132 



JOtJBNAL OF HOBTIOULTTJBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



[ F£brn»ry 22, 1877. 



gronp ; and tbi'! could be done if one of the classes was to be 

 quite left out of it. Of course such a one could not stand 

 before an exhibitor who had all the classes represented and of 

 equal quality. Variety in classes must with a competent judge 

 stand for something. A case in point occurred at one of the 

 provincial shows of the Royal Horticultural Society. A set of 

 prizes were offered for "the beat six Pine Apples." One ex- 

 hibitor had staged a collection in, I think, three varieties, 

 when a friend of mine said, " I intend to put up six, but they 

 are all Queens. How will I stand against that collection?" I 

 said it was very likely that the judges would give a little in 

 favour of variety — perhaps a point or so. " Well, then," he 

 says, " I will not stage mine. I think they ought to stand 

 upon their merits alone." He did puck them up, and was 

 about sending them back to the station. However, I urged 

 him to bring them out of the box, and my friend was easily 

 first with his Queens ; their quality quite overbalanced the 

 variety of his opponent. Had the fruit been about equal in 

 quality the tables might have been turned. 



Placing sticks to the trusses of Auriculas is a sore trial to 

 northern tastes. Down south we do it without the least com- 

 punction ; we fancy it is an improvement. The northerners 

 say the Auricula needs no support. There are a few other im- 

 material points, but it is most likely that we shall learn from 

 each other, and who knows hut the rules and regulations will 

 be the same next year v 



Next to the show or stage Auriculas come the Alpines, and 

 here again north aad south are at issue. It seems there are 

 shaded and self Alpines. In the north only the shaded flowers 

 are admitted in competition. Were some of the fine varieties 

 raised by Mr. C. Turner of Slough, admired by all the fre- 

 quenters of our exhibitions, and certiticated by the Floral Com- 

 mittee of the Royal Horticultural S 'Clety, exhibited for com- 

 petition at Manchester they would \>a disqualified — that is, if 

 they had the edge one decided colour— unshaded. A true self — 

 that is, a flower with white paste, must be unshaded ; it must be 

 self-edged. The true Alpine has a yellow centre, and it must 

 be unshaded. I would just like to put this question to our 

 northern li-iends. What right have you to make this distinc- 

 tion ? One of our best florists writing the other day in a con- 

 temporary says, " Seedling-raising is an admirable school for 

 teaching humility and opening the mmd and heart to the 

 limitless power of the Infinite." Why then should we limit 

 that power ? I cannot yet see why we should let one class of 

 flowers quite override another and equally beautiful one. 

 Perhaps some of our friends will kindly explain it to us. 



Then we have the Polyanthus. Mr. Dean of Ealing has 

 taken in hand the border flowers and improved them by selec- 

 tion. They are well adapted for decorative purposes, and they 

 have been admitted at our southern exhibitions; why should 

 they be excluded because they do not conform to certain rules 

 laid down by floii^ts half a century ago ? The question for 

 the judges would be first. Are they Polyanthupes ? The next 

 the quality of the flowers and their general ei'feetiveness. If 

 the old-fashioned flowers, such as Pearson's Alexander, Buck's 

 George IV., Niohokon's Bang Europe, or Eckerslej'a Jolly 

 Dragoon are superior to the improved border flowers let the 

 judges decide. 



I do hope that collections of the best Alpine Auriculas and 

 Polyanthus will be sent from the north, and that we shall be 

 able to have a friendly discussion about them. In makirg 

 the above remarks I trust it will be understood that I write 

 in no captious spirit, nor have I been prompted by any 

 member of the southern committee. I am entirely re- 

 sponsible.— J. DeuoLAS. 



MUSHROOM GROWING. 



Tms subject, although often written about, is by no means 

 "threadbare" so far as regards every reader being able to put 

 the printed instructions into successful practice. I hava not 

 always grown Mushrooms. I can remember tliB time when I 

 knew nothing whatever about the subject further than what 

 I read in the Journal and eleewhere, and then I of leu thought 

 how diflicult it must be to grow Mashrooms, acd hoped I 

 should never have occasion to do so, as, although moderately 

 informed, I f-hould be sure "to make a mess of it." Now I 

 find growing Muebrooma to be one of the most timple affairs 

 I am called on to perform, and I cannot see why it thould not 

 be the same to others. 



All our beds this winter have done extraordinarily well so 

 far. The Muehtooms have averaged in size from the tender 



little " button " to the full form of a common tea-eancer. 

 These latter when quickly grown are favourites with the cook, 

 and so are the buttons, which is the name given to the 

 Mushrooms when they are about the size of a coat button j 

 but I do not approve of cutting them so small, because if they 

 are only left for two days longer they will be three times as 

 large and quite as good to eat; but although I recommend 

 their being allowed to develope, I have cut a good many 

 lately in a small state simply for the reason that they came 

 up so thick in the bed that they had to be thinned-out to give 

 the remainder room to spread. Some may say the spawn 

 must have been excellent to produce such results ; but I do 

 not think it was anything extra, neither was the treatment to 

 which the beds were subjected, everything having been dona 

 in a simple manner, as will be seen from the following brief 

 deEcription of my practice. 



A barrowload of fresh horse droppings is brought from the 

 stable every day. We make a bed out of about eighteen barrow- 

 loads ; consequently it takes about three weeks to get suffi- 

 cient together to form a bed. The whole of the manure ia 

 placed in an open shed. As each barrowload is added it is 

 mixed with that previously laid down. It is thrown down 

 loosely and spread out thinly, and during all the time it is 

 drying it is never allowed to heat excessively or ferment. 

 When the desired quantity ia collected together it is cleared 

 away to make room for a fresh lot. Before taking it into the 

 Mushroom house it is turned over twice, and previous to doing 

 this two or three barrowloada of open soil are thrown over the 

 heap and the whole mixed up together. 



In making the bed a beginning is made by placing a layer 

 2 or 3 inches thick all over the bottom, beating it firmly, then- 

 adding layer after layer until the whole of the material has 

 been used. For a day or two after thia has been finished 

 nothing is done to it, and by that time the heat ia becoming 

 strong. The bed ia spawned at this time by breaking the 

 bricka into bits about the size of a walnut and putting these 

 all over the surface, but 2 inches below it, and about the same 

 distance apart. A cabbage dibble ia used for making the holes, 

 and they are left open for a night and are then cloeed over the 

 spawn. The surface is beaten firmly and smoothly, and then 

 open soil to the depth of 2 inches is spread all over it ; this 

 is also beaten firmly, and afterwards watered and smoothed 

 with the back of a spade. This completes the whole opera- 

 tion. We begin cutting the Mushrooms from four to five 

 weeks after spawning. 



I think our practice differs in several points from that I have 

 seen recommended. It is generally advised to let the heat 

 rise in the bed and again decline before putting in the spawn. 

 I question if this is always the correct thing to do. I have 

 never tried and therefore cannot say what amount of heat will 

 destroy the spawn, but I am inclined to infer from what I 

 have observed that when the heat is allowed to decline it often 

 does so to the extent that it has no power to move the spawn, 

 consequently it remains dormant, and the bed is a failure. I 

 find the best way to keep up a constant supply of Mushrooma 

 ia to make the beds small and often ; curs are gi uorally about 

 8 feet long and 1 feet wide. The house is always kept dark, 

 and the temperature from 50° to 55 ; a higher tunperature 

 has no advantage. We never syringe, but only damp the floor 

 three times a-day. Some beds are never watered from the fir t, 

 but any that may become dry on the surface are given a slight 

 sprinkling. In gathering we twist the ifolated Mushrooms out 

 by the root?, but those growing in clusters are cut, as drawirg 

 them often injures the others. — A KncuEN Gahdener. 



AURICULAS ATTACKED BY WOOLLY APHIS. 

 In answer to your correspondent John T. D. Llewelyn, 

 page '.10, respecting the use of Gishurst compound to his 

 Auriculas attacked by woolly aphis, I beg to inform him that 

 he may use it with perfect safety, although Mr. Horner, in bis 

 very great dread of using anything to our pets the composition 

 of which he is not acquainted with, advises him not to do so. 

 I had the misfortune to have my plants infested uith the enemy 

 Uat autumn, and as I repot early (beginning of June) my plants 

 had become well established when I first detected the aphis, 

 and I waa therefore very loth to disturb the plants ; but know- 

 ing the danger to which I was expofed I resolutely made up 

 my mind that however serious it might be to disturb them at 

 that season, it could not be so bad as to allow the spread o{ 

 the blight, and I therefore at once turned the affected plants 

 out of the soil and washed them, root, stem, and leaf, in a 



