rebraary 22, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



167 



huOi, and the Muslirooms mil be thicker in texture, finer, aud 

 the bed vdR produce a good crop and keep in bearing a long 

 time. Again, the earth should neither be too dry nor too wet, 

 but in such a state of moisture as to present a smooth siu'face 

 ■when beaten down, and should be put on the bed about 2 inches 

 thick. 



I may mention that it is necessary to be very particular in 

 the selection and working-up the materials for the growth of 

 Mushrooms. It is one of the most curious and delicate opera- 

 ■tions in gardening, for if the bed becomes too hot after spawn- 

 ing, or if the materials are worked-up in too wet a state, the 

 ■chances are that the spawn will be much mjured if not entirely 

 destroyed by these two extreme.?. If destroyed by heat, fresh 

 spawn must be inserted when the material has declined to the 

 proper temperatm-e ; but when too wet the bed must be worked 

 np again, and fresh dry material added. 



The after-treatment of the beds depends in a great measure 

 upon the sort of house they are placed hi. If there are hot- 

 water pipes, the heating of which should be properly under 

 -control, it will not be always necessary to use a covering of 

 hay or straw, which generally serves as a breeding place for 

 woodlice and other pests. If used at all it need only be 

 -very thinly scattered over the bed, the principal object being 

 to keep the surface of the bed in a uniform state of tempera- 

 ture aud moistui-e. In a house of fair dimensions containing 

 four or more beds at work very little heating by the hot-water 

 pipes will be necessary, unless the weather is severe or the 

 ■crop is required to be pushed fonvard. I prefer to grow 

 my Mushrooms without fire heat, as they are then more 

 fleshy, the bed lasts longer in bearing, and very little if any 

 -watering is required. This latter process should not be done 

 without good judgment, as it is easy to overwater a bed and 

 ki11 the spawn, or cool it so much that the bed will not recover 

 its original temperature. Water should be appUed in a warm 

 state, and put on the bed by sprinklings witli a fine syringe or 

 a fine-rosed water-pot, with the greatest caution, or the httle 

 Mushrooms just peeping through will be injured so much as to 

 turn brown and die away. The temperature of the house 

 should be kept very regular, and not above 55° nor below 50". 



To keep up a proper succession of Mushrooms much must 

 •of cour.se depend upon the demand, but as a rule it will be 

 sufficient to spawn a new bed eveiy month, as the beds will 

 ■not all work alike. Sjme produce in five weeks, while another 

 ■will be seven or even eight weeks before doing so ; but as a good 

 bed generally keeps in bearing a long time no blank wUl occur 

 .•from such irregularity, unless the demand should be excessive 

 at one particular time. 



I think I have now given the principal details of the culture 

 of Mushrooms in a regular Mushroom house, which is the best 

 place to grow them in through the autumn and winter months. 

 I have not, however, spoken of ventilation, the means of ap- 

 plying which are not always pro-vided for. In a Mushroom 

 liouse a little air at times is necessary, and if given with caution 

 it ■will prove an additional help to regulate the temperature of the 

 house. There should also be the means provided tor excluding 

 ■the light, as it appears more natiiral for Mushrooms to grow 

 in the dark, though I am not sure that it is so. They have, 

 however, a much better appearance, and some assert that they 

 are better flavoured. A Mushroom house is one of the least 

 .expensive structures to have about a garden both in the work- 

 ing and construction ; but there are, nevertheless, very many 

 large gardens where Mushrooms are gi-owu without one, 

 though it is hardly fan- to expect a gardener to keep up a 

 supply without such a convenience. In this case the spawn is 

 imperfectly worked; the beds, too, even if made up in proper 

 succession, ■will often come into bearing aU at one time, and 

 frequently not at all. 



I have intended the above remarks only to apply to the 

 culture of Mushrooms through the autumn, winter, and spring 

 months, the time when there is generally the greatest demand 

 ior them. For summer cultivation a Mushroom house is not 

 so much needed, and I believe many gardeners, myself among 

 "the number, do not use it at that time, but grow their crops 

 out of doors ■with little protection beyond a covering of rough 

 litterj' straw or bracken to shelter the bed from excessively heavy 

 rains, and to keep the temperature regular. The beds are 

 made up in various forms, suited to the spot selected for them, 

 but the ridge-shape is that usually employed, aud from such 

 beds Mushrooms are produced in great quantities. 



There are very many ways of growing Mushrooms. My 

 first attempt was by forming a bed in a small stokehole over 

 the boiU r with spa^wn of my o^svn making. I have also gi'own 



them in large pots plunged in a bed of leaves in a forcing 

 vinery. Some grow them in boxes, tubs, or even old hampers, 

 and place them in a Peach house at work, or any other con- 

 venient place where artificial heat can be given them. Others 

 make-up beds in cellars, which prove to be very good places 

 generally, because of the ease -nith which an even temperatui-e 

 can be maiutained. Others, again, w'ho can spare a frame, insert 

 spa^wn in a well-spent Melon or Cucumber bed with not very 

 unsatisfactory results. StUl, as I have before hinted, such 

 modes are only chance methods of keepmg up a supply, though 

 they answer excellently where an unUmited and regular supply 

 is not the main object, and to those who have no Mushi'oom 

 house, or even the convenience of getting materials for good 

 beds, such a system is to be recommended. It should be re- 

 membered, however, that m whatever way they are groivn, the 

 same care in selecting and working-up the materials, aud also 

 in the makiug-up aud regulating tlie temperature of the beds, 

 must be very strictly attended to, in which case success is 

 pretty sm'e to follow. — Thoiias Record. 



VINE DISEASE AND VINE STOCKS. 

 (Concluded from page 142.) 

 Several years since I became convinced that the great cause 

 of the dechne of the Grape Vine iu the United States, was re- 

 ferable to a large extent to some disease affecting the roots. I 

 examined the roots of a number of varieties, and found that 

 those varieties possessing thick succulent roots were the most 

 unhealthy. Among those examined I found that the Concord 

 had the finest and most wiry roots ; and without recognising 

 the disease, I resolved to use the Concord as a stock for both 

 native and foreign varieties, and I think that in the autumn of 

 1868 I directed the attention of your readers to the advantages 

 that would probably result from the use of the Concord as a 

 stock for varieties of Vitis vinifera. Since the publication of 

 the valuable articles on the Grape louse, I am more than ever 

 convinced of the importance of workhig the more valuable 

 varieties upon the Concord. If this pest has obtained a foot- 

 hold iu England, I fear its ravages will become general ; for 

 dm^ing one of its stages of existence, that of the Grape-leaf gaU, 

 it may be easily disseminated on the growing plants, and at 

 certain periods when it possesses w'ngs it may be wafted by the 

 ■wind from place to place. Again, when the Vme is dormant 

 the pest has its home on the roots, and it may be widely dis- 

 persed by the distribution of Vines from an infected nursery. 



Observation having taught me that the want of success in 

 Vine culture in this country was the sequence of some disease 

 of the roots of the Vine, during the summer of 1868 I inarched 

 a number of foreign varieties on Concord stocks growing in 

 pots. In the spring of 1869 I planted a lean-to house 120 feet 

 long with Vines upon their own roots, and ■with others in- 

 arched on Concord stocks. The first year (1869) they made a 

 satisfactory gi-owth ; the second season (1870) all promised 

 well untU about the beginning of July, when I found that those 

 on their o^wn roots did not gi-ow so rapidly as the worked Vines. 

 My cmiosity being excited I examined the roots of the Vines, 

 aud found those of the unworked varieties presented evident 

 traces of disease, whilst those of the Concord stocks were per- 

 fectly healthy. Being famUiar with the work of Mr. Thomson, 

 I naturally referred the diseased condition to fungoid growths. 

 But the conditions then found I can now refer to the actual 

 cause— the Grape louse. The worked and unworked varieties 

 were gro^wing side by side. In the latter part of October a 

 h^ving fibre could not be found on a foreign Vine within 2 feet 

 of the collar ; and to test the condition of the larger roots I 

 pulled up two of the Vines, and to my surprise found the large 

 roots dead. A careful examination of the roots of the Concord 

 stocks revealed the fact, that even the smallest fibres were 

 healthy. From my vinery I proceeded to my garden, and 

 examined the roots" of Concord, Ives' Seedling, aud Christine, 

 all native, and supposed healthy and vigorous varieties. The 

 roots of the first I found healthy, aud those of the latter much 

 diseased. I was anxious to find a reason, and recoDected that 

 the preceding spring I had manured my garden with manure 

 containing a small quantity of sawdust, and jumped at the 

 conclusion that the sawdust had produced fungoid disease. 



Upon carefully examining the Vines in the vinery I found 

 that the varieties that had suffered to the gi-eatest extent were 

 Hamburghs, Black Alicante, Eoyal Ascot, Golden Hamburgh, 

 and Mrs. Pinoe's Muscat. During the summer of 1870, as I 

 expected to change my place of residence, I propagated a 

 number of foreign varieties by cuttuigs, and grew them m large 



