VEGETABLES DESCRIPTION AND CULTURE. o75 



straw, laid 011 for the purpose, and when the earth be- 

 comes a little moistened, the straw should be removed, 

 and the dry covering replaced. In warm weather it will 

 need frequent sprinkling-, but in winter very little. 



As cow-manure, though it contains less ammonia, re- 

 tains its heat longer than that of the horse, a mixture 

 of the two may be safely employed. 



In four or five weeks after spawning the bed should 

 begin to produce, and if kept dry and warm will last 

 several months. A gathering may take place two or three 

 times a week according to the productiveness. If it should 

 not come on in two or three months, a little more warmth 

 or a sprinkling of water will generally bring it into 

 plentiful bearing, unless the spawn has been destroyed 

 by overheating or too much moisture. In gathering the 

 mushrooms detach them with a gentle twist and fill the 

 cavity with mould; do not use a knife, as the stumps left 

 in the ground become the nurseries of maggots, which are 

 liable to infest the succeeding crop. Gather before they 

 become flat, when half an inch or more in diameter, and 

 still compact and firm. 



I t .st. — This "voluptuous poison" has been cultivated and 

 held in high esteem among epicures since the time of the 

 Romans. They are employed in catsups, pickles, and rich 

 gravies, and considered by those accustomed to them very 

 delicious. Dried and powdered they are preserved in 

 closely stopped bottles for times when they are not to be 

 procured fresh. 



MUSTARD.— (Brassica alba, and B. nigra.) 



The leaves of the White Mustard (8. alba) are used for 

 salads, and the seed of the Black Mustard (8. nigra) fur- 

 nishes the well-known condiment. Both are hardy annual 

 Cruciferous plants, and succeed in any good common 

 loam, but where sown in September to stand the winter, 



