IRISH GARDENING. 



169 



being- evergreen it is of special value for winter 

 effect. 



It is not the object of this note to give a com- 

 plete list of climbers, but rather to draw our 

 readers' attention to this group of plants in con- 

 nection with the decoration of the home and its 

 surroundings. But we may add the names of 

 the following to those already given. First and 

 foremost reference must be made to the rose, of 

 which we have a wide range of choice, for 

 covering walls and trellises and for clambering 

 over low bushes. Rambling roses such as 

 Aimee Vibert, Fclicite-Perpctiie^ Dundee Ramb- 

 ler, &c., are most suitable for covering un- 

 sightly trees. Then everyone must be familiar 

 with the magnificent colour effect of a well- 

 grown Wistaria on a wall, with its wealth 

 of pendent racemes of delicate, mauve-blue 

 flowers. Wistaria sinenses is particularly effec- 

 tive when in flower if allowed to scramble among 

 the branches of the laburnum, the drooping, 

 blue-tinted recemes of the one harmonising 

 beautifully with the also drooping but golden- 

 coloured racemes of the other. The sweet- 

 scented, white-flowered Vifis viilpiiia is also a 

 splendid and highly-decorative tree climber. 

 Honeysuckle is deservedly a great favourite, 

 and so is jasmine — the latter mainly because 

 it gives such a brave show of bright flowers 

 in the winter. Polygonum ba/dschuanicinn is 

 a climbing plant that ought not to be 

 forgotten. It is a rampant grower, and so 

 floriferous that its foamy panicles of white 

 flowers almost smother its abundant foliage. 

 It cannot be beaten as a decorative covering for 

 a low fence. Lastly, it may be noted that in 

 planting climbers intended to cover trees the 

 best plan perhaps is to place them away from 

 the trunk, under the extremity of the branches, 

 fixing them at first to a stout stake and leading 

 them to the boughs (which should also be 

 attached to the stake to prevent swaying). 

 After they have once established themselves 

 there will be no more care required other than 

 occasional pruning 



5^^ ^^ ^^ 



Why Stored Apples get Sweeter. — Apples, and 

 especially those that ripen late, usually contain a certain 

 amount of starch when harvested. This starch gradually 

 gets changed to sugar through the action of a ferment 

 developed within the living cells of the fruit, the rapidity 

 of the change depending upon the variety and the mode 

 of storing. The acid also decreases (to a third per cent, 

 in tested cases). These facts, together with the con- 

 centration of the soluble matter due to loss of moisture 

 by evaporation, accounts for the increase in sweetness 

 of stored apples. With respect to certain varieties used 

 in the manufacture of cider, it has been found that in the 

 majority of cases the ripe fruit contained no starch, 

 and that the specific gravity and the amount of acid, 

 sugar, and total solids decreased during storage. In 

 the few cases in which starch was present this substance, 

 as well as the acid, decreased, while there was a slight 

 increase in the sugar content and in the specific gravity. 



Current Topics. 



By Peter Brock, Orchard Terrace, Enniskillen. 



THE long spell of dark, wet weather, from 24th 

 August till the end of September, had a retarding 

 effect on the swelling of late apples. The opening 

 days of October, however, were all that could be desired 

 for finishing sorts like Bramley which, although good 

 generally, have not attained the size that in August 

 appeared probable they would reach at pulling time. 

 It is everywhere noticeable that very few fruits of 

 Bramley drop during such gales as experienced this 

 autumn. For this reason it makes a capital shelter for 

 more delicate varieties. It might also with advantage 

 be utilised in many places as a shelter for houses. 

 Planted in block at about twenty feet apart each way, 

 or if in a single line at fifteen feet apart, and given good 

 cultivation in the way of top-dressing and keeping them 

 clean for the first ten years, they grow up quickly, and 

 are not only more profitable and ornamental, but they 

 afford a more effective shelter than the mop-headed 

 and bare stemmed ash so often met with. 



Now that the crops have been secured, many owners 

 of orchards will be reckoning their profits for the season, 

 and reflecting on all they did and did not, and might 

 have done, in the way of spraying and cultivating and 

 laying plans for the future 



The quantity and quality of fruit and regularity of 

 croppings depend so much on attending to the require- 

 ments at the roots that for the past three years I have 

 noted the effects of rational treatment on a tree of 

 Bramley's Seedling near Enniskillen. This tree is on the 

 crab stock, and was planted eighteen years ago on 

 heavy and rather retentive soil — if it was in grass there 

 would be more rushes than grass to-day. The tree has 

 been allowed to grow without restriction further than 

 shortening an occasional branch to preserve the balance 

 and keeping the branches thinned to admit light and air 

 to all parts of the tree. It has not missed yielding a 

 good crop for the past twelve years, and the fruit is so 

 even in size they require no grading, being practically 

 all first grade. Its dimensions are — Height of stem, 

 3 feet 10 inches ; girth of ditto, 30J inches ; height from 

 ground to top oi highest branches, 17 feet 6 inches ; 

 diameter of branches, the points of which nearly touch 

 the ground when loaded with fruit, 24 feet. To see 

 this tree at dusk from a distance, when loaded with 

 fruit, it presents the appearance of a big umbrella stuck 

 in the ground. The crops for the past three seasons, 

 exclusive of unmarketable fruits, have weighed as 

 follows :- In 1906, 3 cwt. 6st. ; 1907, 4 cwt. i st. ; 1908, 

 5 cwt. 7 St. Total, 13 cwt. 6 st. The quality of the 

 fruit sells it locally at remunerative prices. However, 

 if sent to distant markets the value would be approxi- 

 mately 15/- per cwt. net — say, ^10 6s. 2d. The tree is 

 annually winter-sprayed with lime and paraffin, and 

 gets about as much manure as would be required to 

 grow good crops of cabbage. The foliage and fruit- 

 buds look as promising this autumn for a good crop 

 next year as I have ever seen them. Needless to say, 

 this tree is the pride of Phil Johnston, who is unsparing 

 in his attentions with the hoe on this and all other trees 

 under his care;. 



Such forcible demonstrations or arguments are of 

 little value to some who consider themselves in- 

 terested in fruit growing, as I have under obser- 

 vation hundreds of trees the owners of which place 

 more value on the hay grown round them than the 

 fruit they produce. Trees grown under such adverse 

 conditions are stunted from the start, and take a life- 

 time to attain a fair size ; besides, they seldom yield full 

 crops, and may be compared to the ill-fed animal, always 

 more predisposed to attacks of insects and disease than 

 the properly fed beast. 



