GARDENING. 881 



hours before planting will hasten germination. Plant in hills five or six feet apart each way, 

 scattering a dozen seeds in a hill, and after they are out of danger from bugs, thin out the 

 plants to three or four to the hill. When four or five rough leaves have grown, the lateral 

 branches or vines will start sooner if the end of the main shoot is pinched off, thus also 

 strengthening the growth of the vines, and causing the fruit to come to maturity earlier. 

 Citrons and water-melons require much more room for growth than muskmelons, and should 

 be nine or ten feet apart. Keep the soil free from weeds. Pumpkins, squashes, and citrons 

 should never be planted near musk or water-melons, as they will hybridize very readily. 



Varieties Of Muskmelons or Cantaloupes. The earliest variety of the musk- 

 melon is the JENNY LIND, a small variety of excellent flavor. Other fine sorts are the GREEN 

 CITRON, BAY VIEW, CASSABA, NEW SURPRISE, LARGE MUSK, the largest variety, NUTMEG, etc. 



Varieties of Watermelons. Among the best varieties of the watermelon are 

 the MOUNTAIN SWEET, CUBAN QUEEN, LONG CAROLINA, BLACK ITALIAN, EARLY OVAL, and 

 BLACK SPANISH. 



Mushrooms. The value of mushrooms as an article of diet has not been fully appre 

 ciated in the United States, but in France and Germany they form an important part of the 

 food of the people. The mushroom is wholesome and nutritious, as well as a delicious food, 

 when properly cooked, and needs only to be better known to be more generally appreciated in 

 this country. The Agaricus campestris, or common mushroom, is the only species that is generally 

 grown artificially. It is botanically described as follows: Stipes (or stalk) two or three inches 

 in length, white, solid, fleshy, furnished with an annular&quot; veil (a thin membranous substance 

 encircling the stalk); pileus (cap, or edible part) fleshy, dry, convex, convexoplane, white, 

 changing from yellowish to brownish; gills (thin parallel plates underside of the cap) free, 

 ventricose (swelling unequally on one side), pink, changing to deep purplish brown; flesh 

 (internal substance) white. 



Mr. B. K. Bliss thus describes the culture of mushrooms: &quot;Anyone in possession of an 

 outhouse or cellar, or who can command a temperature of from 50 to 60, may at any time 

 secure a good crop of mushrooms. The best method is to procure (fresh from the stable) as 

 much short manure as is necessary to make a bed from fourteen to eighteen inches deep, 

 and any size the house can conveniently hold; throw the manure into a heap for a few days, 

 until it becomes heated and the greater part of the moisture is thrown off; then spread it out 

 for a day or two until dry and quite cool ; after which put it again in a heap, and allow it to 

 remain five or six days; it will then be fit to make a bed, which must not be deeper than 

 stated above. As soon as the heat is about 74. the bed is ready to receive the spawn. It 

 requires to be broken into pieces about the size of a large walnut, and placed in the manure 

 about two inches below the surface, and six inches apart. The bed should then be covered 

 about two inches deep with fine, light soil, and pressed down evenly. If the temperature is 

 right, the mushrooms will make their appearance in from four to six weeks, according to the 

 season. After the bed has been spawned, do not water unless quite dry, and, when necessary, 

 use lukewarm water only. 



Propagation of Mushroom Spawn. The method of propagating mushroom 

 spawn has been definitely given by Prof. T. Taylor, formerly microscopist of the Department 

 of Agriculture at Washington: &quot;Summer is the best time for performing this operation. 

 Procure some horse manure; if there is a sprinkling of short litter with it, so much the better; 

 cow dung and light loamy soil, or road scrapings, in about equal proportions; it is not par 

 ticularly necessary that they should be in exact quantities. I mention this in passing, as an 

 idea sometimes gets abroad that unless everything is mathematically adjusted by number or 

 weight it would be folly to expect a satisfactory result. Wash these ingredients together 

 with water into a thick mortar, and spread it out three inches in thickness in an open shed to 

 VOL. II. 48 



