318 



JOUBNAIi OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



[ October 29, 1868. 



chosen the moist one, for it will be easy to give what moisture 

 would be necessary in winter ; ami as you want Mushrooms as 

 soon as may be, to save time, we will only have a small bed at 

 first, making up a piece at a time as you have the materials 

 ready. Our bed we should propose to be 4^ feet wide, and from 

 15 to 18 inches deep, and if we could do no more we would 

 begin with 2 or 3 yards in length at a time. 



The first work to be done is to collect as many droppings, of 

 which you have plenty, as will make a small bed. Add to them 

 about one-fourth of the shortish litter. If the droppings s.re in 

 the least too damp, spread them out, if convenient, in a shed 

 to dry ; whether convenient or not, ere long throw them into 

 a heap, where they will heat violently, lose nutritive properties, 

 but become sooner fit for your purpose. When heating, spread 

 out again for a day. Add about one-sixth of bulk of rough 

 fibrous loam, which is not absolutely necessary, but useful in 

 preventing the mass heating too violently, and, therefore, losing 

 heat altogether sooner. Throw all together into a heap again, 

 and as soon as it heats begin to form your bed. We should, 

 however, state hero that during the summer droppings thus 

 treated will be sure to heat themselves dry enough ; and, as 

 already stated, provided the strength is not wasted, it is safer 

 to have them rather dry than rather wet. As October and 

 November come on, even throwing the droppings into a heap 

 will sometimes leave them too wet, which they always will be 

 if you can squeeze moisture out of them. In such a case the 

 evil maybe remedied by chopping up a bundle of dry straw or 

 litter, and mixing it with the droppings so aa to dry them. 



The droppings being all right, proceed with making the bed, 

 and it will be best to put on a layer about 8 inches in depth 

 at first, which will beat down to 5 or 6 inches, the firmer the 

 better ; and if well firmed it will not heat so strongly but that 

 you may add another layer in a few days, treating that in the 

 same manner, and then a third, reserving the best and shortest 

 for this last layer, and making firm as before. The use of the 

 beating is to keep out the air, and thus prevent rapid decompo- 

 sition; and to insure this, in other words to prevent the dung 

 being wasted before the Mushrooms feed on it, we frequently 

 throw a little soil over the surface before the final beating, as 

 there will be enough of air enclosed with the dung to keep up 

 a long but slow decomposition, and therefore a somewhat low 

 but regular temperature, instead of a great heat, soon gone. 



After thus finishing oit the dung bed, it wants watching with 

 trial sticks every day. It is next to impossible, if thus formed, 

 that it should not become warm enough — from 80' to 90° — and 

 it will be better if the heat rise no higher. Even now you 

 must not think of spawning, you must wait until the heat is 

 on the decline, and when you find that every day it becomes a 

 little lower, until your trial sticks are no warmer than new milk, 

 or the thermometer plunged in the bed is scarcely above 80', 

 you can then spawn the bed. We prefer using pieces of spawn 

 rather larger than green walnuts as they hang before falling 

 from the tree, and we insert these just below the dung, and if 

 we are sure there will not be too much heat, we scarcely cover 

 them ; these for a general bed we place about a foot apart. 

 When we wish a quick return we place them more closely 

 together. 



If properly watched as above, there will generally be little 

 danger after spawning, but a sudden change in the weather 

 will often act on the bed, causing it to heat again more than 

 we wish, and in other cases to cool more rapidly than we like. 

 In the first case, the putting the spawn near the surface pre- 

 serves it from danger. In the second place, being near the 

 surface, we can add a couple of inches or so of nice hot drop- 

 pings, which when beaten will cause the bed to heat gently 

 again. As soon as danger from overheating is past, the sooner 

 the bed is earthed the better. When we can obtain it we prefer 

 fibrous loam beaten firm next the bed, and then a layer of finer- 

 riddled soil on the surface. We use that rather damp than dry, 

 and when all is well beaten we water the surface of the bed, 

 and draw a clean spade firmly over it, which leaves a clean 

 smooth surface. In general we use rather more than 2 inches 

 of soil when loose, which when beaten will be from 1\ to 

 l.J inch in thickness. In such a place as your cellar, we should 

 let the bed stand as left for a day or two that the surface may 

 become a little dry, feeling the trial sticks every day. In general 

 the earthing-up causes the heat to decline, because the air can- 

 not find its way into the bed. 



When the heat falls a little, say 3' or 4' lower than when 

 you spawned, cover the bed over with 2 inches or so of old 

 hay or short dry litter, which will prevent the bed losing heat 

 from the surface. If the heat still decline add a little more 



covering, and this in general may remain for two or three 

 weeks, but it must frequently be examined, for in the course of 

 a month or so, if the spawn is working freely, so as to per- 

 meate the whole mass of the bed, that process will always ba 

 attended with an increase of temperature, and, therefore, that 

 covering may require to be reduced. At any rate it would ba 

 advisable as soon as the first spawn begins to peep through the 

 soil to remove all the covering, sweep the bed all over with a 

 hair broom, and place fresh covering, or merely the driest of the 

 old covering, over the bed. Under such circumstances we have 

 always found that a little covering kept the temperature of the 

 bed more uniform, and even the atmosphere about the Mush- 

 rooms on the bed was kept more genial as respects moisture 

 and temperature than when the bed was fully exposed. 



Thus treated the surface of the bed will often become 

 warm when the spawn works, and whilst it should not be 

 suddenly cooled, neither should it be allowed to become so 

 warm as to injure the spawn. We believe many beds are 

 injured by too much warmth and too much covering at such a 

 time. We can scarcely dispense with this covering where no 

 means are resorted to for regulating by artificial means the 

 atmospheric temperature of the place. 



Sweeping the bed, and using dry material as the spawn 

 comes to the surface, are necessary to prevent the spawn run- 

 ning and exhausting itself in the damp covering. In winter 

 it is safer for beginners to secure moisture by damping the 

 covering, the walls, and the floor, instead of watering the bed 

 overhead. At that season the watering will be little needed, 

 but if the materials of the bed are dry it will be safest to make 

 holes with a pointed stick, and then pour warm water into 

 them. 



For insuring Mushrooms quickly it is of importance to earth- 

 up as soon as it is safe after spawning, as then, with the slight 

 covering over the surface, the spawn when it works, ere long 

 works upwards as well as downwards. To insure this still 

 more, we prefer the soil next the dung not to be over-wet, even 

 though we wet the surface to make it smooth as well as firm. 

 The smoothness and firmness are good for the young Mush- 

 rooms showing, and the bed is easily cleaned. 



If there are any little matters of importance that are omitted, 

 we shall be glad to supply them when reminded of the de- 

 ficiency. We would remark, in conclusion, that nothing more 

 depends on attention to trifles than successful Mushroom 

 culture.] 



CHECKING EVAPORATION FROM THE SOIL. 



No doubt various opinions will be entertained respecting this 

 subject, to which attention was drawn by Mr. Fish some time 

 since, but not having seen any further remarks aa yet, I 

 simply add the following, in the hope of eliciting a clear 

 explanation from more experienced persons. 



Most soils on becoming dry have a hard crust formed on their 

 surface, varying in thickness according to the duration of the 

 drought. In heavy, dry lands, deep cracks are frequently ob- 

 served, caused by the particles of soil adhering more closely on 

 parting with moisture. Is evaporation assisted or arrested by 

 loosening the surface of the soil ? or, in other words, will the 

 soil become dry sooner by breaking through this hard crust or 

 not ? From observations during the past dry season, I am led 

 to believe that the deeper the loosening, the quicker will the 

 soil part with its moisture. On a newly-dug border fully ex- 

 posed to the sun, a thin cake of adhesive soil was placed ; in a 

 few hours the sun's rays had penetrated inches into the loose 

 earth around, while the under side of the turf was moist, and 

 the soil beneath comparatively cool. Here the hard crust pre- 

 vented both evaporation and the rays of heat taking effect. By 

 loosening the surface of the soil you admit air, which, becoming 

 heated by the sun, rises laden with the vapour from below. 



Light soil, which seldom forms a crust, quickly dries up, 

 turough affording a free passage to air, and, consequently, to 

 the ascent of vapour, while the heavy clay, impervious to heat 

 and air, retains its moisture. Applying this to practice, when the 

 ground becomes dry, and you cannot water, by no means break 

 through the surface crust, but simply fill up the cracks, and hoe 

 as lightly as possible, or, perhaps, hand-weeding would be 

 better still. — Nemo. 



[There is much force in some of "Nemo's" observations, 

 and though in some parts he seems to agree with Mr. Fish, yet 

 the conclusions at which he arrives are quite the opposite of 

 Mr. Fish's. Mr. Fish says, page 152, " If we are right, the sur- 

 face-stirring of ground to keep heat out and moisture in, de- 



