BULB-PRODUCTION IN IRELAND 83 



east of Dublin the little fishing village of Rush stands in 

 the midst of a wild and almost desolate sandy plateau, 

 across which the wind sometimes sweeps with terrible 

 violence, its force in no way checked by the few trees 

 that alone break the vista of the landscape. A hopeless 

 sort of spot it might appear to the casual observer to be, 

 and a spot where even fishing does not thrive, owing, 

 it is said, to the destructive influence of the steam 

 trawlers. 



But in the year 1895 it occurred to Mr. James 

 Robertson, of the firm of Hogg and Robertson, seeds- 

 men, etc., of St. Mary Street, Dublin, that Rush would 

 be an especially suitable place in which to start some 

 experiments in bulb-growing. The sandy, limestone 

 soil that slopes down from the mountains to the sea- 

 shore is suitable for root crops, and, although the rain- 

 fall at Rush is exceptionally low, there is an abundance 

 of subsoil moisture, the water standing at only a few 

 inches below the surface during the late autumn and 

 winter. Early potatoes have, in fact, long been grown 

 at Rush, and the natural capabilities of the soil have 

 been increased by an abundant manuring, thanks to the 

 ample supplies of seaweed. 



These conditions seemed to Mr. Robertson to favour 

 his proposed experiment, and he was the more disposed 

 to make it, apart from purely commercial reasons, partly 

 because he wanted to add, so far as he could, to the 

 minor industries of distressful Ireland, and partly 

 because he also was inspired by the wish to ' keep at 

 home money which would otherwise go to the 

 foreigner.' So, acquiring some of the most suitable 

 land, he started the enterprise, overcoming the strong- 

 wind difficulty by constructing earth embankments 

 and low mud walls, and also planting hedges of oval- 

 leaved privet and other hardy shrubs between the 



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