February 19, 1335. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
147 
state,and that “ full many a” Mushroom “ is born to blush unseen,” 
never, in point of fact, reaching this latter stage. If each little white 
ball at the spot where the spawn is inserted means nothing intervening 
to spoil the promise—a Mushroom then—each patch must mean from 
one to two hundred fungi, but it is not often, I aporehend, that half 
this number come to maturity, and the dire havoc that a night or two 
of undetected vermin ravages produces fully explains the melting 
away of so much promise, and may account in one way, as my 
experience has proved to me, for the non-success so often complained 
of in the culture of this delicious vegetable.—Y. B. A. Z. 
Seeing in the Wcdlington and Carshalton Herald an interesting 
and instructive article from the pen of “A. H. S." on the cultivation 
of Mushrooms, and having understood that John H. Stephenson, Esq., 
of Weekley Mills, Kettering, North Hants, had been somewhat success¬ 
ful as an amateur, I wrote him on the subject. He says :—“ Dear 
Sir,—In reply to your letter of the 12th inst. asking me to give you 
my experience in Mushroom cultivation, and what induced me to 
commence growing them, I beg to state that my attention was first 
called to Mushroom culture by reading a book called ‘ Mushrooms for 
the Million’ by Mr. J. Wright, of 171, Fleet Street. And secondly, 
I have a particular weakness for that toothsome esculent, which I 
may say is shared by our whole family. 
“ Now as to mode of culture. Having a sunk cellar that, in con¬ 
sequence of the blue ribbon movement, I do not require for its 
original purpose, I thought I might utilise it for the growth of Mush¬ 
rooms, so I at once set to work and gathered together as much stable 
manure as I could spare (about two cartloads) and had it turned over 
three times, at intervals of three or four days. 1 then left it in a 
heap for another week, when I proceeded to make the bed across one 
end of the cellar about 10 feet long by 3 feet wide, 2% feet deep at 
the back, and 1£ foot in front. The manure being well shaken to 
pieces and beaten solid, I then left it for about a week for the heat 
to rise, which it did to about 120° in the middle of the bed. 
“ I then waited another week before the heat had sufficiently sub¬ 
sided to put in the spawn, which was done at a temperature of 90°. 
I broke the spawn into pieces of about the size of an egg and placed 
them about 9 inches apart over the surface, and then covered it with 
rather dry manure 2 inches thick and pressed firm. In about a week 
I found that the spawn had begun to run amongst the manure. I 
then covered the bed with fresh soil taken from a grass field just 
below the turf. The bed was covered to the thickness of 2 inches 
and beaten solid with the back of a spade. I then covered the whole 
with refuse hay 6 inches thick and left it. 
“Now for the result. After waiting about three weeks I became 
anxious to be gathering, but alas ! nothing appeared. I paid periodi¬ 
cal visits every few days for about eight weeks, when one morning 
(not having been for a week) to my great astonishment and delight 
I found the bed covered with fungi, which quickly developed into full- 
grown Mushrooms, almost equal to those depicted in 1 Mushrooms for 
tha Million,’ with which I have no doubt you are familiar. The bed 
kept on bearing a good crop from July to the end of October.”— 
Wm. Gilbert, The Kennels, Welton , Lincoln. 
HEAD AND UNDER GARDENERS. 
Will yon kindly allow me to add a few words to the excellent letters 
of “An Under Gardener” and a “ Surrey Under Gardener.” I may, in 
passing, remark that I am also in a subordinate position in the profession, 
to which I have belonged ten years, and may thus fairly claim to know a 
little of the difficulties of an under gardener’s life. I have been in four 
situations in that time. In three of them I was so fortunate as to be 
under good masters. The fourth, a large establishment in the north of 
England, was under the management of a man whom I cannot think of 
without a shudder. No Russian Emperor was ever more despotic than 
he ; in fact, I think he was one of the worst men it has been my misfor¬ 
tune to meet. To live with and to work under such a man was a misery, 
and the tyranny to which he subjected us was the cause of much mean 
and despicable deceit being practised by us towards him. During the two 
years I was at the place no less than six young men left the profession 
entirely, preferring in some cases to go as farm labourers rather than run 
the risk of meeting with such another as he. In mentioning this case 
I am glad to be able to add from my own experience and that of others 
that it is not a common one—at the same time there are others. 
I know that some young men are very trying and difficult to manage, 
yet still if a man will not obey orders a master has always a remedy in 
his hands. I hope I shall not be thought presumptuous if I tell head 
gardeners that I think they too seldom realise the responsibility attached 
to the charge of half a dozen young men. If, as one of your corre¬ 
spondents pointed out, they would study the characters of each of their 
young men, it would in most cases be of vast benefit to both parties. My 
experience leads me to say that no two are alike, and as a young man’s 
disposition so ought to be the treatment accorded him. Too many head 
gardeners think they have done with their young men at the close of work¬ 
ing hours ; but in my opinion it is then their greatest moral responsibility 
begins. If a man is in the habit of spending his leisure hours in dissolute 
amusements it is ten chances to one that he will be of any use at his work, 
and a head gardener can by kindly advice and firmness be in many cases 
the means of preventing those under him from starting on a downward 
course. With all due respect to them (and I owe much more than I can 
repay to some of the masters under whom I have served) I would say, 
Take an interest in your subordinates at all times—in play hours as well 
as working hours, and let them all see that you do so. There is no know¬ 
ing the good that a kindly word may effect, and kindness always meets 
with a better return than bullying. In a word the golden rule “ Do as 
you would be done by ” applies to gardeners as to all other individuals. 
If you will allow me I hope to say in a future letter what I consider is 
our duty to ourselves and those over U3.— T. C. D., Herts. 
[We shall be glad to see your “future letter ” on the subject indicated.] 
SACCOLABIUM BELLINUM. 
At the recent meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, W. Lee, 
Esq., exhibited a plant of the charming little Orchid from his choice 
collection at Downside, Leatherhead, and the Floral Committee at once 
granted a first-class certificate for it. The same species has also been 
Fig. 26.— Saccolabium bellinum. 
flowering for some time in Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons’ nursery, and from 
one of their plants our engraving has been prepared. It will be seen 
from this that the species is small compared with mo9t other Saccolabiums, 
though of similar habit, the leaves being arranged in a two-ranked 
manner, and the flowers are very distinct in form. Their chief peculiarity 
is in the lip, which at the base is expanded in a strange cup-like manner; 
the apex is flattened and, extending at right angles with the cup, resembles 
a platform upon which bees or other insects may alight. The surface of 
this platform is covered with short white filaments, which impart a 
strange appearance to it when closely examined. In colour the flower is 
not very remarkable, though there are some curious contrasts. The sepals 
and petals are yellow, or with a greenish tinge, on which are scattered 
several circular dark red spots; the base of the lip is white with crimson 
pots, and the centre yellow with purple dots. Tne spikes are small, 
bearing from three to four flowers each, Mr. Lee’s plant having the former 
number, and though unpretentious in general appearance it will become 
favourite with lovers of the many interesting diminutive spic’e? of 
Orchids._ 
ESPECIALLY TEAS. 
SO far is “ J. H. P.’s” suspicion that I only grow one class of Roses 
from being well-founded, that my great difficulty is to find any class of 
Roses that I can do without. My collection, after careful weeding out, 
