76 



IRISH GARDENING. 



A Novel Apple Tree. The Month's Work. 



J SEND you a photograph of an apple tree, 

 French Crab, taken on New Year's Day, 

 1908. The crop one bushel was g-athered 

 on the same day after havhig- withstood tlie 

 severe g^ales and frost of autumn and early 

 winter. Not a sing-le fruit was blown off, 

 in fact, wind has no effect on it, and it 



was very hard to separate the stems from 

 the tree on the date named. It is a g-ood 

 cooking- apple from April to June, and as fresh 

 and brisk "then" as our best apples are in 

 December. The Messrs. Seabrook and Sons, 

 Chelmsford, brackets French Crab with Northern 

 Greening", but there is really no comparison 

 between the two kinds. The photo is by 

 Robert Lindsay of Straffan.* 



The Gardens, Straffan. FREDERICK BEDFORD, 



ft^ fl^* e^* 



Brompton Stocks.— This variety of stock is sturdy, 

 fairly hardy, and bold in growth. The Brompton Stock 

 is biennial, and succeeds best if sown in May or June 

 in a rather cool situation where the soil is lig-ht and 

 sandy in texture. I find it does best when sown thinly 

 in drills or rows about 6 inches apart. When the seed- 

 ling plants are about 3 inches high they should be 

 thinned out to 6 inches apart in the rows. In about 

 six weeks' time they should be thinned once more, this 

 lime each alternate row taken up, and so leave the 

 remaining plants about a foot apart every way. These 

 plants may be allowed to remain in nursery bed until 

 the following March, when they may be ultimately 

 planted out into the flower border. 



' We are indebted to the Editor of the Gardctifrs C/n-otiMe fir 'om 

 of " block " of above ilhistration. 



The Fruit Garden. 



By GEORGE DOOLAN, Instructor in Fruit Culture, Department of 

 Agriculture. 



ENEMIES — In addition to aphides, referred to in the 

 previous issue of Irish Gardi^NING, fruit growers 

 have many other enemies to fight against. Cater- 

 pillars of the codlin, ermine, and winter moths, and of 

 the gooseberry and currant saw-fly, are very common, 

 and do a lot of injury unless the ti-ees are sprayed with 

 a suitable spraying material- Swift's arsenate of lead 

 is an excellent material to use ; it was recently intro- 

 duced from America, and is sure to be generally used 

 as a spraying mixture when better known. Its advan- 

 tag'es, says an American grower, are, that it is not 

 so liable to biuMi the young foliage as Paris green and 

 other mixtures ; it sticks to the foliage better and longer ; 

 it is the best form in which to use arsenical poison. 

 When prepared and sprayed according to directions no 

 harm is done to the fruit. To check the ravag'es of 

 the above pests it is most important to spray early ; 

 that old and trite saying, " prevention is better than 

 cure," is very true in this case. Arsenate of lead is 

 advertised in Irish Gardening. 



American blight, or woolly aphis, as it is commonly 

 called, is another serious pest, and one most difficult to 

 get rid of when once it gets a hold. It is easily recog- 

 nised by the white cottony substance usually found 

 covering it. Young apple trees should be gone over 

 several times during siunmer and autumn, and wherever 

 the pest is noticed pure paraffin may be applied with an 

 old paint brush, the affected part only to be painted ; 

 this is the best remedy, but in the case of large trees 

 such treatment is not practicable, as the pure paraffin 

 would be liable to get on the foliage and burn it. Such 

 remedies as Bentley's insecticide or Gishurst's com- 

 pound, prepared as directed for American blight, can 

 be used ; a strong syringe is better than a sprayer 

 when dealing with this pest. Winter spraying with 

 caustic soda, &c., also helps to destroy many of the 

 insects. 



GoosKBERRV Saw-fly. — Attacks red currants and 

 gooseberries. A very destructive pest which eats every 

 particle of foliage if not prevented. The grubs eat 

 from the imderside of the leaves, therefore are not 

 noticed until several branches, perhaps, are denuded of 

 their foliage. 



Remedies. — Sprajing with lime water, ov quassia 

 extract, prevents attack for the time being. Swift's 

 arsenate of lead, if applied in time, is the best remedy. 



General Remarks. — If through bad weather or other 

 causes fruit trees were not mulched as recommended in 

 an eai-lier calendar, the work should not be delayed 

 further. Anyone acquainted with fruit growing knows 

 well the advantages of a mulch of good manure ; 

 nothing is so serviceable to fruit trees in dry weather — it 

 protects the tender fruitful fibres and keeps them to the 

 surface. 



Keep the hoe constantly at work during dry weather, 

 it will not allow the weeds time to grow, thus saving 

 labour at a later period. Watch carefully for insect 

 pests, and take measures as soon as possible to check 

 I heir progress. Do not spray when the trees are in 

 blossom ; just wait a little. At end of month, if the 

 grafts are growing well, the clay may be removed ; this 

 must be carefully done. Place a stone at one side of 

 the clay and strike at the other side ; this will break the 

 lump of clay without injuring the union of scion and 

 stock. Tie a stake firmly to the stock to which the 

 young growth must be tied ; this will prevent injm y by 

 birds or wind. 



