128 



GARDENERS MAGAZINE. 



Vegetables for Exhibition. 



MUSHROOMS. 



ipestris) 



extensively carried on in this country as it deserves to be, and the very 

 large quantities that are annually imported from France and other 

 sources, and the ready sale they always find, will bear this out. If farmers 

 and others who can easily obtain fresh horse-droppings would turn their 

 attention to the culture of mushrooms very large profits, I am certain, 

 could be made. When once their culture is understood the care, trouble, 

 and expense necessarv for producing good crops is small compared with 

 the handsome returns'that might be made. It should also be borne in 

 mind that the manure is not exhausted on this crop, for old mushroom 

 beds are simply invaluable for kitchen garden crops and many other 

 purposes. Neither is it at all necessary to build expensive mushroom 

 houses. Indeed, oftentimes the best results are obtained in old, disused 

 buildings, or even when the beds are made up (if properly done) entirely 

 in the open. But in my opinion the ideal place for cultivating the mush- 

 room is in caves or cellars underground. Here the temperature is 

 generally suitable, and pretty uniform all through the year. 



Outdoor Culture. 



We will first deal with mushroom culture in the open. In the first 

 place, it is absolutely necessary to obtain a good supply of fresh stable- 

 manure, which should be collected, as far as possible, at one and the 

 same time, so that the whole may be prepared together. The longest of 

 the litter only should be removed, as short manure is most beneficial in 

 making up outdoor beds and should invariably be employed with the drop- 

 pings as they remain in a bearing condition for a much longer period when 

 it is used. The next important step is to select a suitable place for drying 

 and preparing the material for bedding, and this should be an open shed. 

 Of course the size of the beds must be determined by the quantity of 

 material at command, but it is far better to make up the bed at different 

 stages than to wait for a large accumulation, as much of the value of the 

 manure will be lost. London horse manure, when it can be depended 

 on, will do well ; but the purpose for which it is required should be 

 distinctly stated, and it should be sent clear of other refuse and as fresh 

 and dry as possible. As a rule nothing will be required to be taken from 

 this, as little straw is wasted in London. If sent by trucks on rail no time 

 should be lost in carting it away and placing it in the drying shed. It 

 should be put in a long bed from two to three feet in depth, and turned 

 with forks every other morning for the first ten days, working the outsides 

 towards the middle each time. After this the manure will have lost its 

 rankness, when it may be turned less frequently and put together in a 

 smaller compass. Every third or fourth day will be sufficient for turning. 

 As soon as the heat is well on the decline, and the whole has been 

 sweetened, the manure may be wheeled out and permanent beds 

 formed. The site will, of course, have been fixed upon, and it may be 

 mentioned that almost any place and aspect will be suitable, providing 

 the ground is in such a position that the water does not stand about the 

 beds. This can easily be prevented by raising the ground where the bed 

 is to be made above the natural level. When beds are required to 

 produce mushrooms during the hottest part of the summer choose, if 

 possible, a shady position under a north wall. The beds should be 

 formed ridge-shaped, the base being from four to five feet wide, sloping 

 off neatly to a ridge. It is of the utmost importance 

 manure be put together as firmly as it is possible to make it, 

 hrst by treading and then by beating with wooden rammers as the 

 bin ding-up proceeds. This applies to all mushroom beds, whether 



!!ri C |*rr V T 0f l " thC ?P em ■ T he beds must not be s P awned until in a 

 ti state. To ascertain this, sticks should be thrust into them in several 



places, and examined every day to see that the heat is declining before 



February 26, l8ojl 



have continued to bear continually through the summer m , 

 old litter should be removed about every three weeks \ ?° f nths « Tk 

 When gathering the crop always carefully twist the mS esh a *H 

 them clean out, never cutting them with a knife as is IT 00 ? 15 * Ukb* 

 The beds should be sprinkled daily in dry weather with te^? lmes do * 

 occasionally given a good soaking with liquid manure froiru Se?** 1 



Indoor Culture, 



yard 



As before mentioned, caves, cellars, or any such suitable nl 

 ground form the best possible mushroom houses, and one can 

 if the manure is properly prepared and good spawn secured ?? y6i 

 here should be made flat, to a thickness of about two feet a • ^ 

 spawned and soiled as before advised, when no other attention ^ 

 needed, except to damp them over when necessary, and to suonl r ^ 

 manure now and then when the beds are in full bearing SU PR 

 houses are often constructed, and good results in many cases folio °r* 

 the other hand, I have seen expensive structures give very *' 



L 



which may be easily accounted for in several ways, such as tooraujfti 



each 



Nature as much as possible, and to produce similar conditions^to^ 



heat, unsuitable aspect, and escape of sulphur from the stokehole^ 

 fatal to the growth of mushrooms. The aim should always be to 



that the 

 make 



which obtain in the autumn, when mushrooms can be picked in k 

 quantities in the open fields. A mushroom-house should always be eredS 

 on the north of a wall ; the path should be made down the centre andsnS 

 two feet below the ground level, which must be effectually drained Tit 

 beds on either side should be made, the first being arranged on the 

 ground, and built up to a depth of two feet six inches, with bricks set a 

 cement. Three feet should be allowed between this and the top oot 

 Piers must be run up at suitable distances, and arches turned to carry the 

 upper bed, or, better still, use angle iron built in back and front wkk 

 stone slabs placed across, running up four-and-a-half inch brickwork to 

 the same height as the lower bed. The roof must be either ceiled or 

 thatched, the former being preferable if the roof is slate or tiles, but . 

 well-thatched roof will answer the purpose. Very little fire heat is neces- 

 sary at any season of the year, and much more harm is often done by the 

 use of too much than of too little. It is a good plan to run a four-ixk 

 flow and return pipe along the path for providing heat in extremely cold 

 weather. The maximum temperature of a mushroom house should be 

 65 degrees, but that most suitable for the growth of mushrooms is 55: 

 60 degrees. The beds may be made at any time of the year, and the 

 warm, moist atmosphere produced by them will prove of great assistance 

 to quick growth. When beds are firmly and well made they should 

 continue to bear freely for two months, but as soon as they show signs of 

 being spent, and the mushrooms are poor in quality, remove them and 

 replenish. The walls, paths, and beds must be damped down oncei 

 day, early morning being the best time, but twice in hot dry weather wi 



be beneficial. Once a week damp down the paths with liquid farmyard 

 manure. 



For Exhibition. 



Valuable prizes are frequently offered by some of our leading nursery- 

 men, and sometimes by the various societies, for dishes of mushroom 

 and, generally speaking, the classes are well filled, and form by a 

 means the least interesting part of the exhibition. In a collection of 

 vegetables of not less than twelve kinds in the month of November thet 

 will form a weighty dish with the judges, while in an ornamental colic 

 tion of vegetables they are indispensable. The chief points to be cx* 

 sidered are evenness and freshness throughout, and, if possible, t£ 

 should not be cut till the morning of the exhibition. Place in shall* 

 boxes in single layers for carriage, and finally arrange on dishes 01 

 thin layer of bright green moss. The stems should have a piece cut * 

 when staging, so as to give a fresh appearance, leaving about an mcM 

 stem placed upwards. Good mushrooms should be of medium size, * 

 quite fully developed, and the under gills ought to be flesh-pink, the stt* 

 solid and free from maggots, and the whole mushroom of good substaDtt 

 Good spawn can be procured from very many sources ; personalty 

 have chiefly depended on Cutbush's Miltrack for the past thirteen j» 

 This is a very popular spawn, and has not once failed me. 



Aldenham House Gardens. E - Beckeh. 



^ n ^ d h * s P a T et , 1 ; ? safe temperature is about 80 degrees, and by 

 ensured* P,Unge - bcd ther mometer accuracy in this respect ' may be 



a ^Sm?^ bC take \' n Sdecting ? sl, P^y of 8° od fresh s Pawn from 

 a reliable source, or otherw.se it will be useless to expect a croo of 



mushrooms. Experience will soon enable the grower to judee of the 

 qua!, y by inspection of the cakes. This should be broken up^arefullv 

 With the hand to the size of chickens' eggs, and during ho" dr^weaS 

 u s a good practice to dip the spawn in warm wate? before insert on 

 A being ready, holes should be made with the hand regularly all over 



e soin l' S ^ nCe ° f T hCS apart and three inch * s deep nser 

 t >« spawn, and cover in with the manure taken from the holes which 



thistc b 7 r h ess * d back firm, y« Many people practise soiling^ beds at 



manu^m\'x, hi 111! j d * ferr L ed ( or a , week ' as the temperature of the * ,most inv anably followed by late cold springs ; and when Apni j-^ - 



bl m cle 1 n eaSe<1 ^/f 7 ' Whkh Case another spa-n.ng must are ™ ark L ed * numerou « white frosts or visited by intensely cold cutting «JJ 



ffitt?^ ^^^^^^^ !^***- of the unduly early sown or planted co,^ ^ 



h a P nd o C ne 



"Lest We Forget."— This now celebrated phrase has other wide app» 

 tion than political. It is well to ask all who garden— amateur, cottager, « 

 professional— not to forget that so far as the present most delightful winte > 

 cerned, all is not as it may be, and the warmth of January or February «*» 

 constitute a genuine spring. The gardener who is tempted to hastily »J " Ci 

 now of things that in ordinary seasons would not be sown or planted w j 

 month or so, will do well to remember that these very tempting miW I J" 

 almost invariably followed by late cold springs ; and when April ana ft wj 

 are marked by numerous whitp frosts or visited by intensely cold cutting 



bet* 



with that of the crops got in at the ordinary time of the year. 1 he wn 

 always is to act upon common practice and experience : to treat the winie 



. _ If on the ntW mild , or nard > as winter, and the spring as the sowingiand planting seasa 



,^;. are i. Ultl0nary and * r ° wn Mack? something is wrona The ™eS **& ° f y ° Ur lab ° Urs ass ^edly will be far more satisfactory.-A. D. ^ 

 Sest tur vT an ?f' ^ th ° U « h al ™ St an >- k '"d wi o, v n P,ain Joints about Peaches.-In the peach (with which J-^JJ 



oes IS turfy loam that has been stacked from an old nVsinZ ,\ , th *> nectarine ) we have a fruit so delicious that it is small wonder 

 twelve months. This should ho h™i-L L ™ , an _ . °~ P astur ? blx to endeavour to crow it. c „,^ s„m«. fail. Faults of pruning brflg 



X^XtSt t^*sF^ ^F d = ^ b a ha * 



■tbout two inches* Souk I hi 3 aS ^T 1 ^ A Sickness of 



sprinkled with warm «Ser Voufh ^ ? e bed '- and then be 

 patting it over with the back of f brlJr J' 0 ^^ Waterin *-P ot > ^mly 

 good thickness of , t h L , 1 a .W* s P ad< r- A S™ cover with a 



It will depend much on the season a a lo 

 produce a crop ; for instance, if the beds 



seldom will the mushroom* j A,u ^iuucr, very 



enaeavour to grow it. Some succeed, sume fail. Faults Ot P ri T?J"£V 

 to grief. They allow the trees to become smothered with oldwooj ^ 

 growths have no chance. When it is stated that it is on the latter j :o ^ 

 is borne, the magnitude of the error will be appreciated. Not long _ag ^ m 

 a number of trees which were a mass of growths, the shoots c^ ,l *^*f 

 lacing, and many sticking straight out from the wall. These never 

 fruit, and, if the same system is pursued, they never will. There "L. joece** 

 }n connection with peaches which have to be observed by those :w» J rf * 



as to the length of time it will take to hey are not ver y abstruse. Even the pruning, over which, as & ^ 



beds ar, 1 ^ xt , so many stumble, is not complicated, and when once the main princ \ ^ 



»nly patience and judgment are wanted to achieve success, in 

 matters of importance, the suppression of insects being one ot tneu , 

 ail others only call for observation and perseverance. — w 



