No. 10. 



On the Cultivation of the Mushroom. 



305 



ground, but it has the advantage of occupy- 

 ing space of otherwise little value. One 

 obvious cheapness of this improved granary 

 over those now existing is, that the whole 

 cubic contents may be filled, whereas, in the 

 existing mode, not above one-fourth of the 

 cubic contents can be rendered available. 

 But many existing structures might be ren- 

 dered eligible. For example: the railway 

 arches of the Eastern counties, the Black- 

 well, and the Greenwich. In such cases 

 the grain would be discharged into them 

 from wagons on the line, in the mode used 

 with coals. Reservoirs might be erected in 

 farm yards, and the grain threshed out and 

 carried from the harvest field direct, with 

 the absolute certainty of preserving it any 

 length of time that might be desired. Or, 

 inasmuch as it is a certain thing that all 

 farms must ultimately communicate with 

 railways, by means of cheap horse-trains, or 

 steam-sidings, in order to work to profit, it 

 would be desirable that the granary should 

 be erected at some central railway station, 

 where a steam mill would do the work of 

 exhausting the air, discharging the grain by 

 an Archimedean screw when required, and 

 grinding it into meal. 



The same arrangements that are good on 

 land are also good at sea. Many cargoes of 

 wheat have been abandoned owing to heat 

 and germination on their passage. Rats, 

 mice, and weevils, also, are very destruc- 

 tive. If the vessels were built of metal- 

 lined, air-tight compartments, the air might 

 be exhausted by the pump; occasionally try- 

 ing the pump to ensure against leaking; and 

 thus even now, undried grain might be car- 

 ried and delivered across the sea undam- 

 aged; the vessel would be more safe by 

 means of air-tight compartments, and also 

 more buoyant. And the same arrangements 

 would be equally available for various kinds 

 of goods subject to damage in transit, — such 

 as are hermetically sealed in tin cases; and 

 thus the expense of packing would be saved. 



In reservoirs on shore the air might not 

 merely be pumped out ; warm air might be 

 pumped in, to dry damp grain. Water might 

 also be pumped in and out to cleanse the 

 grain. 



Similar reservoirs or magazines on a 

 smaller scale might be constructed for butch- 

 ers, or other provision dealers, and meat 

 might be preserved fresh for weeks in the 

 heat of summer, preventing the necessity of 

 waste, or of selling at ruinously low prices; 

 and so with fish brought to Billingsgate or 

 other markets. On the same principle, there 

 is no doubt that fresh meat, as sea stock, 

 might be carried instead of salt meat, and 

 that fresh provisions might be transported 



from any part of the world to any other part. 

 Pork, or beef, or mutton, or venison, might 

 be killed in America, and transported into 

 England. Weevily biscuit would be a tra- 

 ditional commodity only in the annals of 

 sailor craft. 



" Water-tight compartments" is at present 

 the expression for a safe ship. "Air-tight 

 compartments" would be a term expressive 

 of equal safety and far more general utility. 

 The expense of air-tight joints for the man- 

 holes or openings would be but trifling. By 

 the application of gutta percha, a perfect fit 

 might at all times be ensured with scarcely 

 any expense. 



There can be little doubt, that with such 

 arrangements, the prices of food would be 

 far less fluctuating, and that it would become 

 a practicable thing to borrow money on food 

 as on brandy or iron, or any other commodi- 

 ty, when once its durability and unchange- 

 ability were demonstrated. — Westminstef 

 Review. 



From Hovey's Magazine. 



On the Cultivation of the Moshroom. 



By J. Kenned\% Gardener to S. T. Jones, Esq., Statea 

 Is(and, N. Y. 



Sir, — I have more than once been sur- 

 prised, that, amongst the many valuable ar- 

 ticles which appear monthly in the pages of 

 your magazine, on the various branches of 

 Floriculture and Horticulture, nothing, so 

 far as I have seen, has been said on the cul- 

 tivation of the mushroom ; and, as it is ari 

 old acquaintance of mine, and one which I 

 consider deserving a prominent place in the 

 vegetable department, especially during the 

 winter months, I shall take the liberty of 

 throwing out a few hints on its culture, 

 which may not be unacceptable to at least 

 some of your readers. My mode of culture 

 differs in some minor points from that in 

 general practice, but as it possesses the ad-" 

 vantages of being both cheap and simple, I 

 hope it may lead to a more extensive cul- 

 ture of this delicious vegetable. 



Early in the month of November last, I 

 erected a shelf eighteen feet long by four 

 wide, and one foot six inches deep, in a base- 

 ment, underneath a row of lean-to buildings, 

 on the north side of a vinery wall. The 

 bottom of the shelf is elevated eighteen 

 inches from the floor, and, in forming it, I 

 left a cavity of one inch between each board, 

 for the purpose of drainage, as well as to 

 allow the heat from fermenting materials, 

 placed underneath, to pass freely up into the 

 bed: the shelf being completed, my bed was 

 formed as follows: I first shook a light layer 

 of litter from the barn-yard, over the bottom; 



