PETER HENDERSON & CO.'S CATALOGUE OP SEEDS. 63 



MELON, f WATER.) 



German, Wassermelone. — French, Melon WEau. — Spanish, Sandia. 



Per pkt. Per oz' 14 lb. Lb. 



Mountain Sprout. Fruit of the largest size, longish oval ; skin 

 dark green, marbled with lighter shades, red-fleshed, of excel- 

 lent quality 5c. 15c. 35 1 10 



Mountain Sweet. Fruit oblong, dark green, rind thin, llesd red, 



solid and very sweet 5c. 15c. 35 1 10 



Phinney's Early. (See Cut.) Flesh deep red, of very superior 



quality; early and productive; a valuable market variety. 5c. 20c. 50 150 



Black Spanish. Fruit of large size, almost round, skin dark 



green, flesh red, sweet and delicious 5c. ,15c. 35 1 10 



Ice Cream. Fruit of medium size, nearly round, skin pale green, 

 rind very thin, white seed; flesh scarlet, solid, crisp, and delic- 

 ious..... 5c. 20c. 50 150 



Gipsy. Fruit large, oblong, striped; flesh red, of fine quality 5c. 15c. 35 1 10 



Orange. So called from its peculiarity of the rind separating from 

 the flesh when fully ripe; flesh red, tender and sweet, of medi- 

 um quality 5c. 20c. 50 150 



Citron. A round handsome fruit of small size ; used in making of 



sweetmeats and preserves 5c. 20c. 50 1 50 



MUSHROOM SPAWN. 



To make the cultivation of the Mushroom profitable, it should be done in a building, either 

 specially erected for the purpose, or some shed, stable or cellar, where a temperature from 40 to 

 60 degrees can be sustained in winter. To every barrow load of fresh horse droppings add about 



the same weight of fresh loam, or soil of any kind, that has 

 not been manured; (the danger of old manured soil being 

 that it may. contain spurious fungi. ) Let the droppings be 

 Fiji plpfc mixed together, day by day, as the droppings can be pro- 



'"'' cured; if they can be had all at once, in quantity enough, so 



much the better. Let the heap be turned every day, so that 

 Wm' "^k ** * s not a U° we d to heat violently, until you have got quantity 

 enough to form the bed of the dimensions required. Be 

 careful that your heap is under cover, so that it cannot possi- 

 bly get wet. 



The most convenient size for a bed is from four to five feet 



.■•■ 



1 ' V '' J/^flir * n width' an( ^ ^ tne Mushrooms are wanted in quantity, it is 

 ^^iliP/ ml w^vlk ^ e P^ an most economical of space: to start on the floor of the 

 LJtlllo', "■'" ' ?JjJB house with the first bed, the additional ones to be formed of 

 shelving, four feet wide, by ten inches deep, raised one above 

 another, something like the berths in a steamboat. Now, 

 from the prepared heap of droppings and soil, spread over 

 the bed a thin layer, pound this firmly down with a brick; 

 then another layer, pounded down as before, and so on until 

 it reaches a depth of eight inches. Be careful that it be no 

 more nor less than eight inches; more would cause the mass 

 to heat too violently, while less is hardly enough. Into this bed plunge a thermometer; in a day 

 or two the bed will heat so that it will run up to 100 or over, and as soon as it declines to 95 or 

 90, take a dibber or sharp stick, and make holes all over the bed, at the distance of about twelve 

 inches each way, to about half the depth of the bed ; into each hole put a piece of spawn about 

 the size of a hen's egg or so, covering up the hole again with the compost, so that it will present 

 the same level firm surface as before the spawn was put in. Let it remain in this condition for 

 about ten or twelve days, by which time the spawn will have "run" through the whole bed. 

 Now spread evenly over the surface of the bed nearly two inches of fresh loam, firm it down 

 moderately with the back of a spade, and cover up the bed with three or four inches of hay or 

 straw. 



If you can control the means of heating, so that the place can be kept uniformly at a temper- 

 ature at 60 degrees, all the better, but, if not, it may range from 40 to 60 degrees; it should never 

 get much below 40 degrees. Unless the air of the house has been unusually dry, the Mushrooms 

 will appear before any water is required; but examination should be made, and if the suiface of 

 the bed appears dry, a gentle sprinkling of water, heated to about 100 degrees, must be given. 

 Per pound, 15 cents; eight pounds, $1.00. By mail, 30 cents per pound. 



NASTURTIUM, OR INDIAN CRESS, 



The seeds, while young and succulent, are pickled and used as capers. The plants are also 

 highly ornamental; the tall variety makes an excellent screen or covering for unsightly places in 

 the garden. 



Per pkt. Oz. % lb. Lb. 



/ Tall Nasturtium 5c. 15c. $0 50 $1 50 



Dwarf Nasturtium 5c. 30c. 100 3 00 



