170 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 1, W70. 



grown. Two or three ol the former, jast when hearting and 

 becoming a little white in the centre, look very well on a gentle- 

 man's table. 



Onr main last spring quarters of Cabbages were very stunted 

 and blue in the hot, dry weather, and we used younger plant- 

 ings, chiefly because they were sweet, soft, and succulent ; but 

 now after the rain these old quarters are much improved, and 

 in an ordinary winter we shall be able to out plenty from them. 

 In going through the rows we noticed that the bulk of the 

 stumps were producing from five to twelve young Cabbages, 

 and as they are removed more will come. We like young Cole- 

 worts very well ; they are nice from October and onwards to the 

 spring, but even planted from 10 to 12 inches apart the yield is 

 small in comparison with that obtained from an old Cabbage 

 bed. Lately we have heard and listened to advice to destroy 

 the old Cabbage quarter and depend on younger plants, but we 

 would like all who consider the question of profit and loss to 

 think twice before clearing away such a source of a large con- 

 tinuous supply in winter. We generally allow ours to stand 

 all through the winter until we want the ground for Peas and 

 Celery trenches. 



Celery. — We were obliged to shade the beds we planted in 

 order to keep it alive, and even with some showers we shall 

 be later than usual. The chief bulk is still unplanted, because 

 we could shade and even water where it was growing thickly in 

 beds, which we could not easily do when transferred per- 

 manently to the trench beds. Fortunately the plants were 

 pricked out rather thinly, are now strong and luxuriant, and as 

 they will lift with large balls they will suffer but little from the 

 removal. We must, therefore, vary our practice according to 

 circumstances. With so little water, if these plants had been 

 transferred to the trenches we should have expected the most 

 of them to have started into bloom from mere dryness. We 

 shall be both surprised and disappointed if one per cent, of 

 these plants, after being turned out, should bolt ; and aB we 

 expect to have more moisture in the autumn the plants will 

 grow very fast and vigorously. September is the great month 

 for Celery growing. We have earthed-np none ae yet, though 

 in general we used to be taking up long before now. At one 

 time it was judged neeessary to have large fine Celery at latest 

 by the middle of Jaly, but it could not be had large and fine so 

 early without a good degree of forcing and no lack of moisture. 

 Mushrooms. — Owing to necessary repairs in the Mushroom 

 house we shall not be able to commence there for some time ; 

 and not wishing to have a break in the supply, if we can obtain 

 water enough to wet, heat, and partially decompose a lot of 

 dryish litter, we think of making a bed or two out of doors in 

 the old-fashioned ridge or triangle form. At the present time 

 we would not make these ridges large, as then they would be apt 

 to retain the heat too long to enable us to spawn them quickly. 

 For a bed to stand through the winter they ought to be larger, 

 say at least 4 feet wide at the base, and 3 j feet to the apex. With 

 good covering to keep out cold and wet, we have never had 

 better Mushrooms than from such out-door ridges. Of course 

 there was trouble in uncovering and covering. Fora temporary 

 purpose, such as we propose, we should be satisfied just now 

 with ridges 30 inches wide and 24 inches in height, made of 

 rather more than half-decomposed dung, and then a couple of 

 inches or so of droppings added all over. We are rather in- 

 clined to this because we cannot make up our mind to follow 

 the usual rotation in the open shed, which we use for Bummer 

 cropping. The first summer piece has there been bearing 

 freely for about six weeks ; the second little piece is showing 

 here and there like pin heads, quite as soon as we wanted. 

 What would have been the third piece is occupied by a bed 

 made just a twelvemonth ago, and which produced freely in 

 October, November, and the first part of December, and then 

 was pretty well neglected, as the house beds gave us plenty to 

 go on with. This little bed, as witnessed by some of our 

 leading gardeners the other day, is a proof that many of the 

 failu r es with Mushrooms are the results of mistaken kind- 

 Bees. This bed was neglected during the winter, and in a cold 

 night, though a little was left, the ehief part of the covering 

 ever it was removed to protect other things. In the spring the 

 Other beds in the shed were turned out for compost-making, 

 top-dressing, &c. In coming to this little bed the man who 

 attends to the Mushrooms drew our attention to the freshness 

 of the spawn. He cleaned the surface well, made a few little 

 holes, and gave the bed a good watering with warm manure 

 water at about 100°, covered it up with a little hay and litter, as 

 far as we recollect, about the end of April, and from the end 

 of May and the middle of June we have gathered freely, and 



there are good Mushrooms now at the end of August. Of 

 course it has not equalled in yield the first bed put up in the 

 shed this season, but it still yields enough to render it a little 

 imprudent to turn it out for the sake of immediately making a 

 new bed. Ab far as we recollect the flat bed is about 16 inches 

 deep, and the bulk of it is short dryish litter, with a casing of 

 about 3 inches of droppings. No doubt the rest in winter 

 helped it to produce this summer. All we can say is the 

 Mushrooms were very acceptable, as they came in well when 

 those in the house were becoming rather thin in texture before 

 the first bed in the Bhed was ready. 



We have frequently alluded to the simplest modes of obtain- 

 ing Mushrooms. Perhaps the chief cause of failure is a want of 

 patience. The material must not be spawned too hot. It is easy 

 to give a little heat, when necessary, by covering, watching 

 that the covering does not make the bed too hot. Of all 

 materials we prefer horse droppings, with nearly an equal 

 amount of short litter — not too much wasted, decomposed, or 

 dried.previous to use. 



For ridge beds, nothing is better than dryish half-decomposed 

 littery dung,. such as is often obtained from the linings to hot- 

 beds. One of the best beds we overbad in a shed was made of 

 equal parts of stubble, longiBh dryish litter, and rather long 

 green grass. We relied on the grass to give a certain amount 

 of moiBture to the other materials, and also a fair amount of 

 nitrogen. These materials did not heat very strongly, but, as 

 they were well mixed, enough to consolidate them when trodden 

 and beaten. When the heat was on the decline, 2 inohes of 

 droppings were added and well beaten, and when the heat was 

 suitable the bed was spawned, and in a few days earthed-np- 

 When that bed was turned out a year afterwards one could still 

 see the Btraws of the litter and the stubble, and over every straw 

 the spawn had Bpread like a network. As already stated, we 

 think horse droppings are the best, but we mention the above 

 fact merely to show those 6hort of the beat materials that they 

 may make the most of what they have. In fact, we do not see 

 why every farmer who has an empty stall, a piece of shed 

 unused, or a piece of a oellar unoccupied, should not have 

 Mushrooms pretty well all the year round if he can obtain the 

 material and exercise patience — that is, neither spawn too soon, 

 nor earth-up too soon. Heat destroys ten times more beds 

 than coolness and all other causes put together. To give too 

 high a temperature to Mushroom spawn is jast as wise as bring- 

 ing a plant from alpine snows, and expecting it to flourish in a 

 tropical hothouse. 



The rains of Monday evening enabled us to roll and con- 

 solidate firmly the walks in the pleasure ground treated as 

 alluded to last week. — R. F. 



TRADE CATALOGUE RECEIVED. 



William Paul, Paul's Nurseries, Waltham Cross, London, N. — 

 Bulb Catalogue for 1870. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



*»* We request that no one will write privately to any of tha 

 correspondents of the " Journal of Horticulture, Cottage 

 Gardener, and Country Gentleman." By doing so they 

 are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and expense. All 

 communications should therefore he addressed solely to 

 The Editors of the Journal of Horticultme, etc., 171, Fleet 

 Street, London, E.C. 

 We also request that correspondents will not mix up on the 

 same sheet questions relating to Gardening and those on 

 Poultry and Bee subjects, if they expect to get them an- 

 swered promptly and conveniently, but write them on 

 separate communications. Also never to send more than 

 two or three questions at once. 

 N.B. — Many questions must remain unanswered until next 

 week. 

 Tan Mantjbe {Subscriber).— Spent tanners' bark used as a horse's bed- 

 ding, and consequently mixed with his urine and droppings, is an excel- 

 lent fertiliser. The fresher it is used the better. 



Ktcepino Walnuts (A Subscriber).— When quite ripe and out of the 

 green husk, p»t them in stone jars or zinc-lined boxes, in alternate layers 

 with moderately dry sand, and keep them in a cold cellar. 



Pins Sawdust as a Manure [J. N.).— There is nothing in rod Ptae 

 sawdust to render it injurious as a manure ; and soaked and mixed aa 

 you mention with the excrements either of horses or pigs it would be a 

 powerful and enduring fertiliser. 



Halyebh Hali. Mbios (W. S J.— It is a Bcorlet-fleshed kind ot fina 

 flavour. 



