1864 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
145 
lias an artificial look which only the comfort 
Will compensate for. Tan-bark makes a pleas¬ 
ant walk, and its color harmonizes well with 
the surrounding verdure. Even saw-dust may, 
on a pinch, be used for the same purpose. 
Grass walks are an abomination, as they are only 
passable during a part of the day. The foun¬ 
dation of walks may be made with the bottom 
concave or convex. The latter is preferable, as 
it allows the water to pass off at both edges. 
The surface of the walk ought to be rounded, 
but not too convex. A center elevation of 1 inch 
to every five feet of width is usually enough. 
Growing Mushrooms. 
Comparatively little attention is given to the 
culture of mushrooms in this country. Those 
who do grow them, meet with a ready sale for 
their crop, and large quantities are imported 
preserved in cans. Quite a number of fungi are 
palatable, but the mushroom, Agaricus campestris, 
is the only one cultivated to any extent. The 
eatable portion is the reproductive part, (equi¬ 
valent to the flowers and fruit of other plants.) 
The plant itself consists of whitish threads, 
which, under favorable circumstances,run among 
dung or rich soil, and when the plant acquires 
sufficient strength it throws up the mushrooms 
which appear above the surface. These threads 
(botantcally called mycelium) can be dried and 
retain their vitality for a long time; when put 
into a bed of warm dung they start into growth 
and increase very rapidly. A block of dung 
and earth containing an abundance of these 
threads is called “spawn,” and by means of this 
mushrooms are propagated. Mr. Simpson Gor¬ 
don, of Vanderbilt Avenue, Staten Island, whose 
fine specimens were noticed in last month’s 
“Basket,” has sent to the Agriculturist an account 
of his method of raising them. The beds may 
be made in a cellar, under the stage of a green¬ 
house, or under any shed. Mi-. G. collects a suffi¬ 
cient quantity of stable manure, shakes out the 
greater part of the straw, and if the droppings 
are very wet, allows them to dry a little. The 
dung is then laid to form a bed about 10 inches 
thick, beating it down pretty firmly. Holes are 
then made in the surface of the bed some 6 
inches apart, and a piece of spawn about the 
size of a hen’s egg is put into each and slightly 
covered. The bed is then covered smoothly 
with earth from the pasture or garden to the 
depth of li inches. The temperature of the 
MUSHROOMS. 
bed is tested from time to time by thrusting a 
stick into it: allow this to remain in the bed 
for a while, pull it out and the temperature can 
be ascertained by feeling of it. When the heat 
rises to about 75°, the bed should be cooled by 
making holes with a stick, about a foot apart, 
which are to be filled up again in two days. 
When the temperature of the bed declines to 
55°, it should be covered with 2 or 3 inches of 
the litter shaken out from the manure. If the 
bed gets dry, remove the litter, and water thor¬ 
oughly with luke warm water from a watering 
pot having a fine rose, and then cover it again. If 
all goes on well the mushrooms will show in 5 
or 6 weeks. They appear at first as little round 
buttons, but rapidly increase in size, and usually 
reach their full development in 48 hours. Mr. 
Gordon keeps his beds in a bearing state for 6 
months, and makes them at any time of the 
year that is most convenient. The illustration 
shows the mushroom in all stages, from the 
button to the fully developed specimen. 
The Curculio or Plum Weevil. 
From the frequency with which this insect is 
spoken of in the agricultural papers, and in po- 
mological discussions, one would suppose that 
it was familiar enough to every one. Happily 
there are some places where this pest is as yet 
unknown, and from thence come requests that • 
the Agriculturist would show wlqit 
the curculio is, in order that it may 
be recognized upon its first ap¬ 
pearance. Though the insect is pop¬ 
ularly called ‘ curculio,’ entomolo¬ 
gists do not place it in the genus of 
that name, but they designate it as 
Ehynchcenus Nenuphar. It is a small 
beetle, one-fifth of an inch, or less, 
in length. The engraving shows 
one much magnified, and one of 
the natural size. Its color is dark 
brown, having a white or yellowish 
band on its wing-covers with small 
spots of white, yellow, and black; 
the wing-covers are also marked 
by ridges and humps. One of the 
striking features of the insect, is its 
long curved proboscis or snout, 
which bears a pair of antennae or 
feelers. This proboscis, when not in use, is 
kept bent up under its breast.—This weevil is 
chiefly known for its very injurious attacks 
upon the plum, it seeming to prefer that fruit 
and the nectarine to all other places in which to 
deposit its eggs, though when these are wanting 
it will avail itself of other fruits and soft veget¬ 
able substances. The enlarged insect in the en¬ 
graving is shown engaged in making upon a 
young plum, also magnified, those crescent 
shaped marks which have gained for it the 
name of “ little Turk.” These marks are the in¬ 
cisions it makes, by meansof its proboscis, to re¬ 
ceive its eggs. Having made one of these in¬ 
cisions, the insect turns round and deposits an 
egg in it, crowds it down, and then goes to anoth¬ 
er fruit to repeat the operation. Three of these 
marks are shown in the engraving, but it 
rarely happens that more than one is made in 
each plum, and it is unusual for a single plum 
on a tree to escape the signature of the “Turk.” 
The insect makes its appearance as soon as the 
fruit is set, and continues to work until the mid¬ 
dle of July. The egg soon produces a worm or 
grub that eats its way towards the center of 
the fruit, which soon falls to the ground. The 
grub when grown, leaves the fruit and enters 
the earth, undergoes its transformation, and re¬ 
appears in a few weeks as a perfect insect.' 
Thus far the history of the insect is well estab¬ 
lished by observation; what becomes of the 
brood thus produced, and where they pass the 
winter are matters upon which there is a differ¬ 
ence of opinion. By some it is thought that the 
insects hatched out in summer remain concealed 
under loose bark and in similar places, until the 
following spring; others hold that they deposit 
their eggs in the twigs of the pear and other 
trees, and that the grubs remain there during 
winter. There is a want'of positive knowledge 
upon the subject. Besides the plum and nec¬ 
tarine, the cherry, apple, and the fruit of the 
wild thorn are attacked by it; and there is no 
doubt but it often selects the black knot upon 
the plum tree, the tender twigs of fruit trees, 
and the twigs and young fruit of the walnut, as 
places in which to deposit its eggs. It does its 
work with such thoroughness that in many lo¬ 
calities it is impossible to ripen a single plum. 
When the insect is alarmed, it gathers up its 
legs, drops to the ground and feigns death. This 
peculiarity gives us the only effectual method of 
combating it, which is to jar the trees every 
morning and catch the insects upon a sheet and 
destroy them. All fallen fruit must be gath¬ 
ered and destroyed, or hogs’ should be turned 
into the orchard and allowed to consume it. 
A Good Apple Little Known—The Am¬ 
erican Golden Pippin. 
Specimens of this excellent apple were 
brought to us by W. S. Carpenter, Esq., from 
Westchester Co., K Y., where it is known as 
the Westchester Golding. On referring to 
Downing’s work it was found to be the same as 
his American Golden Pippin. It is supposed to 
have originated in the above named county and 
is little known elsewhere. Being unwilling that 
so good a fruit should be confined to a limited 
locality, we give an engraved outline and a 
few notes upon its quality with a view to bring 
it to the notice of fruit-growers elsewhere. The 
illustration is taken from an average specimen, 
