PVesi London Gardeners' Association. 371 



considerable annual burden ; for it appears that since the year 1834* inclusive, 

 the cost of repairs, &c. has been as follows : — 





£ s. d. 





£ s. d. 



1834 - 



- 497 11 



1836 - 



- 881 4 



— 



- 483 15 



— _ 



- 4,183 18 4 



1835 - 



- 825 4 8 



- 621 



1837- 



- 449 







^7,941 13 



and the charge of ordinary repairs is not at all likely to be diminished under 

 any arrangement, except that of entire renovation. 



As there is no necessity for effecting alterations in this Botanical Garden 

 otherwise than gradually, no sudden burthen need be thrown upon the public 

 on that account. 



Art. V. The West London Gardeners Association for mutual 

 Instruction. 



Monday Evening, Feb. 17. 1840. — Mr. Shearer brought forward his paper 

 " On the Culture of Mushrooms" He would recommend to have a house 

 built for the purpose at the back of a pine stove, hot-house, or any other 

 building, of dimensions according to the quantity required. The house in 

 which he has grown mushrooms with the greatest success was 10 ft. inside the 

 walls, with a row of shelves 3^ ft. wide on each side, a space in the middle 

 3 ft. wide for a double flue. The first shelf was 2 ft. above the level of the flue, 

 and 18 in. between the top and bottom of each of the shelves above that; the 

 shelves were 10 or 12 inches deep. The flues were the height of six bricks laid 

 flatways, and 8 in, wide inside, leaving between them a cavity of 4 in. ; the 

 whole was covered with flagstones. Cast-iron ventilators were put in about 

 3 ft. apart up the centre, to allow the heated air to ascend from the cavities 

 between the flues, which run parallel with the shelves the whole length of the 

 house, and return by the back wall to the chimney over the fireplace. The 

 door was at one end of the house, and light was admitted from windows in 

 the roof. The materials he preferred were horse-droppings, which had not 

 been exposed to wet or to fermentation, but collected from the stable with a 

 quantity of short litter sufficient to raise the temperature of the bed to about 

 65°, to be firmh' rammed when put on the shelves about 8 or 10 inches deep, but 

 if dung is scarce, 6 in. will do ; in two or three days it will be fit to spawn. 

 For procuring spawn plentifully, he would recommend any of the three 

 following methods. In the month of June to take small pieces of spawn, to 

 place them in communication with the droppings which have been left in places 

 where brood mares and other horses had been kept ; in September following, 

 plenty of spawn will generally be found superior to any in bricks. Secondly, 

 by putting a little spawn among the dung in melon or cucumber pits or frames ; 

 in September, when the crops are cleared away, as much spawn could be taken 

 but as would give a plentiful supply during the following winter, with a suffi- 

 ciency left in the frames or pits to produce a good crop, by keeping on the 

 lights, by watering them if dry, and by covering with hay, which would give a 

 supply until they were produced in the forcing-house. Thirdly, he would 

 procure a suppl}' by laying some well-dried horse-droppings in one of the 

 shelves in the house in the summer, and spawning it afterwards, it would 

 produce a plentiful supply. The best spawn was known by a sharp acid mush- 

 room-like smell. He preferred the spawn that had the appearance of mouldi- 

 ness to that which appeared like threads, as he considers when it is in that 

 state its vegetative powers are partly exhausted. When spawning the bed, he 

 lays small pieces in holes 2 in. deep and about 6 in. apart, then well I'ams it, 



