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IRISH GARDENING. 



"IRISH GARDENING." 



an illustrated monthly. 

 Offices-53 Upper Sackville Street, Dublin. 



Publishing: Date. — First day of each month. 



Subscription. — 3/- per annum, post tree. 



Editorial. — All Editorial Communications, copy, and photographs 

 should be addressed to "The Editor." 



Business Communications. — All letters regarding Subfcriptions, 

 Advertisements, and other business matters must be addressed to 

 " The Manager." 



Wholesale Agents. — Newsagents will please send their ordtrs for 

 Copies to either Messrs. Eason & Sons, Dublin and Belfast ; Messrs. 

 M. H. Gill & Son, Dublin; Messrs. Robb & Co., Belfast; or Messrs. 

 News Bros., Coik. 



London Agent.— Mr. G. Vickers, Angel Court, Strand, London. 



Remittances. — Postal orders, cheques, &c., should be crossed and 

 made payable to The Manager, " Irish Gardening." 



Fruit Prospects (Ireland) 



1908. 



IN another part of the journal we gfive a 

 detailed report on the fruit prospects of 

 the present season throughout the four 

 provinces of Ireland. We desire to express our 

 sincere thanks to the numerous correspondents 

 who so courteously and so promptly responded 

 to our request for information. Mr. W. S. 

 Irving', who, as Departmental Inspector of Fruit 

 Plots, has imique opportunities for making 

 himself acquainted with the existing condition 

 of our orchards, has very kindly tabulated the 

 results of the various reports, and, in addition, 

 has drawn up the following summary for the 

 covmtry as a whole : — 



Though we had a very wet, dull autumn last 

 year, the wood of fruit trees and bushes ripened 

 up well, and formed fruit buds to a greater 

 extent than most fruit growers had anticipated. 

 The fruit crop prospects in the early spring were 

 all that could be desired by growers in general, 

 and they had hopes of securing very good crops 

 of the various kinds of fruit. 



These hopes were blighted by the very severe 

 periods of intense cold of from lo degrees to 14 

 degrees of " frost " on the nights of April 23rd, 

 24th and 25th, which caused great destruction 

 to the blossoms of pears, plums, currant and 

 gooseberries, which were then more or less in full 

 flower. As the apple blossoms were as yet un- 

 expanded it was thought they at least would be 

 quite safe, but a little later, upon examination, 

 it was discovered that many had been killed 

 even in the bud stage, and as a matter of fact 

 never opened at all. 



Apples are average, or perhaps above average, 

 in general. Old orchards will as a rule be 

 below average, many of the blossoms being 

 killed in the bud by frost, and others by insects. 

 Frost undoubtedly does a lot of damage to the 

 apple crop, but in Counties Armagh and 

 Fermanagh, and in the Blackwater and Suir 



Valley districts, we firmly believe that much more 

 damage was done to the apple blossom by the 

 apple sucker and the apple blossom weevil. 



Pears and Plums are a very poor crop in 

 general. They seem to have suffered most 

 from the frost at the end of April. A few wall 

 trees here and there are bearing a fair crop of 

 fruit. 



GoosEBERRiKS are a bad crop in general ; all 

 the earliest flowers were killed just as they 

 were setting fruit. Young bushes are bearing 

 an average crop, but old bushes are much 

 below the average. Gooseberry saw-fly has 

 done a lot of damage to the foliage this season, 

 while many of the correspondents report the 

 presence of American gooseberry mildew. 



Currants will be good in general, though in 

 some cases the blacks will be below the average, 

 as many of the berries dropped just after 

 setting. 



Cherries — except in the Gormanstown and 

 the Strawberry Beds (Lucan) districts — are not 

 extensively grown, being chiefly confined to 

 walled-in gardens. Though they flowered well 

 they have in general set below the average. 

 Morellos have set better than the sweet 

 varieties. 



Raspberries will be well up to the average. 

 In exposed positions they suffered from the 

 effects of frost, the young canes being killed 

 back, some to a length of one and a half feet. 



Strawberries seem to be the redeeming 

 feature in our fruit crop this year, as there will 

 be a good crop in almost every plantation, 

 though it will be late, and may be expected to 

 be in full swing about the end of June. If dry 

 weather continues the fruit will be firm and of 

 first rate quality. The very early flowers were 

 destroyed by frost, some growers wrongly 

 believing that they were destroyed by fungi. 



Insects have been very prevalent this spring, 

 especially green-fly, on plums and gooseberries ; 

 and gooseberry saw-fly is reported from almost 

 every county as having done considerable 

 damage. Tortrix moths, winter moth, codlin 

 moth, apple sucker, apple blossom weevil, and 

 black currant mite are also reported from 

 almost every district, and it behoves fruit 

 growers to do everything within their power to 

 check the ravages of these pests. 



^*' ^* c^^ 



Mr. Edward Knowldin has been appointed Secretary 

 to the Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland. 



The East Wicklow Horticultural Society hold their 

 Annual Show at Greystones on the 2gth of the present 

 month. Copies of the Schedule may be had on applica- 

 tion to Mr. J. B. Wills, Hon. Secretary. 



The Newtownards Horticultural Society have 

 issued their Prize Schedule in connection with the Show 

 to be held on the 3rd of September next. The Secretary 

 is Mr. David Orr, Victoria Avenue, Belfast. 



