February 4, 1911 



HORTICULTURE 



135 



which have been bent over should be tied into perma- 

 nent positions before there is danger of laterals being 

 broken oif while tliis is being done. Stop all laterals two 

 leaves beyond the bunch. 



MELONS 



To have ripe melons in Ma_y, seed should be sown at 

 once. Place one seed in a well-drained 3-in. pot which 

 has been filled with good open soil. Water in and cover 

 over to prevent evaporation. Give a temperature of 70 

 degrees night, with advance by day. When seedlings 

 come through place on shelf near glass to encourage a 

 sturdy growth. Transplant to bed before they become 

 root-bound. Hero of Lockinge, Superlative, His Em- 

 inence and Invincible Scarlet will be found reliable 

 varieties. 



STRAWBEEEIES 



Strawberriep which have set their fruit should have 

 them thinned out to four or five, leaving the best- 

 shaped fruits and those having the longest stem. With 

 these very early lots shortness of stem is always a 

 trouble, often not being long enough to reach over the 

 pot. These fruits must be lifted off the soil and out 

 of the water, otherwise they will decay before ripening. 

 Bend a piece of wire to form three sides of a square 

 and jiress the tw'o ends into the soil. This will leave 

 a bar on which to suspend the fruits. Give feed twice 

 or three times a week using quick-acting manurt-s. 



ONIONS AND LEEKS 



These will now be large enough to pot off. Use a 

 21/2-in. pot and good, rich soil. Lift carefully and pre- 

 serve all roots. Spray over three or four times a day 

 during bright weather, taking care to have seedlings 

 drv bv nisflit. 



-^^^^-v., 



Mr. Peuson's next iKites win be un tlie fuUowiiig : Fig House; 

 Vines Bleeding: Dislmdding Pot Peaclies and Nectarines: Cnh- 

 bage, Cauliflowei- and Beet; Cucumbers. 



Dahlias 



(See <'i)ver Illustration.) 



The number of fair debutantes of dahlias grows with 

 every ensuing year, but so does the love and general pub- 

 lic favor for this wonderful varied inhabitant of our 

 gardens. My present notes will be confined to a few 

 comparatively new semi-double and single sorts tried 

 last season and found to be of decided merit. Riesen 

 Edelweiss, to begin with, possesses a unique form. Vis- 

 itors at the establishment of Otto Mann in Leipzig, Ger- 

 many, its introducer, always first notice its close resem- 

 blance to the shape of the edelweiss flower. In conse- 

 quence thereof the adoption of its name. It is a variety 

 reaching a height from 5 to 6 feet, of free branching 

 habit and is an early and continuous bloomer. The 

 petals are of a pure snowy white, center yellow, buds 

 home on thin w'iry stems well above the foliage. When 

 planted against our dark New England evergreen back- 

 ground the contrasting effect of its masses of large sway- 

 ing flowers is simply grand. 



Equally tall and prolific in its floral produce proved 

 Philadelphia, a semi-double variety, also of German 



origin. The very large-sized flowers possess a conspicu- 

 ous shading of rich reddish purple, with petals of lighter 

 tints, their markings appi-oaching a pure white, irregu- 

 larly mixed in. Philadelphia is a dahlia for gay garden 

 effects. Its gaudiness draws attention at the first glance. 

 Among the singles I cannot refrain from pointing out 

 the excellent qualities of the variety Merry Widow. 

 From early in July until the frost arrived the plants 

 were covered with their large brilliant deep scarlet flow- 

 ers. Merry Widow does not grow over 4 feet tall. Of 

 very free-branching habit, the wealth of buds on long 

 stems stands out boldly against the graceful dark green 

 leafage. Of single scarlet varieties adapted for near and 

 distant mass effects, I do not know an introduction 

 approaching Merry Widow in size, substance and flor- 

 iferousness. 



-^ocAx^Axi S5c/'C£e/ 



Northeast Harhor, Maine. 



Temperature for Mushrooms 



Mr. John J. M. Parrell. 



Dear Sir: I read with interest your articles in HORTI- 

 CULTURE, and was specially interested in your article on 

 mushrooms. I do not gather from your article your view 

 as to what is the best temperature of the mushroom bed 

 itself for fruiting. You say keep the temperature as near 

 50 degress as possible. Do you mean the atmospheric 

 temperature or the temperature of the bed itself. I have 

 never seen any statement as to what the temperature of 

 the bed should be after soiling. Presumably if the bed 

 is at 70 degrees when soiled, it would remain that temper- 

 fiture for a time or average a little higher. Most writers 

 say, keep the mushroom house temperature as near 57 de- 

 grees as possible. I am trying some experiments and would 

 be glad of any information that will help me in my work. 



Hoping to hear from you, I am 



Yours very truly, 



J. M. W. KITCHEN. 



Beplying to Dr. Kitchen's query I would say that 

 good mushrooms can be grown in an atmospheric tem- 

 perature of 50 degrees. This temperature produces fine, 

 solid, short-stemmed mushrooms and the beds last longer 

 in bearing when grown in this temperature. You say 

 that most writers advise an atmospheric temperature of 

 57 degrees. That temperature will bring the crop in a 

 little earlier, but exhausts the beds much sooner. Be- 

 tween the time of spawning and the first appearance of 

 the mushrooms a temperature of 65 to 70 degrees can be 

 maintained with beneficial effect in causing the spawn 

 to run through the beds, but when the crop appears they 

 should never be allowed to go higher than 50 to 55 

 degrees. As to Ihe right temperature of the beds after 

 soiling, it often happens after the surface of the beds 

 has been covered with soil that the temperature of the 

 beds rises to 75 degrees which will do no harm, but the 

 bed should never exceed a temperature of 80 degrees. If 

 the beds drop below 70 degrees you can often increase the 

 heat by covering with some hay or litter, and sprinkling 

 this with some water at 80 to 85 degrees, but not enough 

 to cause the water to soak into the bed. However, when 

 the beds get dry, do not hesitate to water them. The 

 walls and pathways should be sprinkled with water, so 

 that the atmosphere will not become dry. 



