H 



IRISH GARDENING. 



drainag-e, and filled with two parts loam and one part 

 each leaf mould, and old mushroom bed manure. Put 

 the boxes in a cool house or frame, and do not weaken 

 them by placing- in much heat. 



French Beans. — These will now force quite readily, 

 and the growth will be much better than those sown in 

 December. Seven-inch pots are quite large enoug-h till 

 the days leng-then. For filling- the pots use g-ood loam, 

 with some leaf-mould and old mushroom bed manure, 

 and make the soil firm. Little water will be required 

 till the plants are up, but a temperature of at least 55 

 degrees must be maintained if the plants are to g-row 

 satisfactorily. Osborne's Forcing, Lyon House, or Ne 

 Plus Ultra are g-ood varieties for early cropping-. If the 

 pots, after the seeds are sown, caii be placed on a hot 

 bed, or over hot water pipes, the seeds will g-row more 

 quickly. 



PoTATcTEs, Carrots, and Radishes. — In preparing- 

 hot beds for g-rowing- potatoes, carrots, radishes, &c. , 

 leaves of oak and beach are most useful. These should 

 have been g-athered, and can now be mixed with manure 

 and turned a couple of times, at intervals of a week, 

 before finally making- the bed, which should be at least 

 three feet deep when made firm, and extending- a foot 

 all round outside the frame when put on. Put over the 

 manure six or nine inches of nice, friable soil, in which 

 there is a gfood deal of leaf-mould or old mushroom bed 

 manure. Sow the carrots thinly in drills six inches 

 apart, while the radishes can be sown midway between 

 the lines of potatoes, though if the potatoes are properly- 

 sprouted I would prefer to sow the radishes by them- 

 selves, as the potatoes mig-ht shade them before they 

 were fit for pulling-. Good varieties of carrots are 

 French Horn and Early Gem ; radishes. Wood's Frame ; 

 and potatoes. Early Puritan and Sharpe's V^ictor, the 

 former, though inferior in quality to Sharp's Victor, 

 g-ives at least twii^e the crop. 



Notes and Abstracts. 



By G. O. SHERRARD. 



American Gooseberry Mildew in Worcester- 

 shire. By K. G. Furley ( The Journal of the Board of 

 Agriculture, Eng-land, Nov., 1907). — An account is given 

 of the spread of this disease in Worcestershire and the 

 methods adopted by the Worcestershire Qo. Council to 

 check its ravag-es. Spraying- was commenced on the 

 26th March last, potassium sulphide being- used at the 

 rate of one ounce to three g-allons of water. The spray- 

 ing's were continued at intervals of a fortnight up to the 

 8th July, an increasing- strength of spraying- material 

 being- used. Thus on the 15th May the strengfth was 

 broug-ht up to one ounce of potassium sulphide to one 

 g-allon of water. At the end of May sodium sulphide 

 was substituted for potassium sulphide on account of the 

 g-reater expense of the latter. On the 7th June the sodium 

 sulphide was applied at the rate of one and a half ounces 

 to one gallon of water, and on one plantation twice this 

 streng-th was used. The weather duringf the whole of 

 the spraying- period was showery, and no damag-e was 

 done to the leaves, flowers, or berries by the spraying 

 material. Spraying was discontinued after the 8th July, 

 but in badly infected plantations all shoots showing- 

 traces of disease were pruned off and burnt. The 

 results of spraying-, althoug-h g;ood in some cases, are 

 described as not being- altog-ether satisfactorj' on the 

 whole, and it is recommended b\' the author of the 

 article that all affected bushes should be destroj-ed. 



Tomato Diseases (Bulletin of the MassacJiuselts 

 Agricultural Experiment Station ). — An investigation into 

 the cause of the Blossom-end Rot of Tomatoes is de- 

 scribed. The disease is found to be due to a fungus 



(Fusarium) which enters the young fruit ihroug-h tlie 

 style or epidermis. A rot in tomatoes due to bacteria 

 is also described. 



Black Scab ok "Warty Disease" of Potatoes. 

 Bj' E. S. Salmon (Gardeners' Chronicle, December 7th, 

 1907). — \.x\ illustrated article describing this disease and 

 its distribution in Great Britain is g-iven. The fung-us 

 appears to have g-ained a foothold in five counties in 

 England, in one in Wales, and in one in Scotland. The 

 disease is a ver)- destructive one where it has become 

 established. An account of it is given in Leaflet No. 105 

 of the Board of Agriculture, Whitehall, London. 



A New Malady of Narcisscs. By F V>^n\v, ( Gar- 

 deners' Chronicle, December 14th, 1907). — An account is 

 given c>f a heeiXe ( Malacosoma lusitan icun/ J wh'ich has 

 caused serious loss to bulb growers in the South of 

 France. The larva; of this insect are small, white grubs 

 about I inch long and ^V inch thick. They attack 

 the bulbs of various species of cultivated Narcissi duriiig 

 the spring, doing considerable damage. Carbon di- 

 sulphide is suggested as a remedy. 



The Potato Leaf Cure. By W. P. Wright (The 

 Journal of the Boa rd of Agrictt Itu re ,Kng\cind.N o\' ., 1907). — 

 This disease is described as having done considerable 

 damage to the potato crops in the South of England. 

 The disease is due to the presence of a fungus ( Macros- 

 poriuni solani ). Worn out seed stocks and drought are 

 said to especially predispose tubers to its attack. The 

 preventive measures advised are — («) seed selection and 

 preparation, [b) change of seed stock, (c) adequate 

 moisture, {d) experiments with immature seed, {e) de- 

 struction by fire of any diseased sets, leaves or haulm, 

 (/) dressing the ground with kainit. An account of the 

 disease is given in Leaflet No. 164 of the Board of 

 Agriculture. 



The Apple Saw Fly (The Journal of the Board of 

 Agriculture, Nov., 1907). — The larva of this insect is 

 mentioned as being- in some years very destructive to 

 young apples. It feeds on the developing fruit during 

 the months of June and July, making tunnels through 

 the apples and causing them to fall. All fallen apples 

 should be at once destroyed, as they usually contain the 

 larvae. Since the insects enter the apples in the same 

 wa)' and at about the same time as the larvte of the 

 codlin moth, a spraying with arsenate of lead just after 

 the blossoms fall would probably be beneficial. A full 

 description and life-histor}- of the insect is given in Miss 

 Ormerod's "Handbook o'i Orchard and Bush Fruit 

 Insects." 



A Ci.\RDEN of Perfume.— a writer in liie Gardeners' 

 C/ironicle throws out an excellent suggestion for the 

 making of a " garden within a garden " - a definite 

 marked oft" garden oi sweet scents stocked for the most 

 part with old-fashioned flowers that usualh- have 

 associations entirely their own. It is to be a strictly 

 formal garden, square, with a central grass lawn and a 

 border all round for flowers, with or without a separating 

 path, and the whole enclosed by a hedge of lavender, 

 rosemary or southern wood As to the flowers, there is a 

 wide choice — pinks, violets, wallflowers, lilies, sweet- 

 scented hyacinths. Poet's narcissus, lavender. Jasmine, 

 Daphnie and mock orange. Of annuals, there are stocks, 

 sweet Sultan, tobacco, mignonette, and many more. 

 While for summer display have we not heliotrope, scented 

 verbena, oak leaf pelargonium and brugmansias. One 

 can easily fancy the quiet delight of it all, with its re- 

 freshing fragrance in the cool of a summer's day. Now 

 is the time to plan it all out and to make ready for planting. 

 It is a capital idea. 



