September 12, 1865. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



200 



tion I covered the ventilators and windows with fine tiffany, so 

 as to exclude the bees. The result has been most satisfactory. 

 Not a bee has entered the greenhouse, not a single bloom has 

 failed prematurely since the plan was adopted. As yon Nvished 

 to know the result, and as it may bo useful to other novices, I 

 conmnniicate it to you as soon as there was no doubt of the 

 fact.— F. R. G. 



THE BEST ROSES. 

 Htbrid Pekpetu.vls. — Those of wliieh I now give a list have 

 good constitutions, and their other atlriljutes are all good. 

 1. CbiiiU's I,<fr-li\Te. 19. T'M<\ Jluciuilay. 



•_>. Siiiuiteui- Viiisso. 20. .lolill Hopjier. 



5. (.■.■.■ill' i\c ChiibriUant. 21. Soiivouiv do la Rome d Antjle- 

 4. Marccliiil Vftillnnt. ten-o. 



6. W. Gi-iftiths. 22. Madame Kliol-r. 



e. La Villo de St. Denis. 2!i. Monsiciiv de Moutigny. 



7. Baruune ri-evost. 24. Priuco Camille do Kohnn. 



8. Anna Aloxii-ff. 2,">. Dvic do Cnzes. 



9. Caroline do Sansal. 2",. Alfred do RouRemont. 



10. Comto do Nantenil. 27. I'icrro Notlin;;. 



11. Dnehesso d'Orleans. 28. Haninno Polktan de Kmkelm. 



12. Madanio Clemeucu Joig- 20. Madame Viotm- Vcrdier. 



ueaux. 3U. Triomiibe do Paris. 



13. Dncbess of Norfolk. 31. Ducbessc do Moruy. 



14. Mdlle. Julie Damn. 32. George Prinoe. 



15. Madamo Boutin. 3:i. Leopold Pronnev. 



16. Pranvois Laeharme, 84. Achillo (lonod. 



17. Goncral Jacqueminot. 85. Eugi'no Vordior. 



18. Jules Margottiu. 86. Madame C. Crapelct. 

 The foregoing are the best thirty-six to have. 



Bourbon Roses. — First-rate, and the best. 

 Acidalio. Souvenir' dc la Malmaison. 



Baronnc GouelJa, extra. 



For Poles. — Sir J. Paxton 



Best Climbing Roses /or .S'o»f/( WuU. 

 Sollaterre, yellow. Gloire do Dijon, yellow. 



Triomphe d'e Eennes, yellow. Celine Foresticr, yellow. 



For East r.'all or South Wall. 



Acidalle. Sir J. Paxton. 



Madame Lotlise Carique. General Jacqueminot, H.P. 



Madame Scbultz, yellow. Jules Margottin. 



Celine Foresticr, yellow. Anna Alexieff. 



Gloire de Dijon, yellow. 



They are strong growers, hardy, and bloom abundantly. 

 Celine Forestier and JIadame Schul'tz require but little cutting. 

 Here they are all best on Manetti. Even tor poles and walls 

 there is no stock so good as Manetti. It the laud is strong 

 they wU all do well on Briar stocks.— W. F. IUdclyffe, Tar- 

 raitt liiislitoii. 



MUSHROOM SPAWN— MUSHROOM BRICKS. 



To oblige " A Lovek of Mushrooms'" I will write a few lines 

 on this subject, but have -m-itten so mneh ou the same that it 

 mil be easier, and perhaps more suitable to your con-espondent 

 to write afresh, instead of making many references. 



" Made some Mushroom bricks," I said at page 178, is what 

 he wishes to have explained, &c. Now, where only one or two 

 Mushroom-beds are made in the season, on the principle of the 

 division of labour it will generally be the most economical to 

 buy Mushroom spawn at from 5s. per bushel from a mirsery- 

 wan. ■^Iiere Mushi'ooms are wanted all the year through, 

 and even when a few coiild be had from the pastures they must 

 not be sent to the kitchen — then it may be advisable to have a 

 stock of spawn beside us, whether we go to the market for a 

 portion or use all of home make. Though we have had and 

 seen very poor spawn sent out, so that the carriage cost ten 

 times more than it was worth, I must saj; that on the whole the 

 most of our nurserymen and seedsmen take a pride iu send- 

 ing out a lirst-rate article, and I do not consider from 5.s'. 

 to 6s. too much for a bushel of good material, as, even under 

 the most favourable circumstances, considerable care and 

 watching are required to get it in tirst-rate condition. I am 

 well aware that the man who makes a thousand or two thou- 

 sand bushels at a time could do it much more economically 

 than I could make some ten or more bushels. It is very use- 

 ful to have a nice heap of good stuff beside you, however ; and 

 then in these days we ought to know how to do everything, 

 even if we are not called upon from circumstances to engage 

 in doing it. 



There are many ways of miking Mushroom spawn : I will 

 describe the plan generally adopted by us. We obtain a barrow- 

 load of cowdung, rather stiff than otherwise, and add to that 



two barrowloads of horse-droppings, with a few sliort pieces of 

 straw in it, and about a half-barrowload of rough bits of loam. 

 Wo work all this well together until it looks like a heap of well- 

 mixed mortar. The less water that is used and the stiffer it is 

 the better. Sometimes the material is rather moist and close, 

 and then wc add a bushel or two of cut straw to make it more 

 open ; but if all is right, we care about littU^ more than the 

 cowdung anil the horsedung. 8o much fm' the material. 



Then for the bricks, we have a sliglit frame made with four 

 pieces of half-inch board — that is, two sides aud two ends 

 enclosing a space 9 inches long, 4! inches wide, aud IJ incli 

 deep, just like a mould for bricks, only shallower. We used 

 them exactly of the same de])th as bricks, but then tliey took 

 longer to di-y. The mould will answer as well, if not better, if 

 made of thin iron instead of wood. The Ijoard-frame, however, 

 answers well enough. Then the next thing is to have a flat 

 clean board and a bucket of water. The frame is placed on the 

 board, filled from the prepared heap, struck level on the top 

 with a clean spade or iiat trowel, and the contents, the dung- 

 brick, struck out on a piece of wood, so as to lie fiat. To 

 prevent the dung sticking to the mould, the latter is just 

 dipped into the pail of water ; tlie second brick is made 

 the same as the first, and so the process goes on, brick after 

 brick being turned out, and placed ou boards or other con- 

 venience much faster than I can tell how. From dipping the 

 mould, the sides of the brick will come out smooth and a 

 little damp, but they will soon dry. We li];eto place the bricks 

 anywhere, so that the rain does not come on them. We shall 

 suppose that they have been on their broadsides for a couple 

 of days, then we go along them, and with our finger, or if 

 rather dainty with a round wooden pin, make two holes iu each 

 brick equidistant from each eud, aud not going quite through 

 the brick. In another couple of days the bricks may be tm-ned 

 ou the other side flat, then in a few daj's set up on one edge, 

 and then again set up on the other edge, and they will soon be 

 firm and dry enough for spawiiing. Those mentioned at page 

 17S are just now (September 7th) spawned. This is done by 

 taking some spawn, breaking it into little pieces, so as to go 

 into the two holes of the dung-brick, making it go in pretty 

 tight, and then tb'awing a little cawdung over the place to 

 prevent falling out. When thus saw ued the bricks are built 

 loosely in a heap, and placed on op bed of litter that will 

 just emit a little heat, and suiTounded with litter, so as to 

 give a heat to the heap of about 8.5°. aud not more. Of course 

 with such weather as we have now little heat will be required ; 

 a slight covering just to prevent over-drying will be sufficient. 

 Overheating wUi soon spoil the whole. The bricks shoidd be 

 examined, and as soon as tlio spawn works into the whole 

 brick that brick should be removed to a dry place. Some will 

 not run so freely as others, and, therefore, in a large heap there 

 may be several harvestings. The bricks should be removed 

 as soon as they are permeated by thi'eads finer than the finest 

 silken ringlets. When the spawn appears in threads as coarse 

 as that generally used for sewing, it is a sigu that these threads 

 have run rather too much. When harvested in a dry place 

 such spa\vu will keep good for years. It is weD, however, to 

 keep it covered with dry moss or refuse hay to prevent its be- 

 coming too dry and hard. There is less trouble in doing all 

 this than in writing about it ; but success will consist generally 

 in attending to these matters of detail. 



We thus make bricks because it suits our purpose to do 

 so, and because they are easily moved about. We have seen 

 lots of spawn made in a much simpler way, and which, if 

 the weather was dry or there was plenty of shed-room, an- 

 swered very well. The material was obtained, mixed, beaten, 

 and mingled much as I have stated above. It was then 

 spread out ou a hard floor or bottom to a depth of from 

 li to 2 inches, and made firm and smooth on the surface by 

 beating, or by passing a smooth damp roller over it. "When it 

 had thus lain a day or two it was cut out into squares, or any 

 other desirable shape, by means of a clear sharp edgiug-iron, 

 and when dry and cohesive enough was turned, dried, and 

 spawned, just as we have described for the bricks. We should 

 judge, from the size of the cakes, that many makers for the 

 public foUow this plan. Where the conveniences exist (he fir^t 

 processes are soon got over. We once made a lot ou a hard 

 smooth road, and the weather being fine, we had it nicely dried 

 with but little trouble. However done the same minutia) 

 must be attended to to secure a first-rate article. .Just as in 

 Mushroom-beds, too much heat will generally make wreck of 

 the whole. When once the spawn begins to run it makes 

 pretty well enough of wannth for itself. — R. F. 



