IRISH GARDENING. 



85 



Staking Plants.— The importance of stakino- plants 

 in the herbaceous border is recog-nised b_v all g-ood 

 gardeners. Why should we stake? First, under g-ood 

 culture many plants grow fast and grow tall, until they 

 bear such a weight of foliage and flowers that they are 

 unable to stand up against the extra weig-ht that heavy 

 rain showers entail or against the extra strain of heavy 

 winds ; they flop over, and become spoiled as objects 

 of beauty. But, apart from this, stakes are very help- 

 ful to tall, rapidly growing herbaceous plants. In a 

 state of nature the 

 tissues of a plant 

 readily respond to 

 the various strains 

 and stresses im- 

 posed upon them. 

 If a stem, for ex- 

 ample, is sub- 

 jected to a con- 

 stant stress the 

 tissues thicken 

 and strengthen to 

 correspond, so 

 that they are able 

 to bear the strain 

 required of them — 

 in other words, 

 the plants will 

 g- r o w firm and 

 sturdy with a 

 minimum of soft, 

 sappy tissue, 

 which means that 

 much of the en- 

 ergy and avail- 

 able food of the 

 plant is spent in 

 g-iving strength to 

 the stem, so that 

 the other energies 

 of the plant will be 

 correspondingly 

 reduced. Now, 

 staking relieves 

 the plant of any 

 necessity to form 

 extra strong 

 woody stems; 

 being artificially 

 supported it does 

 not feel the strain, 

 and therefore the 

 stimulus being- 

 absent the plant 

 spends its saved 

 energies in devel- 

 oping- leaves and 

 flowers. Most 

 amateurs stake 

 very badly and 

 i n a r t i s ti c a 1 1 y. 

 They either bunch 

 the stems round a 

 central stake or else they use stakes unnecessarily long. 

 The first method is barbarous, unhealthy to the plant, 

 and should never be practised. As to the second, it is 

 as unnecessary as it is extravagant and ugly to use a 

 six-foot stake to support a five-feet tall plant. A four- 

 foot rod will support it just as well. Stake early, as 

 this will not only g-ive the helpful support that en- 

 courages straight vigorous growth of the stem, but 

 the growing- plant will soon eff'ectively cover the 

 support with its mass of foliag-e. 



" Make yourself nests of pleasant thoughts." — RMskin. 



G 



Galega Hartlandi 



Goat's Rue (Galega). 



OAT'S RUE is a tall herbaceous perennial with 

 compound leaves and lateral and terminal 

 racemes or white or blue flowers. It is a 

 leguminous plant. The genus (Galega) includes three 

 species, having a distribution through southern Europe 

 and western Asia. One species is sometimes cultivated 

 as a fodder plant. The name oi the genus comes from 

 a Greek word meaning milk, as its herbage is supposed 



to increase the 

 flow of milk in the 

 goat. Hence also 

 the common 

 English name of 

 "Goat's Rue." 

 The plants are 

 very ornamental, 

 especially when 

 grown in masses. 

 We give an 

 illustration of an 

 interesting vari- 

 ation of Galega 

 that originated 

 from seed in Mr. 

 Hartland's nur- 

 sery grounds at 

 Ard-Cairn a few 

 years ago. Its 

 discovery was 

 due to the quick 

 eye of the late Mr. 

 F. W. Burbridge, 

 who drew atten- 

 tion to the dis- 

 tinctive variation 

 on the occasion of 

 one of his visits to 

 Ard-Cairn. It is 

 known as Galega 

 Hartlandi. One 

 pleasing peculiar- 

 ity of the plant is 

 that when the cur- 

 rent j'ear's shoots 

 appear in spring 

 the leaves have a 

 variegated silver 

 colouration, 

 which is main- 

 tained until the 

 middle of May, 

 when they grad- 

 ually assume the 

 normal green 

 appearance. The 

 flowers are bi- 

 coloured, abund- 

 ant!)' produced, 

 and have the 

 delicious scent of 

 the wild furze. 

 The Goat's Rue delights in a rich, loamy soil and a 



sunny situation. ^ mt. ti. 



^* t^^ ^^ 



Aspidistra Lurida V^arigata (The Parlour Palm).— 

 This is one of the most popular plants for room decoration 

 in cultivation. It is excellently adapted for rooms, halls, 

 &c. Although of slow growth it increases in beauty 

 with age, forming quite a leafy mass of beautiful dark 

 green and striped foliage. They require a liberal 

 amount of water in dry weather. An occasional spray- 

 ing with soft soap solution is necessary if the plants are 

 to be kept in a healthy condition. — W. H, 



