34 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



If the soil is in a fertile condition it will 

 not require as heavy manuring as if the 

 land is riui out and impoverished. Good 

 results can be obtained by using one half 

 stable manure and one half comn':crcial 

 fertilizer. The fertilizer should have an 

 analysis of lo per cent, phosphoric, lo per 

 cent, potash, and 5 per cent, amiuonia, us- 

 ing 800 to 1,000 pounds per acre along with 

 manure. A good way to apply the ferti- 

 lizer is to sow one half broadcast. Of the 

 other half put a handful around each plant, 

 but be careful not to touch the plant for fear 

 of injury. The fertilizer around the plant 

 will prevent the cut Avorm and help prevent 

 the lly that causes the maggot depositiag an 

 •-^g'S ^^11 the stem. 



When preparing the land to set out plants 

 be sure and plough deep. Some growers 

 have a drag like a heavy iron rake, attached 

 to the plow, to level the furrows and pre- 

 pare the land in one operation. Make the 

 rows three inches apart and set the plants 



18 inches apart in the row. It is best to 

 have a marker to mark four or five rows at 

 a time. it is always best to set out plants 

 in the afterncjon so as to avoid the heat of 

 the morning sun. This is not necessary if 

 the weather is cloudy and threatening rain. 

 If the weather should be dry at the time of 

 setting out the plants it is best to water 

 them. 



Cultivate often; never let the suil get 

 baked round the plants. .\s soon as the 

 head begins to appear it needs to be shaded 

 immediately from the sun. Go over the 

 field every morning and bend the leaves 

 over the head. Sunburnt cauliflowers bring 

 very poor prices. Plants that do not head 

 up before frost should be pulled. Leave 

 all the soil that adheres to the roots and set 

 them up close together in a root house or 

 cellar. In this way I have had cauliflowers 

 right into the New Year. One ounce of 

 seed should produce about 3.000 plants and 

 costs $2 to S5 per ounce. 



THE CULTIVATION OF MUSHROOMS 



I^llK L'nited States Department of Agri- 

 culture has recently published Far- 

 mers' Bulletin No. 204. on " The Cultivation 

 of JMushrocms," by Dr. B. M. Duggar, 

 Professor of Botany in the University of 

 Missouri, Columbia, Mo. In the letter of 

 transmittal Dr. B. T. Galloway, Chief of 

 Bureau of Plant Industry, says : '" Under 

 the direction of the Pathologist and Phy- 

 siologist of this Bureau, Doctor Duggar has 

 been engaged for several years in the in- 

 vestigation of mushroom culture in all its 

 phases, and great advances have been made, 

 especially in the production of purer and 

 better spawns." 



On this side of tb.e Atlantic most people 

 are quite unfamiliar with the practical cul- 

 tivation of mushroonis. The few that are 

 grown here are seldom displayed in the 

 public markets, because they are usually 

 sold to special customers in advance, and at 



what ma} be considered very fancy prices. 

 Indeed, it is hard to understand, considering 

 the prevailing prices, why mushrooms are 

 not grown in greater quantity. Some idea 

 of the magnitude of the industry around 

 Paris, France, may be obtained from the 

 figures given in the bulletin. In 1898,. 

 3,960,000 pounds of nnishi-ooms passed 

 through Central Market of Paris, while in 

 1901 the quantity was more than double 

 this, 9,680,000 pounds. It is not .so stated" 

 in the bulletin, but it is known that about 

 two-thirds of the French crop is preserved 

 and exported to American countries. 



Persons wlio grow mushrooms have three 

 fundamental conditions to observe: (i) 

 Character of the spawn used, (2) proper 

 composting of the manure, and (3) control 

 of the temperature and moisture of the beds. 

 All these points are discussed by the bul- 

 letin in a simple practical way. 



