ArsiL 1, 1870. J 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



79 



says that it is " not a native of England," that it is 

 " supposed to have been brought from Germany," 

 and is never found wild. This is one reason why it 

 is not likely to produce much ripe seed ; but Dr. 

 Hunter adds : " I could, never observe any seeds 

 upon this sort." Grindon in his "British and 

 Garden Botany " says of it : " Central and Southern 

 and Eastern Europe, and Western Asia, are its 

 aboriginal localities, and although apparently wild 

 in England, it is only from long residence. A good 

 test of a plant being really indigenous to a given 

 country is its ability to multiply itself there 

 naturally from seed, or without the assistance of 

 man. This power is possessed by the Ulmus cam- 

 pestris only in a very slight degree." 



But I have asked the opinion of several of the 

 principal nurserymen in England. I am not at 

 liberty to mention their names, but they are men 

 of well-known reputation. I asked them the 

 following questions : — 



Does the so-called English Elm {Ulmus cam- 

 pestris), in your experience, ripen seed in England ? 

 If so, in the North as well as in the South ? 

 Does it do so generally and freely ? 

 If seed be procurable, why do nurserymen propa- 

 gate it by grafting on to stocks of the so-called 

 Scotch Elm (Ulmus montaua) ? 



My first correspondent answered me as follows : — 

 " In respect to the English Elm bearing seed, I have 

 never seen it do so, nor have I heard of it doing so. 

 If we could procure the English Elm from seed, it 

 would be more reasonable in price than it is, and 

 save poor nurserymen a deal of trouble in grafting 

 and budding." 



An answer from a very large firm came to me this 

 morning. It runs as follows: — "It very rarely 

 ripens seed in England ; but in our experience it has 

 done so in the South, near Wimbledon, where we 

 remember, many years ago, seeds having been blown 

 from some old trees and brairding freely in an old 

 kitchen garden. We do not know of any instance 

 in the North. It ripens its seed freely in the South 

 of Europe, aud some parts of Asia, where it is indi- 

 genous ; whence we procure seeds and raise large 

 quantities of seedlings every year nearly." They 

 add that " seedlings are of much slower growth than 

 grafted trees ; not so soon marketable ; and often 

 produce variation in habit and foliage." 



I think I need add no more to show that I was 

 justified in saying that Ulmus campestris very rarely 

 perfected its seed in England. 



Robert Holland. 

 March Uh } 1870. 



" American Naturalist."— The first number of 

 the fourth volume of the American Naturalist has 

 just reached us. It is quite up to the standard of 

 its predecessors, and we wish it every success. 



THE CULTIVATION OF MUSHROOMS 

 FROM SPAWN. 



TV/TUSHROOMS are grown artificially in hotbeds 

 - L * J - in different ways, and we proceed to indicate 

 the means generally adopted, and the precautions 

 necessary to be observed : — 



1st. The preparation of the manure destined to 

 form the hotbed. 



2nd. The formation and management of the bed. 



PREPARATION OF THE MANURE. 



A very important matter is this, and on its judi- 

 cious management success entirely depends. Nearly 

 all the failures to procure mushrooms arise from 

 ignorance on this point. It may be performed in all 

 seasons, but success is more certain in spring and 

 autumn than at other times. 



Take good horse-manure proportionate to the 

 number of hotbeds required, giving preference to 

 that from draught or working horses. Draw the 

 fork through it to extract the long straw and hay, 

 and take care to remove dirt or any other unsuitable 

 substance. 



Let the ground selected for forming the bed be 

 smooth and fresh, and be protected from the incur- 

 sions of poultry. On it deposit the manure in a 

 heap four feet high. Length and width optional. 



After well pressing or stamping, leave it level, but 

 with a surface like the markings on a millstone. 

 If in summer, and the weather be dry and hot, wet 

 the heap abundantly ; in the contrary case, do not 

 water at all. The manure should neither be dry nor 

 too moist. At the end of eight or ten days, when 

 it has fermented briskly (which is known by the 

 white colour of the interior, and is even noticeable 

 on the surface), the whole heap should be turned 

 and reconstructed on the same spot, taking care to 

 place all the manure that was on the outside in the 

 interior of the heap, together with any portion that 

 may not have undergone equal fermentation. The 

 bed must again remain eight or ten days, at the end 

 of which time it will have gained nearly as much 

 heat as at first. Again it must be turned as pre- 

 viously ; and, in about five or six days, the manure 

 acquires the degree of mildness requisite. 



It is not always easy to judge when the proper 

 condition has been reached, but it is essential ; and 

 this it is which makes practice almost indispensable ; 

 for on proper discernment at this stage rests the 

 ultimate success of the bed. 



When the manure has become odourless, is of a 

 brownish colour, binds well, is soft, and on being 

 pressed does not give out any water, then it may be 

 considered good. If it will not bind, or is plashy 

 and wet, it has not arrived at a suitable state. In 

 the first instance it must be moderately moistened 

 aud turned about, but in the second the superabun- 



