ÉIRE. AN ROINN TALMHAÍOCHTA (Department of Agriculture). HORTICULTURE AND BEE-KEEPING.

Dublin: Published by The Stationery Office. Government Publications Sale Office, G.P.O. Arcade, Dublin. Price: Two Shillings and Sixpence. [c. 1930s]. 8vo. .pp. 253. Original printed buff wrappers. An attractive survival in original wrappers, evocative of inter-war Irish agricultural policy and rural self-sufficiency initiatives. Wrappers worn and creased with small losses at corners; light spotting internally; paper evenly toned. Good.

A comprehensive handbook issued by the Irish Department of Agriculture covering vegetable cultivation, fruit growing, plant propagation, composting, and an extensive section on bee-keeping. The volume incorporates official leaflets and memoranda (numbers given in brackets throughout the contents), forming a practical compendium for smallholders and commercial growers in the early decades of the Irish Free State.

Sections include detailed guidance on tomatoes, onions, mushroom cultivation, apple storage and grading, pruning of fruit trees and bush fruits, marketing of soft fruits, orchard pests and fungal diseases. The bee-keeping section covers hive management, marketing honey, brood diseases, and acarine (Isle of Wight) disease, with reference to microscopic examination of bees undertaken by the Department.

[L2 5C]