50 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 21, 1870. 



Much depends on the spawning. Be sure the heat of the 

 bed is on the decline before inserting pieces of spawn about the 

 size of a walnut — if the spawn is good, about S inches apart. 

 At spawning, the heat of the bed should be about 80'. If after 

 spawning the heat should seem to fall a little, add from half an 

 inch to an inch of fresh droppings all over the bed, and if the 

 temperature keep all right do not be long in adding, as a 

 covering, from 1 to 2 inches of earth ; lj is a good medium 

 thickness. When the spawn runs it will make heat enough for 

 itself. To assist it at first, a little covering over the bed is 

 useful, but not so much as to cause the bed to be overheated. 

 'Tbe general management has often been given, and in varied 

 circumstances. 



The above method is chiefly applicable in cases where it 

 would be desirable to get rid, or nearly so, of all labour in pre- 

 paring the materials. We speak confidently, because from 

 frequent practice. In fact, other matters attended to, as care 

 of heat at spawning, fee., we are quite sure that the best and 

 the m03t lasting crops are obtained from beds where the ma- 

 nure used is freshest, and least exhausted by heating previously. 

 The placing thin layers on the bed, and consolidating as you 

 go, keeps up the freshness and prevents exhaustion from over- 

 heating at first. We may here add that the materials referred 

 to are the best for Mushroom beds ; we have been forced to be 

 content with very inferior material, but we always liked to have 

 a surfacing of such horse droppings, except when we had fer- 

 mented common dung for the purpose, as used to be done for 

 Cucumber and Melon frames. The half-decayed dung from 

 old beds and linings of Cucumber and Melon frames makes also 

 ■fine Mushroom beds, either flat, sloping, or on the ridge, if built 

 firmly and a fair depth is given to them. No plan, so far as 

 labour and preparation are concerned, will beat the above where 

 only a small daily supply of material can be obtained. 



TEUIT DEPAETilENT. 



Mulched a number of our bush and pyramidal fruit trees, 



to arrest the moist vapour as it rises. We fear even with that 



. help, Apples and Pears, however good they may be, will be 



are a matter of constant outlay, and are scarcely made nice 

 before they require to be made nice again." Flower beds are 

 bad enough when looked at in a utilitarian point of view, but 

 they are nothing as regards expense when compared with a 

 well-kept lawn. Strange that gentlemen with an eye to the 

 economical — and matters will not be long right if that is not 

 kept in view — will be content with an acre of kitchen garden 

 and care nothing about some three to six times as much of lawn 

 and pleasure grounds. As a practical advice to gardeners wo 

 would say, Be always chary in getting additions to your lawn. 

 Recollect that addition will cost you extra work every week, at 

 least all the summer months, and rollings, &c, in winter. A 

 friend of ours, as a matter of improvement, wa3 anxious to add 

 about an acre to the already pretty lawn, and it would have 

 been an improvement. The proprietor at once owned to the 

 improvement, and said the addition could be made at once, but 

 candidly added, " I cannot afford to give you more help, more 

 labour power." The lawn has not yet been enlarged. We 

 believe that now the gardener would rather have a half-acre 

 added to the kitchen garden. 



OKNAilENTAL DEPAKTHEXT. 



A good deal has been done in potting Balsams, Coleus, &c, 

 for late work, giving tbe former large pots and a cool place to 

 keep them stubby. Cinerarias, Primulas have also been potted 

 and pricked off, leaving still plenty of work to do in the over- 

 hauling and dividing of Ferns, &c. But the chief work of the 

 week has been mulching our flower beds and ribbon borders. 

 The first planted of these, and especially Calceolarias, are pretty 

 full, and so far able to shade themselves. With a watering at 

 planting, and a little help since at long distances, they have 

 otherwise been treated a good deal on Mr. Castle's system, 

 though not to the extent of no watering. A few slight showers, 

 though not telling on the roots, refreshed and filled out the 

 foliage. Of late, however, when the sun was bright they began 

 to show some signs of distress, and therefore we resolved to 

 mulch the beds. We have generally done this less or more 

 every year to save watering, when we were sure that the ground 



small. SVe would have watered some of them, and wall fruit was sufficiently warm to suit even the tenderest of the Pelar 



trees, if we could before this mulching. The ground is in 

 general warm enough now for general purposes, and, therefore, 

 the mulching will do no harm, if it keeps heat and moisture in, 

 though it keeps extra heat out. Early mulching is often in- 

 jurious, because it keeps the heat of the sun from acting freely 

 on a cold soil. By waiting until the soil is heated, the mulch- 

 ing will be beneficial in dry wea-her, and if wet comes, the ma- 

 nurial qualities in the mulching will help to entice the roots to 

 the surface. Laid a part of our Strawberry runners in pots in- 

 tended for forcing, and would have done more, but with us 

 runners are scarce. Strawberries, too, are getting thin. From 

 the first planted-out forced plants we have got a few dishes, 



goninms. We have been later this season than usual, partly 

 from being scarce of time and suitable material, and partly 

 because the clouds so often promised the rains that did not 

 come, that we were anxious that the beds should have a water- 

 ing from the heavens before we put the mulching on. But for 

 the Calceolarias being so strong we would have mulched them 

 earlier, as nothing pleases them more than a bright sun over- 

 head and a moist cool soil at the roots. These conditions se- 

 cured, nothing is more easy to manage. Putting off the mulch- 

 ing so late rendered it impossible in many cases, as in that of 

 Verbenas, closely covering the ground. A little could only be 

 hustled in where there was an opening. For such a purpose 



and regret we had not more out early, as the later-planted ones anything is better than nothing, but it will always look and 



answer best when done neatly and with good material. The 

 centres of our largest beds were thinly covered with half-rotted 

 dung and leaves that had been used for Vine borders. This 

 was too damp to pass through an open sieve, but it was nicely 

 broken with the points of a fork so as to be well mixed and 

 made rather fine, put with a shovel. into the openings and then 

 spread with the hands. The smaller beds and the outsides of 

 the larger ones were covered over chiefly with old Mushroom 

 beds that were passed through an inch mesh sieve or riddle, 

 and this gives a neatnesB to the beds when finished. _ Without 

 any watering from the pail or the clouds this mulching helps 

 the roots by keeping the rising moisture about them, keeps the 

 heat of the sun from penetrating so freely ; and the only draw- 

 back is, that if we had a succession of warm heavy rains we 

 might have more luxuriance in growth in some things than 

 might be desirable. It is more pleasant, however, to neutralise 

 too vigorous growth by removing some of the larger leaves, than 

 to look on plants at all stunted and as if they were half starved. 

 All such mulching will soon be out of sight in autumn. We 

 do not mean that the leaves will thoroughly cover it, for that 

 they will do very soon, but the earth and roots together soon 

 take it all away, so that scarce a trace of it will be left. Mean- 

 while it does its useful work. It takes more time than a good 

 watering, which could only be given now from the surface, and 

 which in such heat would steadily evaporate, but the influence 

 of the mulching will continue until we hope a change of weather 

 comes. When the soil is excessively dry and hot it is well to 

 water before mulching, and mulch immediately before it haa 

 the chance of escaping upwards, and this is the plan we have 

 followed generally in the kitchen garden ; but in this case, if 



have suffered from the drought. Mulched again the pots in 

 the orchard house, chiefly with horse dropping?. It is amazing 

 how soon such mulchings disappear, and leave the bare soil of 

 the pots. The mulching greatly saves watering in all such 

 cases. If we see not the chance of rain water, we will mulch 

 the surface soil of these houses, even though we thus keep 

 heat out. We have been obliged to do so with the borders of 

 Peaches and Apricots to within some 4 feet of the wall, to 

 keep them moderately moist, as otherwise the trees would have 

 suffered from dryness. We have our own views as to planting 

 the borders of fruit trees, but we cannot help ourselves ; ours 

 are rarely empty, but we generally contrive to have low-grow- 

 ing things on them after the beginning of July, so that the sun 

 may have free access to the trees. For some 4 feet from the 

 ■wall we like the ground to be uncropped all the autumn, 

 though that, too, is generally well filled in winter and spring. 

 All bad policy in many respects, but when much must be had 

 from little room, many a compromise must be made. 



Extended pleasure grounds, and small gardens for vegetables 

 and fruit, are a great mistake. The great part of the expense 

 then goe3 for what merely pleases the eye, and does nothing 

 whatever to gratify the palate. One gentleman complained to 

 -another that "his table was quite as well supplied, and yet you 

 know I keep nearly double the number of men in my garden." 

 Truly replied his host, l; Bat then you have three times the 

 extent of flower garden and mown pleasure ground. That is 

 pretty and gratifying, no doubt, very pleasing to the eye, but it 

 must be paid for. It is like investing a handsome sum in a 

 fine painting, with this difference — that the painting purchased 

 Tetains its beauty and costs but little more, whilst the flower 



garden, lawns, &c, during the whole of the pleasant months ' after mulching we should be forced to water, the water will run 



