152 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 20, 1185. 
put in the beds 18 inches deep. When the heat is sufficient, 
or in about tires days, it should be trodden or beaten down 
firmly, adding more if necessary to make it of the requisite 
•depth or 18 inches, and a thermometer with the bulb 
3 inches beneath the surface will indicate the temperature. 
If it rise above 90°, as it will in a week, wait until it recedes 
to 90°, and then insert the spawn 9 inches apart, first beneath 
the surface, beating down so as to firm the spawn well in the 
material. In the course of a week or ten days the bed 
should be earthed, but if the heat declines rapidly it may be 
•earthed soon after, or at the time of inserting the spawn. I 
put on the soil 3 inches thick in the loose state, which when 
well beaten down is not more than l£ to 2 inches in thickness, 
good turfy loam being used in a moderately moist state so as 
to form a compact mass. If dry it must be moistened so as 
to insure its being firm, making the surface smooth with the 
back of a spade. To prevent it becoming dry and cracking 
a layer of hay may be placed on the surface about 6 inches 
•thick, and allowed to remain until the Mushrooms appear, as 
they will in from six to eight weeks from the time of 
spawning, though I have had them in a month from spawn¬ 
ing, but such is not usual, when the hay must be removed 
altogether. The soil should be kept uniformly moist, 
avoiding overwatering or its opposite extreme. It is hardly 
necessary to state that the house should be thoroughly 
•cleansed, every means being taken to destroy woodlice, 
slugs, &c., which will save much after-trouble. 
In order to have a supply of Mushrooms by the time the 
outdoor supplies are over a bed should be made ready for 
spawning early in September, and successional beds will 
need to be made at intervals of a month or six weeks 
according to the means and requirements of the establish¬ 
ment. A temperature of 50° is suitable for Mushrooms, and 
the nearer it is kept between that and 55° the more fleshy 
will be the Mushrooms and the more readily will they be 
produced.—G. Abbey. 
THE TEACHINGS OF THE DROUGHT. 
The notes by your correspondent, “ B.,” on the “ Teachings 
•of the Drought ” during this exceptional period of dryness will 
be read by observant practitioners with more than ordinary 
interest, as there are two or three points mentioned therein 
which should engage our careful and serious attention. It is 
not in seasons of drought alone that useful lessons are to be 
learned on the gradually increasing problems of gardening, but 
also in cold and wet ones. Of the latter we have, however, had 
abundant experience, and such has already had its due share of 
discussion; but such a long period of drought as we have 
•experienced this year has not occurred within the last decade or 
two, and thus we have not had opportunities of making the 
necessary comparisons between the value of methods of cultivation 
and quality of crops in dry and wet seasons. 
It is more necessary now than it has ever been that gardeners 
should be able to cope with the difficulties and disadvantages of 
a dry season, as every year our climate becomes more susceptible 
to variability, and therefore the difficulty will assume a greater 
■magnitude as years roll on The quality of vegetable crops, 
methods of tillage, and value of manures in such a dx-y season as 
this are subjects which your cori-espondent has wisely directed 
attention to as being worthy of moi - e than a passing considera¬ 
tion. Our experience exactly coincides with that of your corre- 
-spondent respecting the value of deeply trenched ground in this 
as in other seasons, and we are sure it will be generally admitted 
by the most advanced of the anti-trenching advocates that deep 
•cultivation has been of the utmost service in sustaining the 
growth of vegetables, as well as fruit and flowers, in a marked 
•degree. 
It is not in one district alone that we have noted the good 
-effects of a deep tilth, but in various parts of the country also. 
With ourselves deep trenching is of the utmost value, as owing 
to a somewhat hungry and gravelly subsoil our vegetable crops 
would prove a failure in such a droughty season as the present. 
The vegetable garden under our charge had never, previous to 
our undertaking its management, been trenched to any great 
extent, consequently it was only in one or two positions that 
root crops especially would grow satisfactorily. Observing the 
nature of the soil, which was exceedingly rich in humus, we 
determined to improve and render the whole of it by degiees 
suitable for the general growth of vegetables. To trench it ree 
spades deep, unless set about systematically, would do more 
mischief than gain good by turning up the sour subsoil w ic 
for years had received the drainage of a liberally manured soi . 
What was to be done, then, under the circumstances i as it cer¬ 
tainly would not do to remove one evil to create a greater. e 
course we decided upon was this : to trench two spits deep, an 
with a fork break up the bottom of the trench to the dep o 
another foot. Over this broken surface the top spit was thrown, 
then a good layer of manure, and on the top of this the secon 
spit was laid; thus a portion of the subsoil was ac ua y 
brought up to the surface The soil wa,s rich 111 uinus 
and insect life too. The application of lime had, not een 
thought of during the many years of my predecessor s manage¬ 
ment, consequently it was necessary to give the trenched gioun 
a liberal dressing to sweeten the new soil and in its descen 
decompose the humus in the new subsoil, which at the nex 
trenching would again come to the surface rich in salts previous I 
locked up in the humus, but now liberated by the action o e 
lime. We did not apply the lime before trenching, as ha we 
done so we should not have benefited so greatly by its applica ion, 
as owing to its tendency to sink rapidly its virtues would a\ 
descended too far to be of use to us. We preferred to sprea 1 
over the ground after it had been trenched and then Iig 7 
forked it in some time previous to sowing or planting- 
To counteract the evil of planting or sowing the first year , in 
the late subsoil before it had had sufficient exposure to the air, 
Ac., to render it sweet and fertile, we had the drills lor see s 
drawn wide and deep, and in these previous to sowing we ha a 
portion of wood ashes and old potting soil spread along e 
bottoms. Then the seeds were sown and finally covered wi 
the same compost. Of course we could only do a portion ° ® 
garden each year, but what was done was done well, and we a 
and have the satisfaction of having excellent crops of vegeta es 
where those of very inferior merit only had been grown in previous 
years. It was surprising how well roots did on the trenc e 
land. The wood ashes and soil spread in the drills sustained e 
growth of the seedlings until their tap roots began to descen 
to the under stratum of manure and rich soil in the bottom. 
This season, through unforeseen circumstances, we could not ge 
enough ground trenched for the whole of our Carrot crop, con¬ 
sequently a portion had to be sown on trenched and the remain er 
on dug ground. The two portions will tell their own tale. J- c 
trenched portion in spite of the drought is supporting a tree an 
healthy growth with fine roots, whilst the untrenched are stunte 
roots with withered foliage. Onions, too, on a piece of trenc e 
ground have very fine bulbs, and on digging down a spit deep 
to-day we found the roots descending below that depth. 
The above is conclusive evidence that deep trenching is 
specially valuable in droughty seasons like the present one. it 
is also of unquestionable value in Strawberry culture. Quite 
recently we saw a plantation of Dr. Hogg, one year old, each 
plant averaging 24 inches in diameter, and these growing m 
ground which had been trenched 3 feet deep previous to planting. 
We have great faith in the efficacy of lime applied annually in 
moderate quantity over the soil of old gardens, providing farrn- 
yard manure is used in due proportion too. We have found 
lime of special value both in its carbonate and phosphate forms 
for growing the various members of the Brassica family, as if is 
a sure preventive of that troublesome disease the club. For 
years past it was deemed next to useless to grow Brussels Sprouts, 
Savoys, or Broccoli, as they were sure to be attacked with club. 
Two years ago we took in some pasture land to make an additi 
to our vegetable quarters. A portion was dressed with lime and 
a portion undressed. Now the Sprouts in the first-named are 
quite free from club, whilst those in the undressed are badly 
attacked by it. 
Farmyard manure is the best all-round manure we can 
employ for the vegetable gardens, and, as your able correspondent 
says, it certainly supersedes the various types of artificials in dry 
seasons. Peas have been grand where abundance of it was 
trenched in, as the roots soon descended in search of it, and thus 
enabled the main and later crops to defy the drought. Farmyard 
manure is not, however, always as good as it might be. It is 
very often too deficient in the essential fertilising properties, but 
this need not be so in the majority of cases. A little outlay in 
having suitable tanks built for the reception of urine and the 
washings of stables would be of immense value, as then the 
valuable liquid could be emptied over the bulk of manure, which 
with frequent turnings would render it a grand fertilising 
material. Mulching has been of great service to us on our light 
gravelly soil as far as we could carry it out, but unfortunately it 
is not every gardener who can command manure for the two 
