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THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



the banana, the orange, etc., and still others to plant quar- 

 antine work. 



On the Arlington Experimental Farm, located about 

 six or seven miles from Washington, is the second im- 

 portant horticultural plant, including about 24,000 square 

 feet of glass. These houses are devoted to experimental 

 work in the production of carnations and roses, the win- 

 ter forcing of vegetables, etc. 



At Yarrow, Md., nine miles north of Washington, is 

 another well-equipped establishment designed for the care 

 of the new and rare plants being brought in by the Office 

 of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction conducted by Air. 

 Fairchild. There are several greenhouses at this plant 

 which are used for the propagation and testing of the 

 new and rare shrubs, ornamental trees, etc., brought in 

 from all over the world. There are also forty or tifty 

 acres devoted to outside cultural work with ornamentals 

 and other plants. 



At Miami, Fla., there is a garden devoted especiallv to 

 semi-tropical material. At t'his garden are propagated 

 and distributed plants especiall\- adapted to the southern 

 United States. This garilen will soon be greatly enlarged 

 and is now well equipped with sheds and glass. 



At Chico, Cal, is located the Chico Plant Introduction 

 Field Station, consisting of about sixty or seventy-t'ive 

 acres of land, well equipped with greenhouses especiallv 

 designed for the testing and rapid propagation of ma- 

 terials brought in from foreign countries in the way of 

 shrubs, trees, and ornamentals of various kinds. The 

 climate and soil at Chico are specially adapted to rapid 

 propagation. While most of the crop production must 

 be carried on under irrigation, the climate is so admirable 

 and the soil so rich and strong that nearly all types of 

 plants, whether suitable for the northern portion of the 

 country or the southern portion, thrive well there. It 

 has proved an ideal place for the propagation of many 

 valuable things brought in through the Office of Foreign 

 Seed and Plant Introduction. 



SUCCESSFUL MUSHROOM CULTURE. 



A crop that requires years of study and experience 

 before the grower can be assured of a regular vield is 

 mushrooms. The culture of mushrooms is somewhat 

 uncertain from start to finish ; in spite of all precautions 

 the crop may fall away below expectations. 



Writing on the subject of mushroom culture. P.. C. 

 Blanchard of Canadian Horticulturist. sa\s it is believed 

 that where most growers fail is in the preparation of 

 the manure. The equipment required is not expensive, 

 any cellar will do that has a dry hard bottom. Alush- 

 rooms require darkness, but the few windows in the or- 

 dinary cellar need not be darkened. The bottom may be 

 clay, gravel or concrete. If the clay is not dry it is best 

 to concrete it. No heat is used in the cellars.' A mush- 

 room house should be as low as possible, convenience in 

 working being a consideration. 



Speaking of the successful methods used in mushroom 

 growing. Sir. Blanchard says, the manure is treated for 

 several months before it is put into the cellars. Only the 

 very best horse manure is used. This is turned 

 every day in the open for ten days, and the long straw 

 all taken out. It is then turned every other day for a 

 week. After that it is piled in ridges. Three weeks in 

 all should put the manure in good shape. \\'hen ready 

 a handful of the manure squeezed tightly should become 

 a solid ball, firm to the touch. 



• For the winter crop the best time to prepare the ma- 

 nure is August. Although anv time between April and 

 the last of August will do. The manure is placed right 

 on the clay or concrete in successive layers and tramped 



solid till it is nine inches deep. The temperature will 

 sometimes rise to one hundred and thirty degrees in two 

 or three days, but when it falls to eighty-five degrees the 

 spawn should be planted. 



Breaking the ordinary bricks of spawn into sixteen 

 pieces is preferred. These are planted an inch below the 

 surface of the manure, eight inches apart each way. The 

 manure is tramped down solid and left for a week. 

 After that a coating of rich loamy soil is applied, two 

 inches deep, and pounded down till it is just one inch 

 thick. 



No attention need now be given to the beds for six 

 weeks, when the mushrooms will begin to show. The 

 first application of water should now be given, and the 

 beds thoroughly soaked. They should require no more 

 water until the bulk of the crop is' off. When the crop 

 begins to die away, another good watering will do till 

 the crop is exhausted. A mushroom bed will usually 

 crop from ten to sixteen weeks ; twenty weeks is excep- 

 tional. Under good conditions a bed will yield from 

 one to one and a half pounds to the square foot. 



From seven to eight weeks after sowing the spawn 

 the mushrooms will begin to lift. If sown in August 

 they may run on till late in March. The dead manure 

 is splendid for compost. About fifteen two-horse loads 

 is sufficient for twelve hundred square feet of bed. The 

 temperature of a mushroom house to give best quality 

 should not fall below fifty-three degrees and not rise 

 above sixty-five degrees. 



It is possible to take off two crops of mushrooms in 

 one year, if a new lot of manure is put in as soon as the 

 old is taken out. The old bed can be renovated without 

 taking out the manure by spreading one and a half 

 inches of dry cow manure and soil on top, tramping it 

 well, and then adding one half inch of soil. This course 

 is advisable only when one cannot wait and properly 

 prepare the horse manure for the coming crop. Next to 

 preparing the manure, the watering is most important. 

 The two applications mentioned should be sufficient ; 

 too much water will kill the spawn. 



SUNDAY WORK IN THE GARDEN. 



It may seem like trival legislation to deliberate upon 

 the question whether a man may lawfully work in his 

 own garden on Sunday, but it is one that affects a great 

 many persons and families, and we are glad that the 

 House has taken it up and so far as it can has decided 

 in the affirmative. \\'orking in the garden is a healthful 

 occupation for both body and mind. There are hundreds 

 of men who have no other time in which to cultivate 

 that small patch of real estate which means so much of 

 comfort and contentment for rural homes. Men who 

 are habitually industrious are not going to observe the 

 Sabbath like an Eastern idol by sitting down and doing 

 nothing. There is no better safety valve than a garden. 

 It awakens a wholesome interest in the mind of the man 

 whom it well serves, provided he can as well first serve it. 

 There are doubtless many who, if ofl:'ered their choice, 

 would rather take a hundred-mile automobile ride on 

 Sunday than hoe potatoes, but if they cannot do the 

 former and are willing to compromise on the latter, the 

 privilege should not be denied them. There is no better 

 practical Christianity than that of the good old minister 

 who said to his Sunday congregation: "Brethren, it looks 

 like rain. I propose that we close this service and go 

 out and get in Widow Scott's hay." If there were more 

 gardens to occupy the time and appeal to the interest of 

 men of enforced leisure, there would be much less busi- 

 ness for the local courts Monday morning. — Boston 

 Transcript. 



