32 



IRISH GARDENING. 



Correspondence. 



Summer Pruning. 



Dear Sir, — I was pleased to note (he prominent 

 place given to Summer Pruning- in your last issue. 

 Both its importance and the confused ideas obtaining 

 on the subject warrant a special place for it in your 

 useful journal. If Mr. Moore's effort to show gardeners 

 what may really be included under the term " Pruning" 

 is successful, I shall be glad indeed. As he remarks, 

 there has truly been much " playing with words " about 

 pruning, pinching, thinning, &c. 



The time of carrying out the work is of great im- 

 portance, and in this respect every case must be dealt 

 with on its merits. In East Anglia it is quite a common 

 thing to hear it spoken of as "Midsummer Pruning." 

 This is a misleading term in many cases, as it leads the 

 beginner to prune too early, thus doing more harm than 

 good. Generally speaking, the more vigorous trees 

 should be pruned last. I am reminded that Ireland has 

 a much heavier rainfall than Essex, hence this factor 

 should be borne in mind when selecting a date for com- 

 mencing the work. Otherwise far too much secondary 

 growth will probably result. 



I must fully contend for the great value of the 

 practice in careful hands. The present need is for 

 original observation as to results on various kinds of 

 fruit trees in different localities. I hope that this work 

 will be undertaken in many quarters during the coming 

 summer. If it had been more general in the past little 

 would have been heard of the manufacture of blossom 

 buds as a result of summer pruning, regardless of all 

 surrounding conditions. Many a grower has been 

 puzzled by such statements, as an examination of his 

 trees has shown that the buds described on paper were 

 often absent. 



There are many factors in the case such as soil, 

 stocks, vigour of individual tree, whether a crop is 

 being carried or not, rainfall and general character of 

 the season. The careful grower will do well to allow 

 for these in carrying out the work. In the past year I 

 have endeavoured to schedule the results of summer 

 pruning as related to the above points, with a view to 

 establishing a working basis for cultivators. This has 

 been communicated to the Scientific Committee of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society, and will be published in 

 their journal. 



Chelmsford, Essex. C. Wakely. 



Answers to Correspondents. 



Correspondents ivheii asking viore than one question, 

 •will please ivrite the queries on separate sheets of 

 paper. 



Clematis. — "Novice" writes: — Please give me the 

 name of a good white clematis for a warm western 

 aspect, and also state what sort of feeding is best for 

 these plants. Mr. W. J. Besant replies as follows : — 

 Clematis montana would probably suit you. It is a 

 vigorous grower, and does well in a west aspect, pro- 

 vided the soil is not shallow and sandy. It flowers in 

 May and June. C. Jackmanni alba flowers in early 

 autumn, but is not so pure a white as montana. Duchess 

 of Edinburgh, a double white, is offered by all the lead- 

 ing nurserymen, and there are various white varieties 

 among the many garden forms of clematis, but few, if 

 any, give the wealth of bloom of C. montana. As to feed- 

 ing — If your soil is poor it must be enriched with good 

 loam, and if you can add some old cow manure, so much 

 the better. If you have recourse to artificials only use 

 some quick-acting manure (see advertisement pages), 

 applied sparingly after growth begins, and apply plenty 

 of water in dry weather. 



Roses. — The same correspondent ask for certain 

 information about roses. This is Dr. O'Donel Browne's 

 reply: — (i). Prune all j'our roses this year very 

 hard— /.t'., dwarf and standards to two or four eyes on 

 strong rods, take out all unripe and weak wood. Prune 

 to an outlooking eye. You may prune H.P.s. early in 

 March, H.T.s. in mid March, and T.s. the first week April. 

 (2). It would be well to cut climbers back in same way, 

 as by so doing you get better growth. (3). Certainly 

 mulch in April or May, having previously hoed ground. 

 (4). Your selection is very good, but your wall roses 

 could be better. You should have planted Climbing Mrs. 

 Grant, Mme. Jules Graveilaux Ard's Pillar against lower 

 wall instead of the tree you mention. (5). Ctesse. de 

 Turenne and J. B. Clark are too vigorous for a bed 

 along with others. I should lift them and put them on 

 pillars, and in their place in bed put Lady Ashtown and 

 Gustav Grunerwald. If you want more advice write to 

 Editor, and he will forward your letter to me, and I will 

 reply. 



Selection of Seed (" Practical," Co. Antrim). — 

 There is no doubt whatever that by judicious selection 

 of seed the yield of crops may be considerably increased. 

 There are, as a rule, great differen- 

 ces in strength and vigour among 

 the seeds produced on the same 

 plant. Size may be taken as an 

 indication of quaUty. A well-sized, 

 plump seed is one that has been well 

 fed and has had plenty of room to 

 develop, while an under-sized one 

 has been handicapped in its growth, 

 and is therefore relatively weak in 

 constitutional vigour. If we take, 

 for example, a "seed" of beet, we 

 find that it is not a single seed, but 

 a cluster of three or more seeds. 

 The topmost seed in the cluster is 

 the strongest, as it has had more 

 room and is better fed than the 

 others. On germination the com- 

 parative vigour of the embryos con- 

 tained in the seed is soon shown (see 

 illustration). A definite case may be 

 cited where beet seeds were detached and ranged in 

 order as to size. The proportional weights of the young 

 plants, matured roots and eventual yield of seeds were 

 as follows: — 



A three-seed Ball of 

 Beet, showing how (by 

 the comparative length 

 of rootlets) the plantlets 

 in the three seeds differ 

 in vigour of growth. 



Graded Sizes 



Weight of Young 

 Plants 



Weight of 

 Roots 



Yield of 

 Seed 



(largest) 

 II. 



III. 



IV. 



V. 



For garden work we are convinced that it would pay 

 handsomely to discard all the smaller seeds and sow 

 more thinly, using only the larger, and therefore more 

 vigorous seeds. Seedsmen who grade their stock and 

 sell only the larger seeds must charge more for them, 

 but the extra cost will be returned manifold at harvest. 



"E. D." — Evening Primroses (^CE"«o//?<?ra^ are easily 

 grown in all soils. They are bright in colour, fragrant, 

 and free-flowering. They may be had in whites and 

 all shades of yellow. 



