444 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [November i, i88i t 
The following taken from " Burbidge's Propagation and 
Improvement of Cultivated Plants," graphically describes 
the whole process of cultivation both in growing from 
spawn and also to produce the same artificially: — 
"The great essentials to the development of the 
common Mushroom are a moderate heat of 60° to 80°, 
accompanied by a humid atmosphere, and a moderate 
amount of light. ' According to some authoiities they 
absorb a large amount of nitrogen; but the direct 
application of nitrogenic manures to the soil does not 
appear to influence then 1 growth in the open ground. 
The common or edible mushroom is readily propagated 
from spawn, that is cakes or bricks made of horse dung, 
cow dung, loam, and chopped hay well mixed together 
and made into flat bricks, and to these cakes the mycelium 
of the mushroom is added, either from a pasture where 
mushrooms are found in abundance or more often from 
previously made spawn. After the cobweb-like mycelium 
has spread through the compost in every direction, 
but before the more perfect threads have time to form, 
the whole is formed into bricks or cakes, and then 
dried; and curiously enough the mycelium thus treated 
retains its vitality for a long time, and soon develops 
itself when placed in a moist, firm compost or bed of 
horse droppings and soil, in a warm and humid atmo- 
sphere ; the flat cakes are about ten inches long, and 
five wide, and vary from 1£ to 2 inches in thickness. 
By some spawn cakes are made of cow dung, horse 
dung (that from horses at grass being best) , sheep dung, 
loam, and chopped hay, the latter being used to bind 
the whole firmly together. After these are made they 
are laid on laths to become partially dry before the 
spawn is added. They are then taken and placed hi 
alternate rows of heated manure, and as each brick 
is added a hole or two is made in it with a pointed 
stick, and the cavity filled with previously made and 
tested spawn. The bricks should not touch each other ; 
and when a stack has been made, cover the whole with 
a layer of the heated droppings, which, by gently 
heating the cakes, causes them to be completely pervaded 
with mycelium. 
Spawn may be made in a covered and dry, but not 
too airy, situation. The corner of a bam or that of an 
out-house or even of a stable are favorable places for 
its development. The bed in which it is to be generated 
should be made early in May, and the following are the 
materials employed, which may be reduced to smaller 
proportions if necessary — fifty-six barrow loads of fresh 
horse dung, six barrow loads of good garden soil, and 
one barrow load of fresh wood ashes which have not 
been wet, with half a barrow load of pigeon's dung 
fresh from the pigeon house. The whole should be 
watered lightly with cow's mine or water from manure 
heap. When the mixture has been properly made, after 
various turnings it should be placed to the depth of a 
foot along a wall ; the width may be left out of the 
question, but it requires a certain bulk in order that 
it may heat gently. The bed must be trodden firmly, 
and at the end of ten days the consolidating process 
must be repeated, and ought to be continued two or 
three times a week until early in September. The 
manure thus prepared is cut with a sharp spade into 
blocks of about a foot each. These are then left to 
dry in any airy place from which sunshine, and above 
all, damp, are excluded. These bricks are placed on 
then' sides and turned from time to time. Spawn thus 
made will keep good from ten to twelve years if it is 
placed in a dry position free from frost. The spawn 
being thus prepared we pass on to the next stage, 
namely the production of mushrooms. To grow a crop 
quickly it is necessary to engender a moderately lasting 
artificial warmth in the materials employed. Get if 
possible to maintain them as free as possible from decay, 
and with a moderate latent moisture only. The place 
best adapted for their production is a rather damp godown 
or out-house ; in this should bo arranged a row of shelves 
at a short distance from the ground, on which the 
material in which the Mushrooms are to be grown should 
be placed to the depth of eighteen inches and firmly 
beaten down. The compost best adapted for this purpose 
is prepared as follows : — Fresh horse droppings six parts, 
cow dung two parts, sheep dung two parts, garden soil 
four parts, and fresh wood-ashes one part. Before these 
are mixed they should be allowed to dry in the sun for 
two or three days to take off the excess moisture. 
After being mixed, and the beds made on the shelves 
as described above, they should be allowed to remain 
for five or six days, till fermentation commences. As 
soon as a moderate heat is perceptible, the spawn should 
be added; this is done by making holes in the surface 
about twelve inches apart and three inches deep; in 
each of these a small piece of spawn, about two inches 
square, is inserted. After having first been dipped in 
tepid water, these should be slightly covered with the 
compost and the whole beaten down firmly. After a 
month the beds should be covered with about two inches 
of light, rich soil, and the whole again beaten down, 
and then well watered ; it will then require no further 
attention beyond occasionally watering the walls and 
floor of the house to promote a damp atmosphere. If 
properly managed the beds should commence bearing 
freely in about eight weeks from the time of spawning 
them. 
The Onion (Allium cepa). 
The principal difficulty in the cultivation of the onion 
in this country is to procure seed that will germinate 
even in Em-ope. When it is more than a year old, it 
will but rarely grow satisfactorily. It is hardly surprising 
therefore that we should be frequently disappointed in 
our attempts to produce a crop from imported seed. 
Acclimatised seed, however, genninate freely, and when 
a crop is grown to be drawn when young for salads, 
etc., it is preferable to use this, as there will then be 
no fear of a disappointment providing fresh seed is 
procured. 
The onion is a very gross feeder, and requires deep 
cultivation ; a light, rich sandy soil suits it best ; the 
ground should be trenched to a depth of at least two 
feet, adding at the same time a heavy dressing of 
manure. Sowings may be made early in October in 
drills nine inches apart. After covering up the seed, 
the beds should be trodden or beaten down firmly. 
As soon as the plants are six inches high they may be 
thinned out to a distance of six inches apart in the 
rows. The crop must be kept plentifully supplied 
with water, and frequent dressings of liquid manure will 
materially conduce to the production of a good crop. 
The young plants removed from the seed bed should 
be drawn carefully without injuring the roots, and trans- 
planted into other beds. If carefully managed these will 
produce almost as good crop as those left in the seed 
bed. In planting out, however, it is necessary to notice 
that they are not put too deeply in the soil, otherwise 
this will prevent the proper formation of the bulb. As 
soon as they become ripe they should be pulled up and 
placed on mats to dry, fully exposed to the sun for a 
few days, taking care to remove them inside at night. 
When they have become thoroughly dry, they should be 
carefully cleaned and stored in sand in a cool dry place. 
There are an immense number of varieties now grown 
in Europe ; many of these however in consequence of' 
their taking a long season to attain maturity are not 
adapted to this country. It is, therefore, advisable to 
select those sorts which are of a quick growth, such as 
" white Spanish " or the Tripoli varieties. 
Pabsley (Apium petroselinium). 
This, although a perennial, can only be grown success- 
fully as an annual in this country. Sowings may be 
made in pans under shelter in August ; by the end of 
the rains these will have formed strong plants, and 
should then be planted out into beds of well manured 
