VOL. LV.— No. 3,067. 



SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 1912. 



THE 



GARDENERS 



MAGAZINE 



NOTE OF THE WEEK* 



4- 



Irish Cottagre Gardening: 



structors that has been organised 'by the thing, has been don.^ to encourage the cot- 

 Irish Agricultural Department, and to the tagers and owners of tJie smaller holdings 

 aid rendered by the well-devised demon- 

 stration plots that have been formed in a 

 considcrahle number of districts. Con- 



Within the past twenty years so much siderable ^vssistance has also been rendered 



has been aocoinplished in the development 

 of both the practical and scientific aspects 

 of horticulture in Ireland that those ivho 

 are interested in rural industries have full 

 justification for indulging in a strong feel- 

 ling of gratification. Such an immense 

 amount of go-od work has heen done that 

 those who have been actively engaged in 

 bringing about the great and highly 

 beneficial changes that are every- 

 where manifest might almost be ex- 

 cused were they to sho-w an inclina- 

 tion to assume they might slacken 

 in their efforts ^without appreciable 

 injury to the cause they have so 

 much at heart. During this com- 

 p ar ati vely ^hor t pe r iod w e ha v e 

 seen a complete change in the views 

 that were held with regard to the 

 possibitities of Ireland as a friiit- 

 producing country. A quarter of a 

 century ago few indeed were those 

 who considered the cultivation of 

 the choicer kinds of hardy fruits on 

 commercial lines possible. Bvit 

 many were those who regarded the 

 derelict and practically woi4:hless or- 

 chards then so uumero-us. not 



as 



since 



so numerous, 

 evidence of a lack of enterprise, (but 

 as a proof of a change in the climatic 

 conditions of the country during the 

 period which had elapsed 

 their formation. Now it is gener- 

 ally admitted by those who have 

 given their serious attention to the 

 question that, not only can hardy 

 fruits be grown in open orchards, 

 but, given the necessary knowledge, 

 with such success as to justify the 

 adoption of orchard culture in fruit 



production for market, 

 suit of this 



As the re- 



reversal of opinion , 

 large areas have been planted with 

 the finest of the varieties of hardy 



iruits that thrive m the open, and strenu- 

 ous endeavour has heen, and is, indeed, 

 being made to adopt the most advanced 

 ttiethods of procedure in their management, 

 lu like manner the possibilities of bulb 

 culture has been recognised, and, as so 

 well known to those interested in the bul'b 

 trade, hardy bulbous plants of various 

 kinds are now being largely grown with a 

 full measure of success for commercial pur- 

 poses. Other subjects of interest to horti- 

 culturists are also being successfully culti- 

 vated, 'but for our present purpose it is 

 not necessary to particularise them. The 



improvement in the horticultural aspects of 

 the country is largely due to the activities 

 of the efficient staff of horticultural in- 



by the lister Fruit and Ohrysanthemum 

 Society, which has for several years past 

 carried out a series of competitions in the 

 pruning of orchard trees. Great as the 

 progress of improvement has been, we may 

 hope that, with fuller experience on the 

 part of all who are engaged in -educational 

 work the rate will be materially acceler- 



the 



to beautify the surroundings of their homes 

 with such flowers as would be well within 

 their reacli, and to improve their methods 

 of cropping the areas devoted to vegetables 

 for home use. Cottage gardening can 

 hardly be of less importance in Ireland 

 than in England, and yet it would appear 

 from observations recently made in 

 more northern of the several provinces, 

 that, while immense improvements have 

 been made in cottage gardening in Eng- 

 land during the past quarter of a century, 



the Irish cottage gardens are at the 

 present time in much the same con- 

 dition as they were at the begin- 

 ning of that period. It would, per- 

 haps, be unreasona^ble to expect any 

 material extension in the area avail- 

 able for the cultivation of flowers, 

 but it is difficult to understand tliere 

 should have been no improvement in 

 the utilisation of the available spaces 

 if serious attempts have been made 

 to instruct the occupants in the 

 methods of procedure best adapted 

 to their circumstances. At the pre- 

 sent time, it is possible to travel long 

 distances without seeing a cottage 

 set in a garden worthy of the name. 

 In numberless instances the space 

 available for flowers is not sufficient 



product 



an effective 



MR. P. S. HAYWARD. 



ated. We give expression to this hope 

 because, while the achievements in the 

 past have been such as to afford abundant 

 satisfaction, much v ork of importance re- 

 mains to be done. Private gardens that 

 are under the charge of experienced men 

 are now, as in the past, remarkable for 

 their varied attractions and high keeping, 

 and need not be referred to in this connec- 



display ; hut, surely, if there is room 

 for only half a dozen plants, it is 

 better to fill it with attractive sub- 

 jects that can be readily obtained 

 and easily giown, than to allow it 

 to be overrun with weeds. Again 

 we observed in many cases that 

 where the area was sufficient to form 

 an attractive little flower garden, 

 ■the plants were of an indifferent 

 character, and allowed to so run to- 

 gether as to form an inextricable 

 and certainly not beautiful mass. 

 Vei7 few, indeed, were the gardens 

 in which there was evidence of the 

 owners heing otherwise than ohhvi- 

 ous of the necessity of perio<lic thin- 

 ning and replanting. The present state ot 

 things as regards the floral aspects of cot- 

 tage"" gardening in Ireland is especially to 

 be regretted because of tlie numlber of 

 beautiful plants that can he successfully 

 grown in the country which will not suc- 

 cee<l in England, or only in a few favoured 

 districts. In one garden we saw a hedge 



a highly beneficial influoiice on the transi- 

 tional work that has been acconiphshed 

 outside their boundaries during the last 

 tMO decades. With so much to afford satis- 

 faction in 



connection with the present 



ing a glorious display of flowers, but in 

 hundreds of others this handsome shrub 

 was wholly absent. The elegant Fuchsia 

 Riccartoni enjoys a considerable tlegree of 

 popularity, and is frequently met with, 

 and, in some instances, has been idlowed 



