January, 1917 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
07 
plant is quite enough, and if 
these are allowed plenty of light 
and air, they will give flowers 
quite large enough for any pur- 
pose. This thinning should be 
done as soon as the shoots have 
| become really strong, and those 
that are to be retained, should 
be given a tie wherever neces- 
sary — afterwards removing all 
side growths as they appear. 
Mulching, Watering, Feeding 
If the ground has been well 
manured, very little water or 
feeding should be necessary till 
after the plants have commenced 
blooming, though during a very 
hot season, a little light mulch 
may be necessary earlier than 
this to somewhat conserve the 
moisture, or on very light soils, 
it may be necessary to water. 
After the plants get well into 
bloom, both watering and feed- 
ing must be regularly attended 
' to, especially if a good, long 
■season of bloom is desired. 
1 Weekly or twice weekly water- 
ings of liquid manure may be 
given with advantage, and an 
occasional dressing of artificial 
manure will help to keep up the 
vigor of the plants, as also will 
a fairly thick mulch of light ma- 
nure — stable manure is probably 
the best for this purpose, it 
being much cleaner for getting 
J about on than cow or pig ma- 
nure. 
The iemoval of the bloom is an 
important matter, as under no 
circumstances must they be al- 
lowed to seed and when the 
plants are intended for exhibi- 
! tion the blooms not so required 
should be removed before they 
attain maturity, thus lessening 
the strain on the plants. Under 
{ exceptional weather conditions, 
it might be advisable to remove 
Jjsome of the buds also, to give 
I the plants an entire rest, though 
if this is done, ample time must 
be allowed for the flower to 
develop before a show. 
Shading 
A little shading is sometimes 
necessary to be able to exhibit 
some varieties in the best pos- 
sible condition, but fortunately 
there arc not many that require 
it, but such varieties as Earl 
Spencei, Edrom Beauty, and 
one or two other of that color, 
must at least be shaded in the 
south for them to retain their 
color; also there are a few vari- 
eties that require a cooler posi- 
tion than others, but this must be 
decided by actual experiment, as 
what will do well in one district 
and stand the sun, might burn 
and lose the color, in another. 
The varieties to grow are quite 
a matter of personal taste as to 
color, or whether they are for 
exhibition purposes or for garden 
decoration only. 
If this treatment is followed 
out you can have stems 15 inches 
long as I have often had them 
that length. Bone meal and 
blood is the artificial fertilizer 
that I have always used to 
advantage. 
Dark Colors — Warrior, Nu- 
bian, Othello Spencer. 
White — Constance H inton, 
King White 
Blue or Lavender — -Wedge- 
wood, Afterglow, Blue Gem. 
Crimson — Maude Holmes, 
King Edward Spencer. 
Pink — Countess Spencer, El- 
frida Pearson, Peace 
Cream and Yellow — Clara Cur- 
tis, Dobbies Cream. 
Orange Scarlet — Thomas Stev- 
enson, Edrom Beauty, Robert 
Sydenham. 
Warning to Mushroom 
Growers 
As the result of a serious case of 
mushroom poisoning in a mush- 
room grower’sfamily recently, the 
mushroom specialists of the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture have 
issued a warning to commercial 
and other growers of mushrooms 
to regard with suspicion any 
abnormal mushrooms which ap- 
pear in their beds. 1 1 seems that 
occasionally sporadic forms ap- 
pear. in mushroom beds, persist 
for a day or two, and then dis- 
appear. These are generally ma- 
nure-inhabiting species and may 
be observed shortly after the 
beds have been cased. In the 
instance cited, however, these 
fungi appeared in considerable 
numbers at the time the edible 
Agaricus campestris should have 
been ready for the market, and 
the dealer supposed it was prob- 
ably a new brown variety and 
tried it in his own family. As a 
result, five persons were rendered 
absolutely helpless and were 
saved after several hours only 
through the assistance of a 
second physician who had had 
experience with this type of 
poisoning. 
In the opinion of the Depart- 
ment, this case is peculiarly 
significant and demonstrates that 
the grower must be able to dis- 
tinguish Agaricus campestris from 
any of the wild forms of mush- 
rooms that may appear in the 
beds. Under the circumstances, 
the Department strongly urges 
every grower to make himself 
thoroughly familiar with the cul- 
tivated species. Complete de- 
scriptions, with pictures of poi- 
sonous and cultivated species, 
are contained in Department 
Bulletin 175, “Mushrooms and 
Other Common Fungi,” which 
can be purchased for 30 cents 
from the Superintendent of 
Documents, Government Piint- 
ing Office, Washington, D. C. 
(The Department of Agriculture 
has no copies of this bulletin for 
free distribution). 
