AngUft £8, 1890. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
S INCE my last notes appeared in these pages over 1G00 miles 
have been traversed in the cause of horticulture, and, as was 
indicated in the article mentioned, upon the date of its publication 
the writer was wandering in the G-reen Isle through farms, 
orchards, and gardens. The objects of my mission were twofold— 
first on behalf of the British Fruit Growers’ Association, in com¬ 
pany with Mr. Gordon, to make careful observations respecting “ the 
present condition and prospects of fruit culture in Ireland and 
secondly, to see as many of the best gardens as time would permit. 
Ostensibly a holiday, the journey really involved a considerable 
amount of hard work and much thought in formulating a pro¬ 
gramme. Change of occupation and change of scene are often, how¬ 
ever, more beneficial than mere idle rest, as I have proved on many 
occasions, the present amongst the number. Having travelled 
throughout the length and breadth of the land, it may be imagined 
■that my note-book is well charged with records destined to be 
transferred to the Journal pages, but in the present introductory 
-article generalities can only be dealt with. Full details of the fruit 
observations will be given in the official report to be published by 
the Association, while the gardens visited will be described in early 
issues of the Journal of Horticulture. 
Ireland is a comparatively unknown country to English gar¬ 
deners, for though the larger shows attract exhibitors and others 
to Scotland, it is so rare that any event of this kind is sufficiently 
important to induce a journey to the sister isle, that the country 
may be said to be horticulturally forg(ftten. There was a time 
when nurserymen’s travellers used to regard their Irish journeys as 
amongst the most profitable they undertook, and through them we 
occasionally heard of what was being done in gardens and gardening. 
The times have changed ; very few commercial horticulturists now 
visit Ireland, partly, doubtless, because money has not been so 
freely expended in gardens there during recent years, but mainly 
for the reason that the home nurserymen, like the Messrs. Dicksons 
of Belfast and Newtownards, McClelland of Newry, and the Hart- 
lands of Cork have so extended the scope of their respective 
businesses that there is little room tor outsiders except dealers in 
specialties. A few gardeners who have lived in Ireland, or have 
friends there, pay an occasional visit, but they seldom venture on 
an extended tour, and if it were not for our writing friends in the 
■country itself very little would now be heard of Irish gardening 
news. Yet although the gardens are fewer and more widely 
placed, as good practice can be seen there as anywhere in Great 
Britain, and no thoughtful man could take a journey through the 
best districts and gardens without learning some useful lessons. 
Apart from all political considerations (and horticultural papers 
have no politics) farming and gardening are in many ways very 
different in Ireland from what they are in Britain. Except in a 
few districts the rainfall is largely in excess of the average in this 
country, reaching as high as 45 or even 50 inches as an average, which 
is almost tropical, and the effects upon vegetation and cultivated 
land generally can be readily understood. This, too, as regards 
most districts is not confined to certain seasons of the year, but 
means continual almost daily drenching showers, which with the 
attendant cloud and consequent diminution of direct sun heat 
would seem to indicate a deficiency of ripening power that would 
have marked effects on seed and fruit bearing plants and trees. 
No. 531,—Vol. NXI., Third Series. 
1 PTQ 
l o 
i But another agency comes into operation—the uniform mildness 
of the climate, and as regards trees the want of ripening influence 
is not so seriously felt as might be imagined. Still it is a difficulty 
that requires consideration, and some of the best examples of fruit 
culture are found in open exposed situations upon the eastern side 
of the island. The effect of such a rainfall upon the fertility of 
the soil must be great, and it is quite certain that in many districts 
where the land has deteriorated in productiveness it is due to the 
fact that but little is added to restore the fertility exhausted by 
the crops or washed out by the rain. 
It is a common idea that Ireland is so largely composed of 
mountain and morass that the area of land suitable for cultivation 
is extremely small ; as a fact, out of about 20,000,000 acres forming 
the total area of the country only 5,000,000 are cultivated, and 
judging from my observations not half of that land is employed to 
the best advantage, while the area of cultivated land could be 
largely increased. A large portion of the unoccupied land is, of 
course, quite unfitted for farming or gardening in any form, and 
it would be a waste of money and labour to attempt reclaiming 
many swamps or bogs and rocky wastes ; but there are deserted or 
thinly populated districts comprising land that could be easily 
rendered as fertile as any in England. It is remarkable, but the 
same thing is seen in Britain—that most of the lowest rented land 
is the worst cultivated and gives the worst returns, not because the 
soil itself is bad, but because insufficient capital and labour are 
expended upon it to insure profitable crops. Energy, industry, 
and enterprise give similar results in Ireland to those secured by 
the exercise of those qualities in other countries, and examples of 
successful cultivation can be found in nearly every county, from 
Londonderry and Antrim in the north, to Cork and Kerry in the 
south ; but they are not so numerous as they should be, or as 
they might be expected to be, when the effects of skilful labour 
are so apparent. 
In the north of Ireland we see a greater variety of crops— 
Potatoes, Oats, Barley, Wheat, and Turnips well grown, the land 
clean, and in many cases the farming would compare with the best 
in England. Flax, however, is there the staple of the agricultural 
crops, 100,000 acres in the province of Ulster alone being devoted 
to it, though in the three other provinces together the total does 
not exceed 2000 acres. Flax is an exhausting crop, but it is 
generally sown with Clover or Grass, is pulled in August, and 
followed by pasture for a year or two. The cultivation, pulling, 
steeping, and preparation for the mills employ a number of people, 
while the linen factories and bleaching establishments provide a 
still further important industry in the neighbourhood of Belfast 
and several other towns in the north. Flax is a fairly profitable 
crop, but some farmers complain that their returns are not so good 
as they were formerly ; on the other hand, I met some who admit 
that combined with other crops it enables them to gain a com¬ 
fortable living. 
One point strikes a visitor who happens to travel through 
Ireland about the time the grass is cut for hay, and that is the 
enormous return obtained ; the fields early in August were thickly 
studded with huge haycocks more like small ricks than such as we 
are accustomed to see. It was also strange to see men and women 
tossing the hay with their hands, and more than one intelligent 
man assured me it was too heavy to use forks. Owing to the 
uncertain weather and frequent rain the hay has to be left out much 
longer than with us, and this must have a deteriorating effect on 
its quality. On some estates grass silos have been tried and proved 
very satisfactory in wet seasons. A run through the country gives 
a good idea how the term “ Green Isle ” has been obtained, for the 
fresh green of the grass is very noticeable, and the proportionate 
acreage is great in many districts. 
Potatoes constitute such an important crop that they demand 
a word or two of reference in these notes, and it is deplorable 
that the rumours as to the prevalence of disease in the South are 
No. 2187 .—Yol. LXXXIII., Old Series. 
