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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



and shrubs by the sea coast in other parts of the country 

 would emulate Mr. 0*en in recording what they have noticed, 

 much useful information might be elicited. The chalky cliffs 

 01 Uover present a different class of wild plants from the rock- 

 bound shores of Cornwall, and the sandy coast of Essex differs 

 materially from both. These conditions ought not to be for- 

 gotten when planting is contemplated. 



I have not had so much experience in sea-coast planting as 

 ^a my glving so decided an opinion as those who have 

 resided near the sea, but assuredly the Laurustinus might be 

 put down as one of the shrubs that might in many oases be 

 tried. I have seen it thriving within a stone's throw of salt 

 water in Cornwall, also on the north-eastern coast ; but in 

 the most exposed places I have visited deciduous trees and 

 shrubs only are allowed to grow, and 1 never recollect meeting 

 with a good Holly or common Laurel in such a position, 

 although now and then a Portugal Laurel struggles for an 

 existence with a better result than any of the Spruce Fir or 

 Cypress tribe that I have seen. Pinus Mugho presents a more 

 lively green than the common Scotch Fir, but the Beech, 

 Birch, and tree Willow had a miserable aspect wherever I met 

 with them. Possibly, however, the Beech may do better on 

 chalky cliffs.— J. Robson. 



NEW BOOK. 



Mushroom Culture, its Extension and Improvement. By W. 

 Roeixson, F.L.S. London: Warne & Co. 



This is a volume of 172 pages, of which about one-half are 

 devoted to the culture of the common garden Mushroom, and 

 ™' eB ' to descriptions, figures, and modes of cooking other 

 edible Fungi found wild in this country. It is a volume which 

 we may characterise in the phraseology of the present day as 

 being " well got up "—that is, the paper is thick, the type well 

 spaced out, and the binding tasteful. 



_ On taking up the volume, we were impressed with the great 

 importance the author appears to have attached to the cultiva- 

 tion of the Mushroom in having made it the subject of a work 

 produced at so much evident expense as this is. We have seen 

 treatises at once practical and exhaustive, by competent hands, 

 in modest brochures at a cost rarely exceeding a shilling. Old 

 Job _° i Abercrombie handled the subject somewhat in this way, 

 and his successors have not, that we are aware of, exceeded 

 him. Mr. Loudon occupies about ten pages of his " Encyclo- 

 paedia of Gardening," Mr. Thompson four, and Mr. Mcintosh 

 in his "Book of the Garden" fourteen pages. The book 

 commences with the names of places " where Mushrooms may 

 be grown," and these we may sum up bv saying that Mush- 

 rooms may be grown anywhere, even in a flower pot, as we have 

 seen them and grown them, or in an old shoe. 



Chapter 1 is devoted to Mushroom houses, of which there 

 are various designs adapted in cost to suit the pockets and 

 requirements of all classes of Mushroom growers. On this sub- 

 ject we shall not quote from Mr., Robinson, but from an article 

 in our own pages by one of the best and most extensive Mush- 

 room-growers in the country : — 



'•Better Mushrooms can be grown without fire heat than with it, and 

 a continuous supply kept up throughout the coldest winters. Then, if 

 it is so— and that it is so I should be very pleased to show anyone who 

 may favour me with a call— why should our employers be put to so 

 much expense in erecting and heating grand dungeons for this dainty, 

 which can be so easily cultivated without their aid? I have several 

 beds in bearing now that have been made in the manner described. 

 To-day (December 16th) I have picked a punnetful from a square 

 foot. I could pick many such— in fact, the beds are a perfect sheet of 

 white all over." 



Chapter 2 is on the " Preparation of the Materials," and is 

 an account of the practice of different growers, from which Mr. 

 Robinson draws the following conclusions: — 



" 1. That very careful preparation and frequent turning over of the 

 manure under cover are not necessary to success, and that it is quite 

 needless to prepare the manure under cover, except when it is gathered 

 in a very small quantity, so that a heavv rain or snow would saturate 

 it. Where, however, the culture is pursued on a very small scale, and, 

 it may be, only one bed made, it is best to keep it in a covered shed. 

 2. That carefully picked droppings are not essentia], though they may 

 be more convenient. Excellent crops are gathered from beds made 

 with ordinary stable manure, droppings and long materials mixed as 

 they come ; but when the manure is used as it comes from the stable, 

 it should be allowed to ferment before being used. 3. That the best 

 way of preparing manure for the general culture of Mushrooms in- 

 doors, is to gather it in some firm spot, and allow it to lose its fierce 

 ueat. As it is usually gathered in an irregular way, precise directions 



as to turning over cannot well be given ; but I am convinced that one 

 turning will suffice when it has arrived at a strong heat, and then it 

 sboulil be thrown together for a week or so, when, in being disturbed 

 and removed to make the bed or beds, itB strong heat will be sufficiently 

 subdued. "Where large quantities of stable manure are in a ferment- 

 ing state, there Bhould be little difficulty in selecting material to form 

 a bed at any time. Should it have spent its heat overmuch, it would 

 be easy to revive it with some fresh droppings. 4. That stable ma- 

 nure may be used when fresh, but it should be always mixed with 

 more than a fourth of good loamy sod. If this be kept under cover, 

 or stacked so tbat it may be had in a rather dry condition, so much 

 the better, especially if the fresh manure, ifcc, should be overmoist. 

 Beds thus made are most suited for cool sheds and the open gardens. 



5. That a portion, say nearly one-fifth to one-third, of good and 

 rather dry loam may always be advantageously mixed with the stable 

 manure ; the fresher the materials, the more loam should be nsed. 

 In all cases it helps to solidify the bed, and it is probable that the 

 addition of the loam adds to the fertility and duration of the bed. 



6. Tbat a thickness of from 1 foot to 15 inches for the beds in an 

 artificially heated house is quite sufficient. Eighteen inches will not 

 be too much for beds made in sheds, though I have seen excellent 

 crops on beds only a foot thick, in common sheds with leaky sides 

 All beds made in-doors should be tlat and firmly beaten down, though 

 the absence of firmness is not, as some think, sufficient to account for 

 want of success." 



Chapter 3 is on Mushroom spawn. What is it ? How is it 

 obtained in the first instance? and the mode of manufacturing 

 it in masses, form the subjects of this chapter, which is illus- 

 trated with woodcuts of whole bricks of spawn, and bricks 

 broken in pieces for the instruction of those who have never 

 seen them ; and there is also a representation of French 

 spawn. 



Chapter 4 treats of spawning and after-treatment, and, as 

 Mr. R ibinson says " this is the phase of the culture which 

 requires most attention," we shall give his views on the subject. 



" Tho important thing should be to ascertain if tbo spawn spreads 

 through the bed properly. The usual practice is to earth-up the bed 

 immediately, or very soon after it is spawned, and not a few take no 

 further notice of the bed or beds till the time arrives when the Mush- 

 rooms ought to appear. A better plan is not to finally earth the bed 

 until the spawn is seen beginning to spread its white filaments through 

 the mass ; and should it fail to begin to do this in eight or ten days 

 after spawning — the conditions being favourable — it is then better to 

 insert fresh spawn or to re-make the bed, adding fresh materials if it 

 be found to fail from being too cold. If people generally were to see 

 whether the spawn had ' taken ' freely, instead of waiting for many 

 weeks, not knowing whether it bad or not, there would be fewer disap- 

 pointments in Mushroom culture. 



" The ordinary spawn bricks should be broken into pieces, say from 

 abont the size of walnuts to that of eggs : they do not break up into 

 regular portions. Spawn in the more natural form in which we take 

 it from the old beds, and in which it iB nsed by the French, is ready 

 to be inserted into the bed without any further manipulation. I 

 believe this kind of spawn spreads more lapidly through the beds than 

 our own brick spawn, and is, on the whole, much more desirable. As 

 it is usually very dry, it is a good plan to place some of it in the 

 Mushroom house a few days before spawning, so that it may begin to 

 absorb moisture. A dark place in a warm house, or gentle hotbed, 

 would do as well, but in no case should it be done more than three 

 days before spawning time. At spawning this might with advantage 

 be mixed with some that has not gone through this process. A bushel 

 of the ordinary brick spawn will suffice to spawn about 100 square 

 feet. All spawn should be inserted near the surface, just buried in the 

 materials of which the bed is made. The thin flakes of spawn which 

 the French use, and which are usually nearly the length and breadth 

 of the open hand, are generally inserted into the bed edgeways, or in 

 a direction slanting upwards, so that while one edge of the piece is 

 buried 3 or 4 inches in the bed, the other is seen peeping through at 

 the surface. Thus each flake of spawn is exposed to a slight difference 

 of temperature, and, being thin and spongy enough to be immediately 

 impregnated with the moist warmth of the beds, takes quickly and 

 well. As to any particular mode of inserting the spawn, little need 

 be said : if the bed be beaten so hard as many recommend, and which 

 I do not believe to be at all necessary, a dibber will be required to 

 insert the spawn : if not, it may be readily inserted with a trowel or 

 with the hand. It is a good plan to use a mixture of two kinds of 

 spawn." 



Chapter 5 introduces ns to the "culture in sheds, cellars, 

 arches, outhouses, and all enclosed structures other than 

 Mushroom houses," and Chapter G might as well have been 

 included, for the caves at Paris being " other than Mushroom 

 houses," and as the mode of culture does not differ there from 

 the culture elsewhere, it was not necessary to spin out the 

 subject with these additional twenty pages, especially as Mr. 

 Robinson has furnished the information in so many other places 

 already. 

 ' The subsequent chapters are occupied with such subjects 



