IRISH GARDENING. 



Fruit Houses. 



VINES. — To those having- move than one vinery this 

 is a good time to start the earliest one, in which the 

 vines should have been well washed (the. caustic 

 soda wash is excellent), and the house cleaned and lime- 

 washed. Give a nig-ht temperature of 50 degrees and a 

 lise during- the day or from sun of 10 degrees or 15 

 degrees more. A gentle syringing of the vines morning 

 and afternoon is of much assistance, but on cold or wet 

 days onl)- damp down the house, and if weak liquid 

 manure is used in the afternoon for damp- 

 ing ilown so much the bettei-. If the 

 boi-ders are outside g-ive a covering of 

 leaves one foot thick, and place over it 

 some stable manure. Some growers only 

 put a few inches of manure over the border 

 to exclude frost, but the leaves and manure 

 give a gentle heat. If there are inside 

 borders give a good watering with tepid 

 water and liquid manure. 



Peaches and Xectarinks. — The earliest 

 varieties will be swelling their buds, so that 

 they will be showing colour, and now the 

 syringe must only be used lightly on fine 

 mornings, damping- doxyn as usual at closing 

 time. As the blossoms open it is well to go 

 over the flowers of varieties that do not set 

 freely about noon, either with a rabbit s tail 

 or camel-hair brush, and genth' dust the 

 flowers so as to aid in getting a good set- 

 ling of fruit. For most varieties a gentle 

 tap on the wires on fine days is sufficient 

 aid to the distribution of pollen and to fer- 

 tilisation. A temperature of 50 degrees at 

 nigiit and 60 degrees by day should suit till 

 the fruits are set. W. T. 



Pyrethrum. 



Tin.S is one of our hardiest and most useful 

 herbaceous plants, and should have a place in 

 even the smallest border. The\- succeed well 

 in almost any garden soil, but a rich, deep, and rather 

 heavy soil is most suitable. The best mode of propa- 

 gation is by division of the clumps in early spring. 

 Being of medium height, from i^ to 2^ feet, they are 

 very suitable to plant in long lines, where the)' look 

 ornamental, as separate plants in the border oi- as in 



The Logan Berry. 



The Logan berry is a most useful subject 

 which is not by any means difficult to 

 cultivate. It is the result of a cross 

 between the red raspberry and blackberr\-. 

 The fruits, which are large, sweet and 

 handsome, are borne on the growths ot 

 the previous year. It will be found to 

 constitute a pleasing addition to the 

 dessert list, and may also be adapted for 

 making an excellent preserve. 



Planting ma}- be performed an\' time 

 from November to February, but the earliei- 

 the better ; it succeeds admirably if plantetl 

 against a wall with a north or north-west 

 aspect, allowing a distance of six feet 

 between the plants. A good, rich soil is 

 most essential for its well being, and a 

 liberal mulching of farm-yard manure 

 applied about November will also be found helpful. 

 After planting, the canes should be cut back to within 

 18 inches of the ground for the purpose of inducing 

 good, strong shoots to be obtained. The variety 

 "Phenomenal" is well worth having. — G,B. 



The English Board of Agriculture and Fisheries have 

 issued an order dealing with gooseberrv mildew. It 

 prohibits the landing in Great Britain from places 

 abroad of any gooseberry or currant bush, and states 

 that offenders against the order will be liable to a 

 penality not exceeding ten pounds. The order came 

 into effect on the 14th of December last. 



Pyrethrum Aphrodite. 



plintorjmpU titkfn in A/fssrs. Keln'inj's Xi 



/■.ii'riex.] 



large groups or beds, where they are very effective. 

 P'ew plants flower so freely, and by cutting back the 

 old flower spikes in June, and giving the plants a 

 watering with liquid manure at weekly intervals during 

 dry weather, they will throw up fresh growths and 

 produce fine flowers well into the autumn. There is 

 very little botanical difference between Pyrethriun and 

 Chrysanthemum, except that the fruits of the former are 

 provided with a bunch of hairs or "pappus." Of late 

 years much improvement has been effected in Pyreth- 

 rums, and they can now be had in almost all colours, 

 of both double, single, and anemone-shaped flowers. 



The blooms here illustrated are those of Pyrethrum 

 Aphrodite. It is a double variety of purest white, and 

 was raised by Messrs. Kelway of Langport. \V, I. 



