August 28, 1866. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



16'J 



have not mounted up as wo would wish, ami on closo examina- 

 tion wo found that all tho rains wo have had were not quite 

 sufficient for it, and therefore ventured on a good soaking of 

 houso sowage, which we have no doubt will make the plants 

 larger, for at present they are thick and stocky enough. The 

 beauty of the White Incomparable is that so httlo earthing up 

 is necessary, for if the plants aro from 15 to 1m inches in 

 height you can have from 12 to 15 inches lit for table, and 

 Celery seldom appears thero moro than a foot in length, if 

 plants of tall sorts should be banked up a couple of feet or 

 more. 



Peas. — Ran the fork slightly along the sides of rows of lato 

 Teas, and gave them likewise a soaking of sewago water. The 

 more luxuriant tho tops the drier wero they at bottom, as tho 

 stems and foliage throw the water past them, and no more 

 fruitful source of mildew is to be found than a moist dripping 

 atmosphere, as we have lately had, with anything like extra 

 dryness at the roots. Treated tho latest Broad Beans in the 

 same way. Tho later Kidney Beans were growing too strong 

 to need such help, hut gave a watering to Scarlet Runners 

 bearing heavily. 



Cabbages. — Gave a watering with sewago to the first Cole- 

 worts, just beginning to heart nicely, also to succession crops, 

 and planted out more in rather a shady place, which will be 

 useful after Christmas, if the weather is at all mild. We would 

 have given a soaking to an old piece of spring Cabbages if we 

 could, as it is now a thicket of young Cabbages, which will he 

 very useful. Threw some wood ashes and a little soot among 

 the Cabbages sown for the first crop next spring, as having 

 come up rather thickly the continuous drizzle threatens to 

 cause some of them to lose their legs. Will prick out as soon as 

 they aro a little larger. Sowed also for a succession crop, and 

 covered with net a foot above the ground, alike to keep birds 

 and rabbits from the seed and young plants. 



Cauliflower. — Sowed for the main crop, the first for hand- 

 lights is just above the ground. Planted out a good space on 

 sloping banks with young plants, which will come in well with 

 a little protection if the weather he favourable, and a few may 

 be lifted and protected in sheds and under glass. Gave a good 

 sewage watering to a piece just beginning to show their heads. 

 All Cauliflowers for pickling should be had before this time, as 

 henceforth they are apt to come more open and with scarcely 

 such a bright white colour, though the crop in general may be 

 very good. 



Watered, also, the late-planted Broccoli, Greens, &c, and 

 as soon as we can get at them, will plant a few Greens between 

 Gooseberry bushes, See., where they often come in serviceable 

 in spring. 



Weeds. — Of all seasons, this is No. 1. Even such things as 

 Chickweed, which in the kitchen garden wo had scarcely 

 noticed for years, seemed to threaten to overrun borders of 

 Strawberries, and quarters of Greens, growing with a rapidity 

 quite unexampled. There is nothing for it but a free use of 

 the Dutch hoe, before the weeds grow large, as when weeding 

 must be resorted to, there is no end to the labour. We hear 

 similar complaiuts from all quarters. We shall only be relieved 

 from this extra labour by a course of fine, dry, bright weather, 

 which we have every hope we shall have before long. We have 

 heard of a kitchen garden being left to itself for one year, 

 allowed, in fact, not to lie fallow, but to bo untouched — left to 

 produce and perfect just what it pleased — and been told that 

 thirty years of extra labour would not mend the mischief. 

 We have this season seen one large cottage garden that was 

 passing its second season in a state of nature, and the masses 

 of Chickweed, Groundsel, and Thistles, were in themselves 

 a sight. Enough of seed would there get imbedded in the 

 ground to give work for at least one generation of occupiers, 

 and to furnish a supply of all the winged kinds for miles round. 

 We can thus have plenty of weeds from tho winds, and our 

 own neglect. 



Mushrooms. — We have not yet been able to make any spawn ; 

 but no better time than the present can be selected, as we may 

 expect, however made, that the spawn will now dry quickly. 

 Directions and references were given the other week to a corre- 

 spondent. It may simplify matters to say that we have often 

 made spawn of horse-droppings alone, with just enough of 

 water and soil, to get it wrought into a stiff dough-heap. We 

 have oftener made it of horse-droppings and enough of fresh 

 cowdung to enable all to be beaten into a tough heap. Road drift, 

 soil, cut straw, &c, may be added at pleasure, only it may be 

 noticed that tho spawn runs rather more quickly when the 

 material is not so very compact. We have never had it better 



than when made solely of frosh horse-droppings, and fresh cow- 

 dung. 



Our first piece or bed in tho opon shed has been producing 

 nicely for some timo past. The part in tho shed made last, in 

 the previous autumn, gave us a line return in summer, after 

 beds in the Mushroom-house, from the heat, gave over bear- 

 ing. We have several times before had a supply from these 

 beds in the shed, after we thought they had done bearing, 

 partly owing, no doubt, to the beds standing on the cool ground. 

 These beds in the shed have always been shallow, not more 

 than about 15 inches thick, and were formed of no finer ma- 

 terials than stubble, litter, &c, with 2 or :i inches mostly of 

 droppings on the surface, in which tho spawn is inserted. Of 

 course, we like droppings, with a little litter best, but in these 

 shed-beds they seem to produce longer in proportion to the 

 lower portion of the bed being of a moro open, less rich ma- 

 terial. Wo have never done so well in summer with beds 

 made on the ground in the Mushroom-house, as in this open 

 shed, partly owing to the attacks of woodlico in the house in 

 summer, and partly owing to tho air that is given coming more 

 in draughts than in the open shed, which is open to the front 

 all the way, and the force of the wind, and the afternoon sun, 

 broken by hurdles set along, with branches or a little straw in 

 them, and the shade of trees near at hand. There is plenty of 

 air, therefore, over the bed, and yet little or no keen draught. 



A second larger piece has been spawned and earthed-down, 

 and as soon as we can, we will remove the piece that has pro- 

 duced late, and have a third larger piece in the thatched shed. 

 We have seen none out of doors in the pastures this season, 

 and it is best to be independent of them. 



As soon as we can get all the old beds cleared out of the 

 Mushroom-house we will shut it up, and smoke it with burning 

 sulphur, and a little turpentine probably, to kill everything in 

 it that we possibly can, merely as a preventive to being troubled 

 with woodlice, snails, slugs, &c ; but this will not prevent 

 us taking in those pests with the manure which we use for 

 the beds. Hence we seldom are much troubled with these 

 gentry in winter, but do what we will, trap, kill, and slay, we 

 never are quite free of them after the warm spring months in 

 the house, whilst they trouble us little in summer in our 

 outside shed-beds. 



Of late so much of the details of Mushroom culture have 

 been given that we have let it alone, so as not to be wearisome ; 

 but as some correspondents complain that still they do not 

 succeed, we would again mention the simple elements of success. 

 1st, The spawn must be good, which you will know from the 

 smell, and being well filled with whitish threads not much 

 larger than the finest cotton or gossamer. 2nd, The material 

 of the bed should be in a medium between wet and dry, rather 

 inclining to dry. If rather dry, a moist coating may be put 

 over the bed before the earth is put on. If the dung is so wet 

 that by hard squeezing you could make the least juice exude, 

 and you cannot make it drier, then each piece of spawn should 

 be wrapped in a handful of short dry litter. 3rd, The heat of 

 the bed when the spawn is inserted should never be greater than 

 that of new milk, and never warmer afterwards. The bed may- 

 range from 75° to 85°. The atmosphere round it, of the house, 

 &c, should not be higher than from 55° to 62°, if under 60° 

 all the better. If we are rather afraid of the bed getting hot we 

 insert the spawn near the surface. By doing so when the 

 heat declines all right, this enables us to place an inch more 

 of good material over the bed before placing the earth on. 

 4th, We have used all kinds of earths, light and stiff, and with 

 good results ; but we prefer stiflish loam put on rather wet 

 than dry, beaten well down with a mallet, and the surface 

 made smooth, then watered, and a clean spade drawn over it 

 lightly, so as to leave a smooth hard surface. The hard sur- 

 face is chiefly useful for enabling us to sweep the surface of 

 the bed with a hair broom. The thickness of our soil when 

 beaten ranges from 1 to 1J inch. We put on the soil as soon as 

 the heat of the bed begins gradually to fall after spawning, as, 

 from the compactness of tho soil, there is no chance of the 

 temperature rising afterwards, except by the healthy increase 

 of heat promoted by the working of the spawn, which as it 

 works will always raise the temperature. 



In most old works there are very definite directions given aa 

 to boring holes in Mushroom-beds to make them cool enough 

 before spawning them. In shallow beds, as our's have neces- 

 sarily been, ranging from 12 inches in-doors to 15 or 18 out- 

 side,' we looked upon the boring as a waste of material, as the 

 air so promoted decomposition. We prefer using layers at 

 different times, and dispensing with holes by making the sur- 



