1022 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



OCTOBBB 13, 1904. 



Vegetable Forcing. 



MUSHROOMS. 



Mushrooms are by no means fastidious 

 regarding the style or construction of 

 the house nor the location in which they 

 are grown. We have seen them grown 

 successfully under greenhouse benches, 

 in an empty corner of a coal cellar, in 

 a root cellar and even in a disused ice 

 house with just as little trouble as iu an 

 up-to-date mushroom house. In any or 

 all of these situations the proper condi- 

 tions for their development may be pro- 

 vided. These conditions comprise dark- 

 ness, a moist atmosphere, a temperature 

 of not less than 50 degrees and some 

 means of ventilation when necessary. 



It is, however, important that the situ- 

 ation be such that the fluctuations of the 

 outdoor temperature will have little if 

 any effect on the temperature inside the 

 house. In this respect a frost-proof cel- 

 lar is about as good as anything. While 

 the temperature may be maintained by 

 fire heat, if hard firing has to be resorted 

 to, the drying influence on the beds is 

 detrimental to the development of the 

 crop and may necessitate the application 

 of water to the beds, which should, if 

 possible, be avoided. If conditions are 

 provided so that the natural moisture of 

 the bed can be maintained, that 

 will be suflicient for the best develop- 

 ment of the crop. Where it is intended 

 to go into mushroom culture to any ex- 

 tent it vrill pay, however, to have a prop- 

 erly constructed house and in the mak- 

 ing of such the above points should be 

 taken into consideration. 



Regarding the preparation of the mate- 

 rial for making up the bed, in my notes 

 of last year I tried to cover the matter 

 pretty fully, and it seems like going over 

 the Kame ground again, but for the ben- 

 efit of beginners or others who may be 

 looking for information on this point I 

 will here give my ideas briefly. Instead 

 of procuring fresh manure and keeping 

 it turned frequently for eight or ten 

 days until the heat is pretty well worked 

 out, the custom now is to mix the fresh 

 manure with soil or old rotted manure, 

 or both, about one-half fresh manure 

 and the other half old manure and soil 

 in proportions of about two-thirds old 

 manure to one of soil. After the flrst 

 mushroom beds are past bearing the old 

 material can be conveniently used for 

 mixing with the fresh manure. But if 

 soil has been employed in the first mix- 

 ture, the additional soil used for cover- 

 ing the bed should "be partly removed be- 

 fore the bed is disturbed to avoid getting 

 too much soil in the mixture, which would 

 render it too heavy. The great advantage 

 of mixing the fresh manure with what 

 might be called cooling material is that 

 violent heating is avoided and a large 

 percentage of the ammonia retained. 



The best depth of bed is twelve inches. 

 A bed of this depth is less liable to dry 

 out and will continue to bear longer than 

 one of eight or nine inches, which depth 

 is sometimes recommended as best. In 

 niaking the bed the material should be 

 packed firmly and before the spawn is in- 

 troduced the temperature of the bed 

 (which will probably rise to over 100 de- 

 grees) should be allowed to fall to about 

 90 degrees. It is very important that 

 the spawn be fresh to insure its running 

 freely. Pieces about two inches square 



Ehould be inserted in holes about three 

 inches deep and five inches apart, the 

 holes being again filled up to the level of 

 the bed. In a week or ten days, when 

 the temperature of the bed has fallen 

 to about 75 degrees, the bed should be 

 covered with soil to a depth of about two 

 inches. This soil should be beaten down 

 with the back of a spade so as to pre- 

 sent a level surface, but not beaten too 

 hard, especially if rather damp. After 

 this covering the bed may rise in tem- 

 perature, but after it has again dropped 

 below 75 degrees a covering of clean 

 straw should be given to help conserve 

 both heat and moisture. 



For the first week or ten days the tem- 

 perature should be kept in the neighbor- 

 hooc". of 70 degrees to insure the free 

 diffusion of the spawn, but after that it 

 should gradually recede until, when it 

 comes into bearing, it should be only 

 slightly above that of the atmosphere of 

 the house. The best temperature for the 

 house to be kept is not under 50 or 

 above 55 degrees. If run much higher 

 the quality of the product is apt to be 

 poor. After the mushrooms begin to ap- 

 pear, which, under suitable conditions, 

 should be in from six to seven weeks, the 

 straw should be removed from the beds. 

 This removal is necessary not only to 

 allow freedom to gather the crop but 

 also to avert damping off, which some- 

 times takes place if the surface of the 

 bed is kept too damp. The length of 

 time that the bed will continue to bear 

 varies according to the quality or mois- 

 ture conserving properties of the mate- 

 rial used. But where a continuous sup- 

 ply is desired fresh beds should be made 

 up at intervals of about three weeks. 

 After the first crop is over, by giving a 

 good watering with tepid water and cov- 

 ering over with an inch of fresh soil, a 

 good second crop can often be had, but 

 as this cannot be relied upon, where fresh 

 material can conveniently be procured, 

 it is better to make up a fresh bed rather 

 than depend upon procuring a second 

 crop from the old. one. 



W. S. Croydon. 



CUCUMBERS UNDER GLASS. 



An excellent treatise on this subject 

 is published by Mr. Fabius, Redlands 

 Nursery, Emsworth, Hants. To be a suc- 

 cessful cucumber grower, says the au- 

 thor, all depends upon the man ; no 

 amount of advice, instruction, or assist- 

 ance can be of any use in the absence of 

 that one condition. The publication of 

 this little book might therefore seem su- 

 perfluous; but it is really far from being 

 so, and the most severely practical man 

 will derive many a hint from these pages. 

 The whole routine of cultivation, from the 

 sowing of the seed to the cutting of the 

 fruit, is clearly expounded, and the ques- 

 tions relating to soil, heating, and other 

 essentials are fully entered into. Hy- 

 giene and preventive measures are most 

 important in cucumber growing, for if 

 the soil contains eel-worms, or fungous 

 spores are introduced with manure, the 

 cultural conditions which suit the cu- 

 cumber also favor the fungi. The soil 

 should be sterilized by steam if possible; 

 if not, by stacking the loam in layers 

 with gas-lime intervening, and keeping 

 it at least twelve months before using it. 

 The close, stuffy atmosphere of a cucum- 

 ber house is most favorable for the 

 growth of fungous molds of all kinds; 

 the importance of free ventilation is thus 



emphasized. Overcrowding the plants of 

 course favors the spread of the fungus. 

 The maintenance of an even temperature 

 is also of primary importance, and the 

 watering should be most carefully at- 

 tended to. Think first, and water after- 

 wards, is Mr. Fabius' advice, and excel- 

 lent it is. Indeed, we have rarely seen 

 a book in which science (that is, knowl- 

 edge derived from careful observation) 

 has been more judiciously applied to 

 practice. If all ' 'book-knowledge ' ' were 

 of this kind, we should not hear much 

 about the uselessness of book-learning. — 

 Gardeners' Chronicle. 



FROM OUR ENGLISH EXCHANGES. 



The Gardeners' Magazine. 



The high position to which horticul- 

 ture has attained could not have been 

 better attested than by the recent open- 

 ing by the King and Queen of the new 

 hall of the Royal Horticultural Society 

 and the character of the assemblage 

 which was privileged to witness it. After 

 many vicissitudes the germ of that soci- 

 ety, originating in the brain of its 

 founder a century ago,has developed into 

 a magnificent organization universally 

 recognized as fully competent to deal 

 with the varied phases and interests of 

 horticulture as in the process of evolu- 

 tion they present themselves. 



Every now and then some corre- 

 spondent sends us specimens of glox- 

 inias with a double bloom, a supplemen- 

 tary corolla emerging from the outer 

 surface of the first. The condition is 

 figured in Vegetable Teratology, page 

 451, and at the time of the publication 

 of that volume the condition was so 

 "fixed" that a "strain" of such flow- 

 ers was produced and was offered in 

 commerce. Since that time the strain 

 has died out, save for the occasional oc- 

 currence of specimens such as we have 

 alluded to. Messrs. Parsons, of Swan- 

 sea, now send us pure white flowers of 

 this character, which they tell us are re- 

 produced from seed, and come very true 

 and regular. No doubt by continued se- 

 lection improvements will be effected. 



Fort Smith, Ark. — The second an- 

 nual flower show by the lady managers 

 of Belle Point hospital will be held No- 

 vember 3 to 5, with A. A. Pantet man- 

 ager. Last year's show was a great suc- 

 cess and a liberal premium list has been 

 issued. 



NURSERY NEWS. 



AMCRICAKI ASSOCUTION W NURSERYMEN. 



Pres.. E. W. Elrkpatrlck. McKlnney, Tex ; 

 Vlce-Prea., C. L. WatrouB, Des Moines; Secy, 

 Sec. C. Searer, Rochester; Treas.. C. L. Yates. 

 Rochester. The 29th annual convention will be 

 held at West Baden, Ind., June, 1D05. 



R. O. Qraham is treasurer and man- 

 ager of the Lilly Orchard Co., east of 

 Bloomington, 111. 



Field-grown plants of Crimson Ram- 

 bler rose are in active demand this fall 

 and in short supply. 



The Champaign Nursery Co., Cham- 

 paign, III., has opened a sales ground in 

 town for the fall season. 



The p. J. Berckmans Co. says the 

 Amoor river privet, Ligustrum Amurense, 

 so largely planted for hedges in the 

 south, has stood 20 degrees below zero. 



