 Irish agent is Mr. D. M. Watson, Chemist, 61 South 

 Great George's Street, Dublin, who specializes in 

 weed-killers, spraying and fumigating mate- 

 rials, &c. 



Reviews. 



Practical Hardy Fruit Culture.* 



The writer of tliis book essays to produce a manual 

 of hardy fruit culture, as a guide to many people 

 who seem, at the present time, to be attracted to 

 fruit farming as a business. He has not, however, 

 been completely successful in his purpose, as a 

 great part of the information and instruction he 

 imparts is likely to be useful only in a large private 

 garden, where cost of production is not of the first 

 importance, as it would be in a commercial under- 

 taking. 



Mr. R. Staward is well known as a successful 

 cultivator and exhibitor of hardy fruits, and in 

 this book he displays a very wide knowledge of his 

 subject, all the recognised kinds being described 

 and explained exhaustively — too nuicli so, in our 

 opinion, in some cases, for instance, where, on 

 pages 15 and 148, he is dealing with the x)ropagation 

 of Apple and Pear trees, and, after stating that 

 cuttings and layers are very undesirable methods of 

 increasing these, he goes on to describe, in the 

 latter case for over half a page, how this may be 

 done. Far too much space, again, is taken up with 

 instructions on training the trees, so as to form 

 pyramids, fan-trained, cordons, horizontal, &c. 



Pruning is fully dealt with for each variety, and 

 the practice advocated is generally sound if con- 

 ventional. Exception must, however, be taken to 

 the advice given regarding young Apple trees on 

 page 29 — viz., that " young trees should be left un- 

 pruned for the first year or two, during which time 

 the trees should be lifted and re-planted annually." 

 Such advice is impractical, and the expense of 

 doing this would be quite prohibitive for most 

 growers. The writer goes on to say that " when 

 the trees begin to carry a good crop they require a 

 little pruning." But surely-the first essential is to 

 build up a good tree, and this cannot be done with- 

 out careful and judicious pruning for the first five 

 years. After that, by decreasing the amount of 

 pruning, fruitfulness will be encouraged, and this 

 in turn will decrease the amount of growth made 

 annually. On the contrary, if the trees are left 

 unpruned, fruit spurs form along the branches 

 instead of young growths, and the trees become 

 stunted and ruined. 



Diseases and pests peculiar to each kind of fruit 



* " Practical Hardy Fruit Culture." By Richard 

 Staward, F.R.H.S. London : The Swarthmore 

 Press, Ltd. 



From an Allotmeni; Holder (Unsolicited) 



.SEi-TEMBER 20TH, 1919 



Messrs "Agos" Lttl..Biru)ingham 

 Dear Sirs, — At the recont Biimingliaia 

 Allotment Show I grained Seven Prizes ; 

 I have also been suci'issful in two other 

 shows— WoLseley (open classes) August 

 16th, Three Prizes, East Biniiinghani. 

 Aug^ust 23rd, Twelve Prizes. 1 won the 

 First Prize at the Birming'ham " Daily 

 Gazette " Allotment Competition for 

 the Best Garden on tlio Bachelor's 

 Farm Allotments. 



This I owe to your " AGOS " FERTI- 

 LIZER No. 3, forwliich I have nothing 

 but praise, more especially does this 

 apply to potatoes and celery, for which 

 1 gave a thorough test, and, although a 

 trying season, I have the best crops I 

 havi- ever grown, and I shall certainly 



use more next season. 

 Wishing your products every success 



And the EsOTnaiEr MllOMIPLi^^^^^ ly 



^GAINST OVER 750,00 QCOMPETITQRS //vope/v coMPer/r/OAf 

 SUITABLE for Horticultural ists Allotment Associa^ons* all intendinq 

 Prize Winn et»s. ' TM£ BEST f£/rT/LiZ£ff ff^OtV^ fO VS. ' 

 WEOFFER GOOD' FERTILIZERS(Withthesame BASE)in twoton lots «o«£8"IO'Operton 

 in Itw. bags. cASRiACE PAID. BABs fREE Write for booklet , free sample « guaranf eed 



analyse, toAGOS 17? 7* St Marus Rov^BIHMINCHAH:^^""- 



