JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
July 20, 1882.] 
bed under the litter is in the slightest degree warmer 
than the hand the temperature is right for Mushrooms. 
SOIL FOR MUSHROOMS. 
An opinion is somewhat widely entertained that it is 
of no great consequence what hind of soil is used for 
surfacing Mushroom beds. It is argued that the crop 
derives its support from the manure, not from the soil; 
indeed, a scientific writer has stated that soil is not neces¬ 
sary for Mushrooms, and he therefore did not place it 
on his beds from which he gathered what to him were 
satisfactory crops. Beyond doubt the material of 
which a Mushroom bed is made is of primary import¬ 
ance, and its character exerts a great influence on both 
the quantity of Mushrooms that are produced and 
their size. But the soil exercises an influence too, and, 
all other conditions being equal, the cultivator who has 
the command of strong turfy loam will obtain the 
greatest weight of produce from his beds. The material 
with which the Mushroom beds in the caves in France 
are covered is light and poor, and the Mushrooms are 
small. The soil which Mr. Barter uses is heavy and 
turfy, just such as a gardener would covet for growing 
Boses and Chrysanthemums, and the produce is large, 
Mushrooms often being cut weighing half a pound each. 
Thousands are gathered with stems varying from 1 to 
2 inches in diameter, the pileus being an inch and 
upwards in thickness. “ Too large,” possibly some 
may say, especially those who only grow small ones; 
but those who grow Mushrooms for sale and can sell 
all they grow, are not afraid of growing them too large. 
For large Mushrooms, provided they are young, fresh, 
and only partially expanded, there is a great demand, 
especially in hotels that are patronised by foreign 
visitors to this country. The French may possibly prefer 
“buttons” at home ; but it is certain they enjoy the 
large fat “ broilers ” here, and they seldom fail to ask for 
the fine rich juicy specimens that they can only find in 
England. Now to produce these, which are the most 
remunerative to the grower, strong and rich soil is essen¬ 
tial —not soil recently enriched with manure, for the use 
of that is a mistake, but soil that is naturally fertile — 
such as the top spit from a pasture in which Buttercups 
are more plentiful than Daisies, the former indicating 
fertility, the latter sterility, when they are present in 
great numbers. There is no doubt whatever that 
Mushrooms derive a portion of their support from 
the soil with which the beds are cased. There is the 
same difference in the character of their roots as there 
is in those of other plants—in light, poor, and sandy 
soil they are small and numerous; in strong rich soil 
they are few and large, and the growth corresponds 
with the roots—strong when they are strong, weak when 
they are weak. 
T he fact that Mushrooms derive support from the 
soil, and in so doing deprive it of a portion of its con¬ 
stituents, is proved by the circumstance that if the soil 
is removed from a bed that has produced heavily, and 
is at once applied to a portion of a new bed, the 
remaining portion being cased with fresh soil, the dif¬ 
ference in the weight of the produce from the two 
portions will be very apparent and overwhelmingly in 
favour of the fresh soil. Mr. Plant, a gardener near 
Manchester, has adduced conclusive evidence that 
Mushrooms are improved by the soil with which the 
> beds are covered. He says (page 193, last volume), 
“ During the long frost of 1879-80 we had not suffi¬ 
51 
cient material to soil a Mushroom bed, everything being 
frozen, so we turned a number of old Chrysanthemums 
out of their pots and used the soil, which had been very 
liberally mixed with ground bones—so much so that 
when spread on the bed and smoothed over it looked 
more like an asphalt walk than a Mushroom bed. The 
result was marvellous—such a crop of large fleshy 
Mushrooms as I never saw before.” This^ experience 
is suggestive, and those who have only poor soil at 
their command for surfacing Mushroom beds would 
probably find it profitable to enrich it in the manner 
indicated, or add bonemeal at the rate of a quarter 
of a peck to a bushel of soil, and if light and sandy 
also a quarter of a pound of salt, the whole to be 
well mixed. But ks above intimated, it must not be 
enriched with ordinary manure, or some unwelcome 
fungi might, and probably would, become established 
in the beds and do serious injury. Where soil is good 
for the purpose in question, yet scarce, it may be care¬ 
fully removed from the beds, excluding all manurial 
particles, and mixed to the extent of one-half with fresh 
soil, turned over a few times during the season, then 
be used again for further crops. When ordinary gar¬ 
den soil is employed for Mushroom beds it is a safe 
practice to remove a few inches from the surface that 
may contain undecomposed manure, and select that 
immediately below it, always giving preference to strong 
overliglit soil when there is any choice in the matter ; 
but never under any circumstances permit any particles 
of manure to be mixed with the soil for surfacing 
Mushroom beds if troublesome, and it may be ruinous, 
crops of obnoxious fungi are to be averted. — J. Wright. 
(To be continued.) 
A FEW USEFUL HARDY PLANTS. 
Spiraea Ulmaria flore-pleno. —This is the common Meadow¬ 
sweet, with the flowers not unlike miniature white Bachelors’ 
Buttons, in loose heads, on stems varying from to feet in 
height. It is a stately border plant, and it is somewhat surprising 
that it has not become a more general favourite. We rarely see 
it even in good collections of hardy plants. For gardens where 
the soil is cold and heavy this plant is invaluable. It succeeds 
best in good retentive soils, but will grow well in any ordinary 
border, and it looks well either associated with the shrubs or 
brought forward to the front of the border behind the lower 
growing kinds of herbaceous plants. In pots for a conservatory 
it is very useful. If for early forcing the plants should be taken 
from the reserve ground about January, potting them in any good 
compost, and placing them in a cool house to start them into 
gentle growth. They can afterwards be introduced into a higher 
temperature, where they can be brought into flower without being 
drawn. For blooming during the summer months the plants 
should be potted any time during early spring, and placed either 
in a greenhouse, cold frame, or plunged out of doors. Propagation 
can only be effected by division of the plants, as the flowers do 
not produce seeds. The best time for dividing the clumps is in 
spring just before the plants commence growth. A good piece 
ot ground should be selected for the purpose, and if in partial 
shade so much the better. After planting out the divisions give 
the bed a good watering, which should be attended to occasion¬ 
ally afterwards if the weather be dry. No further attention is 
necessary except cutting off the flower stems that may appear, as 
this will cause the young plants to make stronger crowns. The 
variegated Meadowsweet is also a very ornamental plant, and 
deserves more attention bath as a border plant or for conservatory 
purposes. 
The double-flowered Dropwort, or Spiraea Filipendula flore- 
pleno, is a very old-fashioned garden plant, and may often be 
met with in old cottage gardens in its best condition. The value 
of this plant seems to be better known than that of S. Ulmaria 
fl.-pl., for it is grown both in pots and borders, displaying its 
beautiful trusses of delicate bloom freely. It is much dwarfer 
than the Meadowsweet, attaining a height only of from 15 to 
18 inches. The flowers, which are somewhat larger than those of 
