XVI. 



IRISH GARDENING. 



Catalogue Reviews. 



Tait's Annual List, 1908. —This is a carefully compiled 

 catalog^ue, in which the plants are shortly but siiccinctl}' 

 described. It includes veg^etables and flowers, and very 

 clear cultural directions are g^iven in each class. It is 

 nicely illustrated. We reproduce (pag^e 28) from this cata- 

 logue one of the pictures — that of the relativelj' new 

 g-iant-flowered poppy from Thibet {Meconopsis integri- 

 folia), "the most striking; introduction of recent years." 

 We happened to pay a visit to the g^ardens of Sir J. 

 Gore-Booth, Hart., at Lissadell about a week ag-o (i6th 

 Jan.), and .saw a plant of this poppy in full bloom in the 

 open g'round. It is a decorative subject, and we draw 

 our readers' attention to its usefulness. 



Eckford's Novelties, 1908. — Sweet pea novelties of 

 course ! and a very pretty and a very interesting- cata- 

 log^ue it is. It is here stated that last year the g^round 

 at Wem uTider cultivation for seed alone lof sweet peas) 

 exceeded 40 acres. The novelties of 1908, 1907 and 1906 

 are fully described, and se\eral of them illustrated. All 

 g^rowers of sweet peas should secure this booklet. 



Walsh's Seeds, igo8, is a larg-e-pag^ed catalog-ue of 

 32 pages, illustrated with half-tone blocks and hand- 

 somely g-ot up in a striking-ly embossed cover. The 

 seeds offered for sale are stated to be very carefully 

 tested as to purity and vitality "before leaving- the 

 premises." This is very important to g-rowers. The 

 compiler recommends " Irish Queen " (of which an illus- 

 tration is given) for exhibition purposes, and says that 

 "the Laxtonian " is the finest dwarf pea "ever in- 

 troduced." Cultural directions are given of each kind 

 of vegetable catalogued. An extensive descriptive list 

 of popular flower seeds is given, including a good col- 

 lection of sweet peas. 



Spring Catalogue of Browne, Thompson & Co. — 

 We have on a previous occasion referred to the care- 

 ful and useful compilations of this Cork firm. The cata- 

 logue is neat, clearly printed, and suitably illustrated, 

 both as regards the vegetable and flower section. 

 Amateurs will find the latter most useful, as it gives all 

 the particulars they want to know after each variety. 

 There are as many as eight pages devoted to the month's 

 work in the vegetable and flower garden. The section 

 on Novelties, of recent introduction (pp. 24-27], might 

 well be consulted by gardeners. 



Jones' Selected Seed, 1908. — A neat booklet of 28 

 pages, in which all the more important vegetables and 

 flowers ai-e descriptively listed. Mr. Jones is himself an 

 enthusiastic gardener and a specialist in certain classes 

 of plants (with dahlias, we believe, he ranks first as an 

 exhibitor in Ireland). Remembering his exhibition dis- 

 plays of cut sweet peas, we turned to pages 15 and 16 to 

 see what he recommended for such purposes, and we 

 advise our readers to consult his lists if the}- intend to 

 compete in sweet pea classes at the forthcoming show. 

 The catalogue is limited to seeds, and contains only 

 references to fruit trees, roses and beddiTig plants, for 

 which the Govvran Nurseries are well known. Mr. Jones 

 offers his services to any correspondent who is in any 

 cultural difficulty. 



Drummond's Garden Seeds, 1908, is a handsomely- 

 produced catalogue of i 10 large pages, printed on plate 

 paper and freely illustrated with photographic repro- 

 ductions of garden plants. It is a catalogue that will 

 interest gardeners and appeal to everyone concerned 

 in growing vegetables and flowers. A large number of 

 the illustrations appear to have been specially engraved 

 for this book. Special attention is drawn to the Scarlet 

 Emperor runner bean, to " Quite Content " marrowfat 

 pea, and the new melon " Eminence." 



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