22 



IRISH GARDENING. 



Notes and Abstracts. 



By G. O. SHERRARD. 



A Fungicide. — The Gardeners Magazine of Jan. nth, 

 1908, contains a note to the effect that a sohition of 

 sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol), in the proportion of ilb. 

 acid to 100 g^allons water, is employed as a fungicide at 

 the Royal Gardens, Kew, with satisfactory results. 

 The spraying machine used to apply the solution should 

 be washed out with clear water immediately afterwards. 



Cider Orchards. — B. T. P. Barker, M.A. (Journal 

 of the Board of Agriculture, Jan., 1908). — In a most 

 instructive article Mr. Barker, the Director of the 

 National Fruit and Cider Institute, England, explains 

 the principles governing the laying down of an orchard 

 for cider purposes. He deals with the necessity for 

 planting fresh orchards, many of the English cider 

 orchards — like some of the old orchards in this country — 

 being in an exhausted and unproductive condition. 

 The author lays particular stress on the advisability of 

 planting varieties in the right proportion for blending 

 to make a good cider, and he classifies the different 

 varieties used for this purpose into "sharp," "sweet," 

 and "bitter-sweet" fruits for early, mid-season, and 

 late orchards. He advocates planting apples having 

 different ripening periods in separate orchards. An 

 early orchard of varieties ripening from September to 

 the end of October, mid-season containing varieties 

 ripening in November, and late for fruit maturing in 

 December and after. The varieties should be planted 

 in separate groups or blocks, but too many trees of one 

 kind should not be planted together, as some apples 

 fruit best when cross-fertilised with pollen from another 

 variety. The author does not recommend the planting 

 of young apple-trees on the site of an old orchard. The 

 soil during the life-time of an orchard becomes more or 

 less impoverished of the elements necessary to the 

 growth of the apple, and also affords a harbour to 

 innumerable insect and fungoid pests. The following 

 is a list of the cider apples recommended by Mr. Barker 

 after being tested at the Cider Institute. Some of the 

 varieties mentioned are not vet in commerce : — 



The Winter Storing of Apples. — Under this 

 heading a writer to the Gardeners Chronicle of Jan. i ith 

 describes the conditions under which apples will retain 

 their firmness and fresh appearance during the winter 

 months. The author gives, as an illustration of a good 

 fruit-house, that used by Jas. Veitch & Son, who were 

 awarded a gold medal for their collection of apples 

 staged on December 21st at the Royal Horticultural 

 Society's Hall. This firm's fruit-house stands in an 

 open position, and is thatched and coated round the 

 sides with reeds. The walls are match-boarded inside, 



and the fruit stored on shelves consisting of an open 

 trellis-work of laths. The floor is earthen, and is 

 occasionally damped to promote a slight himiidity in 

 the air. The writer considers it of the utmost import- 

 ance that a certain degree of atmospheric moisture 

 should be maintained in a fruit-room to prevent the fruit 

 from shrivelling, and also that the shelves should be of 

 open work to give a free circulation of air round the 

 fruit. Apples grown on young trees are stated to keep 

 better than those from older ones. 



Solanum Commersonii Violet and Blue Giant. 



An important and interesting report of the experi- 

 ments carried out by Professor M. Cazaux on the 

 question of the identity of these two potatoes is 

 published in the Joiirnal d' Agriculture Pratique for 

 January 9th, 1908. A commission of seven agricul- 

 tural and horticultural savants, appointed by the 

 Prefect of the Department, Seine-et-Marne, met in 

 September last, and, having listened to Professor 

 Cazaux's explanation of his experiments, proceeded to 

 make a careful examination of the potatoes growing in 

 the plots. As a result they came to the unanimous 

 conclusion that no appreciable difference could be 

 detected either in the tubers or in the foliage and 

 flowers of these two supposedly different varieties. 

 Later on, in October, the Commission re-assembled 

 and made further investigations at the time when the 

 crop was being lifted. The average yield of Solanum 

 Commersonii Violet was less than that of Blue Giant, 

 and the Commission came to the general conclusion 

 that these two supposedly different varieties be- 

 have exactly as if they were one and the same. 

 Professor Cazaux states that his rigorously controlled 

 cultures "of these varieties, for the past two years, 

 convince him of their identity, and he cannot believe 

 that such a prodigious transformation in so short a time 

 from the wild Solanum Commersonii to the utterly 

 different Solanimi Commersonii Violet can possibly 

 have taken place. His final conclusion is frankly that 

 M. Labergerie has been the subject of a big mistake. 



Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland. 



The schedule of prizes for the autumn show of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland, to be held on 

 5th August, is now issued, and intending exhibitors 

 would do well to obtain a copy from the Secretary, 

 5 Molesworth Street, Dublin. As the National Sweet 

 Pea Society is holding an exhibition in conjunction with 

 this show, there should be a more than usuall}' interest- 

 ing display, and competition for the valuable cups and 

 prizes will undoubtedly be very keen. Prizes are offered 

 in over too classes, including 46 for sweet peas alone. 

 Gardeners and all others who are interested in the 

 advancement of horticulture in this country should 

 certainly join this society, which has been in existence 

 now for 70 years. During this time it has been render- 

 ing excellent service in the cause we have all at heart. 

 The only reliable source of income to the society are 

 the subscriptions of its members. Ordinary members 

 on payment of one guinea annually are entitled to 

 personal admission to all the society's shows, four 

 transferable tickets available for the current year, and 

 free competition for all prizes offered bj' the society. 



Brassica Crosses. — Mr. A. W. Sutton, at a recent 

 meeting of the Scientific Committee of the Royal Hor- 

 ticultural Society of England, showed crosses between a 

 Savoy and Brussels sprout, and between a cabbage and 

 Brussels sprout, each of which bore a good heart and a 

 large number of small hearts up the stem, somewhat 

 after the manner of a Brussels sprout. The conditions 

 were said by Mr Sutton to be fixed. 



