28 



• • GARDENING. 



Oct. /, 



found in every old book on mushroom 

 growing we have seen, but we pa\' no 

 attention whatever to it. It we think the 

 spawn is bad we won't plant it at all, 

 and if we think it is good we will plant, it. 

 and no matter whether it shows "thriv- 

 ing" or running at the end of eight or ten 

 days after planting we case the bed and 

 hope for mushrooms. E.xperimenting as 

 you suggest would be throwing time 

 awa\'. Take a brick of spawn into moist 

 genial quarters, j'ou needn't have a hot- 

 bed, just lay it around anywhere, say on 

 a hillock of gently warm manure in a 

 corner with a little straw over it to arrest 

 atmospheric condensation which might 

 rot the spawn. If the spawn is good it 

 will soon run in the brick. In the Paris 

 Caves the new beds are mostly all 

 spawned with working spawn taken 

 from other beds; in such a case the spawn 

 is sure to be alive. Still we prefer the 

 dormant spawn, if good, for heavy crops 

 and heavy mushrooms. 



Miscellaneous. 



flINTS FROM NATURE. 



Sometimes what might be termed acci- 

 dental force of circumstances produces 

 eft'ects so charming in its way as to cre- 

 a e well deserved admiration. I came 

 across a "combination" the other day 

 that set me thinking. In an old and un- 

 kempt front yard was a large spruce, 

 with a spread of branches of some twenty 

 fee', 1 he lower ones sweeping the ground 

 Midway between the trunk and the tips 

 of the iawer branches, a li tie group of 

 the Allegheny mountain fringe (Adiumia 

 cirrhosa) had made iishome. You can 

 all call 'O mind the distinctive character- 

 istics of an old well clothed evergreen 

 branch in its almost feather-like shape, 

 and then imagine this vine climbing up 

 through the spreading laterals and cov- 

 ering them like a mantle of lace. The del- 

 icate fern-like foliage of the vine, in its 

 lighter color and graceful lines, was en- 

 hanced in its beauty by the contrast with 

 the darker green of the bristly "needles." 

 All this was heightened by the sheet of 

 delicate pink flowers that seemed lo fairly 

 cover the whole space. All indica ions 

 pointed to the fact that the vine was 

 happy. It was not planted there, but 

 sonic wandering seed had started the set- 

 tlement, and the natural condi ions being 

 in accordance with the requirements of 

 the species it staid, reproduced its kind 

 and will so continue. Compare that vine 

 in the situation described, where every 

 gentle breeze sets it swaying to and fro in 

 unison with its chosen support, with one 

 that is harnessed to an unyielding trellis 

 and bid be happy and content. I always 

 feel son-y for some vines I occasionally 

 see. They remind me of a dog chained in 

 the hot sun. Oh! if both could only get 

 away somewhere and have a run. 



I ndoubtedly many readers of Gardkn- 

 i.NG can reproduce this scene. The vine 

 has been known and cultivated since 

 1788, and is a biennial, but under proper 

 conditions will sow itself, thus when once 

 es ablished the grotip can be considered 

 perennial. Use its foliage for bouque s. 

 After you have chosen the tree under 

 which to sow the seeds see tha i he soil 

 for at least one foot deep and three or 

 more in circumference is loose and friable, 

 for it will not re-sow itself in hard clay 

 soil. Sowany 'ime — fall or spring — and 

 see that the vines have a fair amount of 

 moisture. Shade and moisture and free- 



UMt- ^ 



Pittsburgh, Pa. 



\\. c. 



BEftUTIFUL IVIES. 



C. W. K., also writes: ' While on a trip 

 abroad several years since, I saw in Eng- 

 land and Wales, several varieties of varie- 

 gated ivy growing wild, some were green 

 and white, while others had shades of red 

 and brown most delightfully blended. In 

 Germany I saw an ivy vine whose stem 

 was 8 inches in diameter, and it had 

 leaves 8 inches across. The vine covered 

 hundreds of square yards of surface and 

 was evidently very aged." 



Many of these ivies are very beautiful. 

 On tree trunks and walls in moist, shel- 

 tered, shady places even as far north as 

 Boston we know of some of the commoner 

 ones doing fairly well, but it isn't till we 

 come to Philadelphia that they may be 

 said to flourish. On north-facing walls, 

 etc., at Washington they seem at home. 

 At Dosoris we have a good many kinds 

 (thanks to our good friends William R. 

 Smith andjohn Saul, both of Washington) 

 that thrive admirably, carpeting the 

 ground under shrubs and trees in a shady 

 moist place. And our genial friend and 

 kind neighbor Mr. Wm. L. Swan, of 

 Oyster Bay, just back from a trip to 

 Europe, brought over a lovely lot of these 

 fancv ivies from Wemvss Castle, Scotland, 

 the 'gift of Mr. J. Clark, the gardener 

 there, and has presented Dosoris with a 

 set o( them. 



JAPAN AND CALIFORNIA FLORA?" 



BULBS -£ 



/-♦ ▲ y^T>M 12 Cacti, $i. Sforsbcts. 

 t^^^ I I ISO Blooming Bulbs, SI. 



RARE PLANTS BVoVonCacNriirPagM'lOct. 

 A. BLANC& CO S16 N nth 8t PHILADELPHI 



CHESTNUTS. Nuts ot largest size. 

 PARAGON, NUMBO, JAPAN. 



Grafted trees of 1. 2 and 3 years' growth. For 

 description, sizes and prices, address, stating 



iiber 



THE WM. H. MOON CO., Morri 



Pa. 



TREES AND PLANTS. 



BROOK'S. Lakewooil. ( 



When you write an 

 advertiser please state 

 that you saw the adv. 

 in Gardening. 



