346 



jouenaij of hoeticultuee and cottage gaedenee. 



L October 24, 1805 



will run in it, but to give the Mushrooms substance we cover 

 the bed with an inch of fresher damp material before putting 

 the earth on. In making beds in winter, the material is gene- 

 rally apt to be too wet. We would rather have the bulk of our 

 beds made before winter ; but all the year tlirough we want all 

 the horsedung we can obtain. In winter, when our materials 

 altogether are wetter than we like, we cut some dry litter or a 

 truss or two of dry straw into lengths of from 1 to 2 inches, or 

 more, straw in proportion to the size of our heap, and when 

 well mixed and blended we thus have the heap when it heats 

 a little in that desirable condition, when it is neither too wet 

 nor too (h'y. 



We ijuestion if we should have mentioned these little matters 

 so much in detail, but for the fact that we have had several 

 letters of thanks respecting the dj-y-litter-aud-cut-straw plan, 

 and because in our young days we had, under the direction of 

 others, a little to do with Mushroom failures arising from 

 totally different causes. In the one case the Mushrooms were 

 attempted to be grown in a close, roof-ceiled shed, without any 

 dry heat. There the beds were chietiy made of a good size, 

 from fermenting material prepared as for a Cucumber-bed. In 

 every case in which we saw the beds made, we are now sure the 

 material was too wet, and this was increased by placing a heap 

 of such fermenting material in the house in winter to keep up 

 the heat. Very few Mushrooms ever came out of that house. 

 Prizes were taken for Mushrooms, but in all cases that we were 

 aware of, these came from borders inside the forcing-houses, 

 unbidden, and, therefore, with no credit to the cultivators. 

 With materials drier, spawned in the usual way, and the beds 

 covered with a little litter or hay, such a shed would have 

 produced Mushrooms as plentifully as some of our friends now 

 have them in a spare stall in their stable. 



In the other ease, the failure was just from the opposite 

 cause. The Mushroom-house was a lean-to, to the north, with 

 a flue against the north wall, and three or four tier of shelf- 

 beds against the south wall, a glass house being in front on the 

 other side. Uroppings of horses and soil were chiefly used. 

 These droppings were carefully di-ied in open sheds, tirrned, 

 di-ied, and turned, and dried until their virtue was pretty well 

 di-ied out of them. Such very dry material was put in the 

 shallow beds, in very shallow layers, and eveiy layer was beaten 

 so hard, that if there had been enough of operators the moisture 

 that dropped from their faces would have done something to 

 moisten the beds. There was little difficulty as to the sparl- 

 ing, as the extreme of diyness. and the extreme of firmness 

 generally prevented the beds heating overmuch. The dryness 

 of the beds, and the dry atmosphere from the flue, rendered 

 the gatherings of the little buttons few and far between. Large, 

 bonnet-headed, juicy fellows for frying were never seen at all. 

 With the material a little more moist, not quite so fiimly 

 beaten, and moisture thrown along the floor in winter, or eva- 

 porating-pans in the flue, the beds should have produced freely, 

 and with a tithe of the labour and prepai-ation. 



Here we ought to mention one thing more as one of the 

 minor causes of disappointment. Most of these shelf-beds 

 were made during summer and autumn, and were spawned 

 shortly after they were made, but wi'rc earthed-up at the certain 

 tntmber of tceeks before the;/ were expected to produce the crop. 

 No Mushrooms were attempted to be grown in summer, the 

 most ihfficult time for cultivating them. Now, we have often 

 thought, that even if the spawn run in the beds it might ahuost 

 waste its strength there, and from tlie dryness. &c., be un- 

 able to make a fresh start through the soil. Be this as it 

 may, we have made it a general rule not to spawn a bed so 

 very long before we earth it up, so that the spawn shall have a 

 chance to run both ways. We should like very much if we had 

 the material for several beds, instead of one piece, now in our 

 Mushroom-house ; but if we had it we would let it lie so looselv 

 as not to heat much ; or if that would not do, we would Arm 

 it to keep out air— the great cause of fermentation, of heating, 

 and wasting away ; and then we would tuni it a little, and add 

 a little fresh, just to increase the temperature before spawning 

 and earthiug-up. We have done a good deal with large beds 

 out of doors, covered up to keep them at the right temperature, 

 and have gathered long and plentifully ; but to keep up some- 

 thing like a moderate constant supply, we do not Ivnow if any- 

 thing beats small shallow beds, say from 12 to IS inches deep ; 

 and where the material is scarce, as with us, a little bit can be 

 made when a large bed could not be thought about. Over-heat, 

 over-dryness, and over-wetness of material we consider the 

 chief causes of failure ; and in shallow beds, as a minor cause, 

 we would name the spawning a bed months before it was 



earthed-up. We should be glad to have the opinions of others, 

 based on their practice and observation, as to the spawning 

 of beds, say from one to three mouths before earthing them 

 up. By such a plan many beds might often be finished, except 

 the earthing-up, early in the autumn, when the material is so 

 much more easily dried. Our own experience would lead us 

 to the conclusion that beds on the whole do best that are 

 earthed over only a few days after being spawned. This earth- 

 ing may take place after spawning as soon as there is the least 

 sign of the temperature of the bed falling, say, below 75°, as 

 the soil itself, from being rather cool, will help to cool the bed, 

 and the firming of the soil, from keeping out the air, will cool 

 it still more. If tliere is no mode of heating the jdace, a good 

 plan is to cover the bed to keep the heat in. As soon as the 

 spawn is worldng the heat of the bed wiU again increase. 



FRTJIT GARDEN. 



Had we the material we would have protected the Vine-borders 

 from the continuous wet, but as they were rather dry it will do 

 them less harm, more especially as it is still wann. A little 

 litter over the borders now will prevent the heat of the earth 

 escaping so freely, a matter of importance in early houses. Figs 

 are still bearing well, and as the sun has been propitious they 

 are pretty good in flavour, but ere long we must cut off the 

 most fonvard fruit in the house, as, when the plants bear 

 early, and also very late, the first crop in the succeeding season 

 is apt to be much injured. Fig trees out of doors may have 

 all the green fruit cleanly and neatly cut off that are larger 

 than the largest Peas. Those smaller may be kept safely 

 through the winter mth a little protection, and will come in 

 earlier than the smaller ones just showing. Strawberry plants 

 in pots should, for want of better protection, be laid on their 

 sides in such weather. Forced plants of last spring have yielded 

 some fine dishes this autumn. They should be fastened up 

 with small twigs, as otherwise in damp weather slugs and 

 snails will have some of the best of them. We wish now that 

 more of our Apples and Pears had been safely housed. How- 

 ever, we shall soon have a dry day or two ; we would then, 

 also, rough-prime many fruit trees, Easpben-ies, &c., before 

 the winter. In the orchard-house we have now little left except 

 Plums, which are still very good. Nipped a few decaying 

 berries from Grapes in later houses, and put a brisk fire on 

 during the day, with a fair amount of air at the top of the house, 

 allowing the fire to go out at night. Will take the first chance 

 to have all furnaces properly cleaned before the winter sets in. 

 Fruit trees in pots now receive but little water, as, in such 

 dull dripping weather, if they have but little water at the root 

 the leaves and stems absorb nearly as much as they perspire. 



ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT. 



Lau-7t.s — Mou-bui Machines. — The answer about sharpening 

 knives of macliines, at page 316, is just the same as the plan 

 we alluded to a month or two ago. We are glad that Messrs. 

 Green have alluded to the simple plan in their machines of 

 merely changing or reversing the ends of the cyUnders. We 

 found out this simple but giand secret as much by chance as 

 anything else, and had we known or thought of such a simple 

 process would have resorted to it earlier. It answers admirably, 

 and renders all modes of sharpening the cutters unnecessary. 

 On a part of the lawn not much in sight, and where the grass 

 had not been cut for six weeks, we mowed in the mornings 

 when suitable, as we want this long grass and a few fallen 

 leaves to mix with long litter from the stables to make a fer- 

 menting-heap, giving us a little heat to help on with many 

 things now. We have no hesitation in using such grass as a 

 component in all sorts of fermeuting-heaps for giving heat, ex- 

 cept for Mushroom-beds, and if we used it at all for them it 

 wiuild merely be for the bottom of such beds. Such a heap as 

 the above will be useful now for many purposes, and especially 

 for giving a start to large Geraniums, &c., taken up from the 

 flower garden. 



From the beds we have as yet taken nothing but a few tender 

 plants. For cuttings, &e., under glass in cold frames, we have 

 run over all the old glasses, filling up holes, &c., and will 

 finish washing all the glass as soon as the weather is suitable. 

 We have commenced inserting Calceolaria cuttuigs iu a cold pit, 

 in the manner described in previous years, only we made sure 

 this year that above a couple of inches of rough leaf mould 

 and riddlings of loam there should be 2,J inches of fresh sandy 

 loam from the roadsides, and a quarter of an inch of road drift 

 sand over all. In this the cuttings are dibbled at about IJ inch 

 apart, and being watered they will need httle more but air 

 1 every night when mild, and a dewing from the syringe on a 



