MISCELLANEOUS VEGETABLES 117 



as Beet or Kidney Beans are sown some time in May, when 

 frost no longer threatens ; yet, even though the plants be cut 

 down by frost, if not entirely killed, they will spring up again, 

 and give a good crop. The only attention required is the use 

 of the hoe and an occasional watering. Gathering usually 

 commences at the end of September, although, by sowing seeds 

 of different degrees of earliness, a successional supply may be 

 had until frosts put an end to growth. The heads, or " cobs " 

 are boiled whole, and served with butter ; and the smallest and 

 immature heads may be pickled in vinegar. 



THE MUSHROOM (Agaricus campestris}. Anyone in posses- 

 sion of an outhouse, shed, or cellar, in which an equable tem- 

 perature and even balance of moisture can be maintained, can 

 grow Mushrooms ; and there is no reason why those with out- 

 door facilities should not be equally successful. Mushrooms, 

 growing naturally in the fields, may be studied as a guide to 

 garden culture. A moderately dry spring, especially during 

 April, and a hot August and September, with heavy clews each 

 night, accompanied by an occasional downpour of rain, always 

 results in a good Mushroom season. But if it be a very wet 

 spring and cold summer, few Mushrooms will be found. The 

 same conditions governing the growth of Mushrooms in a natural 

 state, therefore, are also conducive to their successful cultiva- 

 tion in the garden. As a heavy shower of rain is the natural 

 method of watering in the open pasture, so are good soakings, 

 when required, given with the water-pot to the cultivated 

 fungi always in a tepid state. Again, as natural heavy dews 

 are the promoters of plump, fleshy Mushrooms, every attention 

 must be given to the damping of floors and syringeing of walls 

 and bare spaces indoors, and the proper application of moisture 

 to the outside beds. 



The culture of Mushrooms is a very simple process, and easily 

 accomplished when every detail is strictly observed. It is 

 preferable that the manure should be secured in a fresh condi- 

 tion, if possible. Only the longest straw need be removed. 

 The manure-heap is turned over every day, to allow the rank 

 steam to escape, and on no account is the material permitted to 

 remain undisturbed until it heats violently, or it will lose much 

 of its virtue ; neither should it be overdried. Avoid using 

 manure from stables in which horses are receiving medicine 

 or where carrots are used as a feeding material ; such manure 

 is injurious and detrimental to the growth of Mushrooms, 



