January 29, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
83 
the otherwise odd occurrence that in a Derbyshire Potato field a quan¬ 
tity of Mushrooms had sprung up in the midst of the crop, the land 
had been dressed before planting with some road scrapings. Dry 
pastures grazed by horses and cattle are always sought out by the 
collectors of Mushrooms as known to yield them very frequently, 
though a crop may be discovered in such places as an enclosure with 
scattered timber where no animals are turned out to feed. 
We fail to find any clue to the history of the first experimenters 
in Mushroom culture amongst us, but some old books on gardening 
subjects direct persons to collect the young Mushrooms and transplant 
them to beds of manure in gardenp. They were also told that they 
might obtain a crop of Mushrooms by taking some full-grown speci¬ 
mens, steeping these well in water after breaking them, and then 
apply the infusion to a plot of earth of suitable kind. Wiser after a 
time, however, authors advised the growers to seek for spawn upon 
dunghills or in cattle sheds during September or later, also about dry, 
not too exposed, fields. They were told to cover the lumps of spawn 
if dry with litter, but if damp to expose them at first to the air in a 
cool place, and then plant them in beds made of stable dung, the heat 
and moisture of which had been carefully regulated, the spawn being 
set in rows ; then the surface was to be gently beaten with the spade, 
a thin layer of earth placed above, and the bed covered in with dry 
straw or long stable litter. Extra covering was to be added during 
winter in the event of heavy rains or severe frost. Such was, in brief, 
the method pursued by those who raised Mushrooms towards the close 
of the seventeenth centmy, and adhered to substantially by those who 
followed them for a considerable period. Even Mawe and his friend 
Abercrombie had no idea that spawn could be artificially produced ; 
so they took special care to get it from the gardeners at the heat houses 
or at Lambeth, because they sent out their men at the right season to 
spots that yielded good material—that is, spawn in dung heaps, which 
they preferred to that gathered elsewhere, and Abercrombie notes that 
the price a century ago was from 5s. to 10s. the bushel. 
When the London market gardens were most numerous Mr. 
Cuthill calculated that quite ten acres of the land were devoted to 
Mushrooms, the beds being formed on ridges in the open air. Stable 
manure was exclusively used, and great care taken that it matured 
without becoming heated. Very little water was given to the beds ; 
this was generally in the form of liquid manure, but the uncertainty 
of the crop led to the introduction of Mushroom houses. Some culti¬ 
vators also tried growing Mushrooms in Cucumber or Melon beds. 
Though little success was attainable with one, the plan answered well 
with other, the soil of the Melon bed suiting well the Mushroom. 
After the spawn was put in the Melons were treated as usual, at their 
decay the bed was well cleaned, and the frames placed on and closed, 
then a subsequent crop of Mushrooms would be healthy and abundant, 
continuing until the season became chilly. The primitive Mushroom 
house was merely a sort of shed in which the plants were protected 
from rain, and a part at least of the cold ; light, of course, was of 
little consequence. In this the Mushroom house differs from other 
plant houses. It was a common practice to perforate the shelves 
with holes, and when they were of wood they were usually narrow, 
hence it often happened that a crop was obtained from both sides of 
the shelf, which was kept well covered with straw to maintain warmth. 
Upon this old-fashioned structure the Sued house was a great improve¬ 
ment, and it still maintains its position, under various modifications. 
It was Isaac Oldaker who first introduced to English notice the 
German house, brickbuilt, with a single brick wall within the outer 
one to hold up the sides of the beds and from one end of the air flues. 
A warming flue went down the middle having a wall upon it, the 
beds were formed in three or four ranges of shelves, below the tiling 
was a ceiling with openings. 
The Truffle, although much valued by eaters, has never received 
from gardeners the attention which has been given to the Mushrooms, 
yet as long ago as 1722 Bradley urged people to go in for its cultiva¬ 
tion. Having “ caught their goose "—that is, hunted up ripe Truffles, 
towards the end of the year they were to form a shallow trench, 
having 2 or 3 inches of loose earth at the bottom, Truffles were to be 
put in about foot apart, and a mud of fine earth and water poured 
upon them till the ground was level.—J. R. S. C. 
CYPRIPEDIUM LEEANUM SUPERBUM. 
As the early months of the year advance so the flowers of Orchids 
increase in number and variety, and already collections are beginning to 
brighten considerably. This can be well seen in the extensive collections 
at Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea Nursery, just now, for though the 
numerous houses there are never devoid of attractions at any period of 
the year, a very great display cannot be expected in November or 
December. It is true there are many bright and beautiful Laelias during 
that time, and some Odontoglossums are almost invariably to be found in 
flower, but we miss the variety which renders the Orchid house so charm¬ 
ing at other seasons. The year is, however, too young at present to expect 
a large number of species in flower, yet several worthy of note can be 
seen in the hous es devoted to them at Chelsea. 
Only the favoured few are admitted into that wonderful orchidic 
treasury, Messrs. Yeitch’s seedling house, and only those who have seen 
the surprising number of seedlings in all stages which it contains, can 
fully understand how it is that so many beautiful novelties are annually 
presented to the world. The thoughtful labour of many years is repre¬ 
sented there, and provision has been made for many years to come ; for 
when the slow progression of seedling Orchids is considered, it is probable 
that ten or twelve years will elapse before the present seedlings have all 
flowered and proved their worth or uselessness. Yet surprise is sometimes 
expressed that Orchids are so expensive when constant and most careful 
attention is required for a dozen years before any returns can be ensured. 
Then perhaps, despite the cro sing having been effected with the greatest 
consideration, the result may possess no quality to recommend it. Still, 
it is most interesting work to watch day by day and month by month for 
the unfolding beauties of plants that may be worth hundreds of guineas, 
and if there is occasional disappointment in the shape of one which has 
to be transferred to the rubbish heap, the successes are so numerous and 
great that they far outweigh the others. 
One of the most recent and also one of the best of the hybrids 
l 
Fig. j4.—Cypripedium Leeanum superbum. 
obtained by Mr. Seden amongst the Cypripediums is that of which a 
flower is shown in fig. 14—namely, Cypripedium Leeanum, a most chaim- 
ing Orchid, and one which has a rather interesting history. It is the 
result of a cross between C. insigne Maulei and C. Spicerianum, the 
former being the seed parent, and it combines in a remarkable degree the 
characters of both parents. C Spicerianum was in the possession of the 
gentleman after whom it is named for some time before it flowered, and 
when a flower was sent to Messrs. Yeitch for name in 1878 it caused quite 
a sensation. Perceiving the value aud distinctness of the novelty, efforts 
were at once made to procure the stock from Mr. Spicer, which was 
effected, and they became the sole possessers for a time of the most dis¬ 
tinct Cypripedium ever introduced. In the meantime the pollinia of the 
flower first mentioned was employed in fertilising a flower of C. insigne 
Maulei, which proved successful, and in November, 1879, the seed was 
sown. The young plants proved of strong habit and quick growth like 
tbeir parents, and by the end of 1883 flowers were showing, which 
gradually expanded, and it was at once seen that a very striking combina¬ 
tion of the characters had been effected. On January 8th, 1884, a plant 
in flower, together with its parents, was shown at South Kensington, 
when the Floral Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society awarded a 
first-class certificate for it, a recognition of its merits which it well 
deserved. 
The flowering of Mr. Spicer’s plant attracted much attention, and 
