for February. 1923 



41 



introduce the spawn into the bed, but if the spawn is i;ood, 

 around 75 de.s:. is generally safe. A building where the 

 temperature can be kept close to 53 deg. will be found 

 best to produce the crop. We have seen excellent crops 

 under a carnation house bench. Keep the beds moist but 

 not in a soggy condition. Mushrooms are always grown 

 in the dark, yet we have seen an excellent crop, as men- 

 tioned above, under a greenhouse bench which was by 

 no means shaded. The other day I picked four excellent 

 specimens on a bench among Antirrhinums and Calen- 

 dula, where no spawn to my knowledge was every intro- 

 duced. Furthermore, throughout the British Isles large 

 quantities used to be gathered in old pastures when I was 

 a young fellow, and all the darkness they received was 

 during the night. I wonder if any experiments have been 

 tried along this line. The best specimens we ever saw 

 were grown in a cellar imder a barn that had large cellar 

 windows. The beds were always made in a rather rough 

 and ready manner. The manure with all the straw m it 

 was put in just as it came from a nearby horse barn, m 

 the old days of horse cars, moistened down with a hose, 

 and left until the temperature fell to 80 deg., after which 

 the spawn was introduced in the usual way. A large pile 

 of manure was always left near the door and the steam 

 evaporating from it was always more or less condensing 

 over the beds. The gardener there was keen on exhibi- 

 tion work and I remember the mushrooms being shipped 

 from Boston to Philadelphia Spring Exhibitions. The 

 size and texture of those mushrooms attracted consider- 

 able attention there. One exhibitor, who was in the com- 

 mercial line and had been having it pretty much his o-wn 

 way, as a successful mushroom grower, was beaten that 

 time. He did not like it very well, and flung out at my 

 boss that his specimetis were not shipable mushrooms. 

 With a quiet grin Davy said. "That's strange ; I shipped 

 them from Boston by American Express a day ahead of 

 myself." 



Sometimes, ver_\- early in ^larch, if one has a piece of 

 well sheltered land facing south, peas may be sown out- 

 doors. I have dene this when the ground was quite moist ; 

 in fact, I find from my note book, that in 1921 we sowed 

 peas, spinach, carrots, beets and parsley on March 9, 

 and on the ends of the rows, we broke the frosty lump to 

 finish the lines. There was one piece of ground, about 

 three yards long, tiiat was quite lumpy with frost. How- 

 ever, the seed was sown and the lines completed. I natu- 

 rally watched the development of the crop on that frosty- 

 piece, and could see no perceptible difference in the rows 

 either in germination or growth. That year we picked 

 peas, beets and carrots on the 9th of June, grown entirely 

 outdoors. One of my neighbors beat me by two days. 



If one has stored a good stock of rhubarb roots they can 

 be easily forced under a bench in the greenhouse. Aspar- 

 agats is a vegetable that forces easily, four to five year old 

 crowns are best for this purpose. This necessitates a great 

 deal of labor, time, and foresight. Box in a space under 

 a greenhouse bench that is run around 60 deg. A six 

 inch board will be about right, and pack in the required 

 number of roots with soil covering them about three 

 inches deep. Where a supply can be kept up. batches mav 

 be brought at intervals of three weeks. 



Onions that were started for exhibition purposes about 

 January 1st should all by now be jx)tted off. Some of the 

 best growers around here plant them out of 3^-in. pots, 

 which means they receive two pottings. The leek is an- 

 other exhibition vegetable that should now be started. 



After March comes in, good cold frames can be freely 

 used for the more hardy plants that are to be used tor 

 bedding purposes. Care, however, must be taken that 

 they have ample covering for any cold night that comes, 

 along. 



].\ THE GREEXHOCSES 

 The greenhouses, by this time of the year (late Febru- 

 ary and"" early March),' will be quite gay with many Sprmg 

 flowering jjlants. Some of the acacias and other Sprmg 

 plants that are intended for Spring shows the latter part 

 of :March, will have to be kept quite cool. A little shad- 

 mg will nut be amiss if they show signs of being on the 

 early side in flowering. 



Carnations are now flowering freely, and as the sun 

 gets stronger, with heavy firing, red spider will soon gain 

 a foothold if the ]>lants' are neglected. Select a bright 

 day for watering the benches, and at the same time give 

 them a good syringing in the early part of the day. Clean 

 water properly applied under pressure is the best thing 

 I have found for that pernicious insect. A little stimula- 

 tion with sheep manure and Clay's Fertilizer alternately, 

 will help the carnation plants from now on. The benches, 

 if thev ha\e done well, will be well filled with roots, and 

 with frequent waterings will leach out the plant food 

 more quickly. 



The rose house l>y this time will have quite a good deal 

 of blind wood and thinning out a little of it will encourage 

 stronger breaks. Roses are very hungry plants and can 

 use up plenty of food in variety. They also like plenty of 

 water syringed on the plants and at the roots, especially 

 if they are grown on shallow benches. Every bright day 

 earlv in the forenoon, they should receive a good syring- 

 ing and once a week, at least, some plant food. 



Primulas are now flowering nicely, and a little plant 

 food once a week will help to keep them agoing. Cine- 

 rarias are also in vigorous growth and some of them wfll 

 now be flowering. Those intended for exhibition will 

 have to be kept quite cool, \^'aterings with soot water 

 will bring out the colors with added brilliancy. 



Amaryllis, or Hippeastrum. will not need attention. As 

 soon as they show signs of flowering, remove the loose soil 

 from the top of the pot and give them a top dressing with 

 a good loam, that has been enriched with bone meal and 

 Clay's Fertilizer. .A good light bench in a temperature 

 around 55 deg. at night suits them well. When ii: flower, 

 a slight shade will prolong the flowering period. Feed 

 them \vell with liquid manure and water when they get 

 into vigorous growth. 



Erlang;ea tomentosa has been flowering all the Fall and 

 continues with us throughout the W'inter on a shaded 

 bench. \\'e find that the color does not bleach out when 

 kept in the shade, and on this account, its lavender blue 

 flowers are always favorites. Keep young rooted cut- 

 tings moving along as they require it. Erlangea does well 

 planted out on a bench, ^^'hen cut, the flowers keep better 

 if placed in warm water. 



Do not neglect anv cuttings of Buddleia asiatica that 

 have been rooted. After Stevia has gone past, this 

 valuable plant, we find, is the best for taking its place, 

 both as a plant and for cutting. It can be kept in bud 

 for a long lime in a cool pit and brought in in batches. 



For anxone looking out for a fine flowering" specimen 

 plant in Summer Stephanotis floribunda is is one of the 

 best. It looks well trained on a balloon trellis, and is 

 one of the freest flowering plants we know of. Pot in 

 a good rich, fibrous loam and give it greenhouse treat- 

 ment, that is, a temperature around 50 deg. The house 

 we have it in is an old style one with plenty of wood in 

 it. and we never shade it in Summer. I have no doubt 

 but that a modern house would have to have a slight 

 shading in Summer. Stephanotis used to be one of the 

 worst plants to keep clear of mealy bug, but since the 

 advent of Hydrocyanic gas, we have no trouble keeping 

 it free from this insect. 



The genus Hoya has a few varieties that also make 

 ♦excellent Summer flowering plants, Hoya carnosa, H 



