November 25, 1875. ] 



JODKNAL OF HORTICDLTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



459 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



MUSHROOM-GKOWING. 



^v-fw-^^ F I were asked what it is which causes the 

 ^A greatest number of sleepless nights to the 

 professional gardener I should say, Mush- 

 rooms. Yes, many of us have had Mush- 

 rooms on the brain for weeks together, for 

 we are sure to have tbem there when they 

 do not grow in the beds, and sometimes 

 with all our care and attention to every 

 little detail they will disappoint us. The 

 spawn may ran beautifully and the surface 

 of the bed may look as if covered with myriads of homceo- 

 pathic globules, and promise in a short time to supply us 

 with Musbrooms by the basketful ; but, alas ! from some 

 mysterious cause our hopes are never realised, and we 

 are almost tempted to give up in despair. This happens 

 at times to the most practical growers after years of 

 unbroken successes. Let no one be surprised, then, at an 

 occasional failure, for such a thing happens occasionally 

 with all of us. I will endeavour to point out some of the 

 weak points of the ordinary Mushroom-grower. It is an 

 easy matter we know to have abundance at times — any- 

 body can manage that — but to have a supply every day 

 in the year, as is required in ah large private establish- 

 ments, is not so easy. 



I have read in old calendars and nurserymen's cata- 

 logues directions for making-up beds in September to 

 last all through the winter, and in February to last all 

 summer, but I was never so fortunate as to have such 

 accommodating beds ; sometimes one wiU keep on bear- 

 ing a little for three or four months, but this is the excep- 

 tion, and they can never be depended on to last that 

 time. On an average, perhaps they last iive weeks. In 

 the spring and autumn they often last longer than they 

 do in winter and summer. 



To insure a succession I make up a small bed every 

 three weeks ; this generally keeps two beds in bearing. 

 It is best, I think, not to have all the eggs in one basket ; 

 there is always au excuse for having too many, but no 

 excuse for having none. The commonest mistake made, 

 I think, is in exhausting the droppings too much before 

 making-up a bed ; they are heated and turned and heated 

 and turned again, and the steam may be seen rushing 

 away as if from a locomotive. This is downright waste. 

 The steam is caused by the combustion of gases, which 

 ought to be retained as much as possible for growing the 

 Mushrooms, and the more there is consumed in this way 

 the less satisfactory will the beds bo. If Mushrooms 

 from such exhausted material are produced at aU they 

 wUl be thin and leathery, or the crop will be scanty. 

 Provided the beds when made up are in the right con- 

 dition as regards moisture, and they do not heat too 

 violently, the fresher the material is used the better. 

 Mushrooms are always Mushrooms I know, but there is 

 a surprising difference in the quality of them according to 

 the method in which they are produced. 



The best way I have found for making the most of the 

 material is to have the droppings perfectly fresh, and 



No. 765.— Vol. XXIX., New Semes. 



with these mix as much dust-di-y soil as will absorb all 

 superabundant moisture, breaking them about well with 

 the fork at once so that the soil can be thoroughly mixed 

 with them, and then leave all spread thinly in an open 

 shed till required for use, never allowing them to heat 

 much tUI made up in the bed. Practice alone can de- 

 termine the quantity of soil to be used ; it wUl often 

 require fuUy a third part. The beds when made should 

 not heat too much or they will burn themselves dry ; 

 100° for a few days will not harm them, and as soon as 

 the tempei-ature is seen to be declining the spawn should 

 be inserted in the ordinary way. 90° is not too high for 

 spawning, provided we are certain the heat is subsiding. 

 When down to 80° the soil should be put on, and in a 

 few days afterwards a covering of dry litter or something 

 else which will keep the heat of the bed up to about 75 " 

 for a fortnight ; after which it may graduaUy fall to about 

 60° when the beds are in bearing. 



Beds wDl come into bearing much quicker when the 

 material is used fresh as I recommend. I have gathered 

 Muslirooms in three weeks from the time of spawning, 

 and the beds are seldom longer than five weeks before 

 they are profitable. 



The atmospheric temperature best suited for Mush- 

 room-growing is an almost fixed one of about 55°, and 

 a great deal depends on the way this temperature is kept 

 up. It is best done without fire heat if possible, and for 

 this reason a Mushroom house should be buUt so that it 

 is not much affected by the outside weather. This is no 

 doubt the secret of the success attending the growers of 

 Mushrooms in the caves about Paris, that they are inde- 

 pendent of outside weather. If Mushroom houses must 

 be built above ground they should be constructed with 

 hollow waUs and hollow roofs, and the windows, if there 

 are any, should be double-glazed. The outside air will 

 not then have much effect on the temperature of the 

 house, and the warmth from the beds will generally be 

 sufficient for all purposes. 



In summer we succeed best with the beds outside 

 against a north wall. The other details of my manage- 

 ment are similar to those of others growers, and it is 

 therefore, I think, unnecessary to say more about them. 

 — William Taylor. 



DELPHINIUMS. 



AiioxGST the garden flowers which have of late years 

 received consideration from the hybridiser there are 

 hardly any more deserving of notice than the stately 

 herbaceous Larkspurs. 'they are of a colour rare 

 amongst garden flowers, blue ; for while we have an 

 abuadance of scarlet, pink, yellow, &c., our blue flowers 

 are, comparatively speaking, few. They are perfectly 

 hardy, and will thrive in any ordinary garden soil, 

 although, like most plants, doing best when it is of a 

 kindly nature. Then, in addition to their first bloom, if 

 they are not allowed to seed they will throw up fresh 

 shoots if cut down ; and many of the side sprays from 

 these make effective flowers for minghug with others 



No. 1117.— Vol. LIV., Old Seeies. 



