September 12, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



213 



man, woman, and child was given eight acres of land. They 

 were introduced to Adare by Colonel Quin and his successor, Sir 

 Richard Quin, first Earl of Dunraven. 



We now pass along the Limerick carriage-drive until we 

 reach the spot where the original entrance-gate was, and 

 stand before the magnificent pile of the Franciscan abbey. 

 This ruin is in excellent preservation, and so skilfully were 

 the necessary repairs done for the preservation of this fine 

 abbey, that it would require an expert to be able to state that 

 the building is not as it stood four centuries ago. This 

 abbey was partly built by Thomas Earl of Kildare. in 1464, in 

 honour of St. Michael. The Earl of Kildare only erected the 

 church part and a fourth part of the cloister. He also be- 

 stowed a bell of great value, and two silver chalices. His 

 Countess (who was a daughter of James Earl of Desmond), 

 laid the foundation stone of this abbey. James Earl of Des- 

 mond was attainted in a parliament held at Drogheda, and 

 executed "for alliance and fosterage with the Dish," in 



1467. This abbey was added to by many devout Irishmen, 

 among whom we find the names O'Sullivan, O'Dea, Fitz- 

 mauriee, Fitzgibbon, and John, son of the last-named Earl 

 of Desmond, all of whom were buried within the walls. During 

 the wars of the great Earl of Desmond the friars were ejected 

 from the abbey, and when Queen Elizabeth bestowed it on 

 a soldier of fortune named Wallop, he allowed it to go to 

 ruin. The abbey, however, became again tenanted by monks, 

 but during the civil wars in the time of Charles I. it was 

 said to have been burned by an Earl of Inchiquin, called 

 " Murragh of the Conflagrations." The gateway on the south 

 side is the only one standing, and is in tolerably good order. 

 The ruins of the " old mill " are quite distinct, and in the garth 

 stands a venerable Yew tree of large size. Close to the east 

 end of this abbey there is a stump of an Ash tree, under which 

 John Wesley is said to have preached to the Palatines, and 

 the Wesleyans continue to hold an annual meeting on the 

 same spot. This ruin covers about two acres of ground. 



IXORAS. 



This popular genus of Rubiacere includes amongst its mem- 

 bers some of the most gorgeous plants which serve to orna- 

 ment our stoves, and contributes some of the finest subjects 

 for the decoration of the exhibition tent which it is possible 

 to set up. A consi- 

 derable number of 

 species are now in 

 cultivation, all of 

 which I believe are 

 natives of the East 

 Indies and the is- 

 lands of the Indian 

 Archipelago ; but in 

 addition, the ranks 

 have been consider- 

 ably augmented by 

 the production of 

 numerous varieties 

 through the skill of 

 the hybridiser in 

 our gardens. It is 

 not my intention to 

 take the whole ge- 

 nus in detail, beau- 

 tiful though they 

 undoubtedly are, 

 but merely to call 

 attention to the two 

 fine varieties which 

 I am enabled to 

 figure through the 

 kindness of Mr. E. 

 S. Williams, of Up- 

 per Holloway, who 

 distributed them to 

 the public in the 

 spring of 1871. 



Ixora Williamsii 

 (Jig. 1), is an espe- 

 cial favourite with 

 me, and is, I think, 

 destined to become 

 a universal] favour- 

 ite. It is of free 

 habit ; the foliage 

 is bold and stout in 

 texture; the trusses 

 are very large, the 

 colour most pleas- 

 ing, and they are 

 produced in great 



profusion even on small plants. I have now young plants of 

 this variety which are only 8 inches high, and they are bearing 

 one and two trusses of bloom upwards of 6 inches in diameter, 

 whilst the individual flowers are upwards of 2 inches long and 

 of a charming shade of reddish salmon. Every person who 

 sees this variety is delighted with it, and I have no doubt 

 that it will become a favourite exhibition plant. 



The next variety, Prince of Orange {fig. 2), is an equally 

 profuse bloomer with the one dedicated to Mr. Williams, flow- 



Ixora William6ii. 



ering when quite as young ; indeed I have this kind with two 

 and three trusses of bloom on plants not much over 7 inches 

 high. This very floriferous habit, combined with the distinct 

 colour, which is rich orange red, with a tinge of violet on the 



limb, renders it at 

 once distinct and 

 beautiful ; at the 

 same time it is but 

 fail' to add that 

 the trusses are not 

 quite so large as in 

 fig. 1 , yet they mea- 

 sure some 4 inches 

 diameter even 

 upon these small 

 plants. 



All Ixoras de- 

 light in strong heat 

 and a humid at- 

 mosphere ; but the 

 notion which some 

 have that they will 

 not grow well with- 

 out being plunged 

 in bottom heat is 

 quite eiToneous. I 

 find my plants 

 thrive well in good 

 peat and fibrous 

 loam with a little 

 sand added, using 

 about two parts of 

 the peat to one of 

 loam. The drain- 

 age should be kept 

 clear, as they de- 

 light in an abun- 

 dant supply of 

 water. If wanted 

 for blooming at the 

 end of May and be- 

 ginning of June, I 

 like to prune and 

 start' them early 

 in January, whilst 

 those for later flow- 

 ering may be left 

 until • about the 

 middle of March ; 

 on the contrary, 

 those plants which 

 are not wanted to flower at any stated time, but the flowers 

 of which are welcome whenever they appear, will need but a 

 very limited period of rest. 



Ixoras are peculiarly liable to the attacks of mealy bug and 

 thrips ; the former becomes a pest, and presents a very un- 

 sightly appearance if allowed to get into the trusses of bloom — 

 in fact, when the flowers have expanded it is scarcely possible 

 to clean them out without injuring the appearance of the truss. 

 A little care and attention will, however, keep off this pest of 



Fig. 2, Ixora Prince of Orange. 



