January 21, 18-9. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
01 
loose parts of the manure—in fact, hard into the soil, dressed with 
lime, and pointed it in, the operator remarking, “ there do not 
appear to be any roots : ” but in removing the loose portions of the 
leaf mulching I was asked what was to be done, as there were 
plenty of roots in the leaf soil, and to point-in the lime would 
destroy them. Of course, it was only practicable to rake in the 
lime, and put on something fresh. I might tell of how freely 
the roots of pot Vines and Figs attack the leaves in the fermenting 
beds, and of plants outside, great and small, pushing active feeders 
into the protecting mulch of leaf soil ; but it is quite unnecessary 
to further pursue the subject. 
Fermentation —Leaves give out heat regularly over a length¬ 
ened period, part with moisture and something else highly favour¬ 
able to vegetation. What this may be does not greatly matter—it 
may be ammonia in small quantities, but constant, yet making a 
material difference in the health of the plants, hence the benefit 
sought by placing fermenting materials in forcing houses in the 
early stages and afterwards leaving sufficient for a mulch. P’rom 
this mulch something must arise favourable to vegetation, as decom¬ 
position cannot take place without evolving some gas or gases, and 
the atmosphere is more or less charged therewith ; therefore, 
whether the fermentation be strong or weak, food is being manu¬ 
factured for being taken up by the roots or passing into space for 
absorption by the foliage. Whether we have a bed a yard deep to 
visibly affect the atmospheric temperature, or only a foot or a few 
inches, the same process of evolving plant food is going on in 
degree, and we attain to better results than attends bare surface, 
which, however treated, can never afford so constant and satisfac¬ 
tory an amount of aliment as leaves, cocoa-nut fibre refuse, or 
sawdust. We use shingles for plant stages, but was ever plant 
seen to thrive so well as when over moist decomposing matter ? 
Leaves thoroughly decayed form a valuable manure, its maximum 
being reached in heavy soils, and one of the most valuable ingre¬ 
dients used in the successful cultivation of pot plants. Its quality 
depends entirely on the kind of leaves and manner of making. 
Oak and Beech are best, and if they have fallen and decayed over 
a large area, therefore brought into the state of mould slowly or 
without unnatural heating, they give a light deposit very much 
superior to that artificially prepared. In extensive wooded domains 
quantities of such material may readily be obtained, a fact not 
sufficiently recognised—indeed, instances occur of purchasing peat 
from a distance, when in the woods close at hand is an invaluable 
layer of mould for forming Azalea, Rhododendron, and Ericaceous 
plant beds ; and for flower borders nothing is more suitable, whilst 
as a mulch alone, or mixed with any soil for placing around trees, 
shrubs, or plants, nothing whatever is so encouraging to their roots 
— in fact, the production of roots is induced and accelerated with 
more certainty by planting in leaf mould than in any other sub¬ 
stance. Seedlings and young plants revel in it. A little added 
about the ball, or under, over, and about the roots at planting 
choice trees, shrubs, or plants will favour their speedy and certain 
establishment. 
Leaf mould, however, in most places must be manufactured. 
The leaves should be collected free from sticks, husks of acorns, 
and mast of Beech, all of which foster fungoid growth, spreading 
thinly in an open place ; but wind is a factor that has to be reckoned 
with, therefore shelter is necessary. Anything like heating as for hot¬ 
beds must be avoided. In order to promote decomposition moisture 
and air are essential, but moisture from a watering pot and from the 
clouds are very different, therefore get the necessary moisture if 
possible from rain by frequent turning, which will expose the 
whole to air, the weathering of the leaves being the most important 
point in the artificial preparation of leaf soil. Leaves that would 
take a long time to decompose when thick and dry, or even when 
thin and undisturbed, soon commence the process when placed thin 
and duly moistened and exposed to the air by frequent turning, so 
that in six months fairly good mould may be made ; but to have 
good material a year is mostly necessary, and something can be done 
by sifting, so as to have grades, in which state the material sooner 
attains to the requisite quality.—G-. Abbey. 
RIDGE-SHAPED MUSHROOM BEDS. 
Although comparatively old few seem to ha^e adopted the 
system of forming ridge-shaped Mushroom beds, the majority of 
private gardeners stdl clinging to the more common method of 
making the beds nearly flat, and usually in a house or warm shed. 
Not only are ridge-shaped the most suitable for the open air, but 
they are also the best for sheds and Mushroom houses—at any rate 
where the conformation of these structures permit. They take up 
less room than flat beds, give a much greater amount of surface to 
be cropped, retain heat longer, are more continuous bearing, and, 
in my opinion, the produce is superior to that obtained from shal¬ 
low beds. Nor is more manure required at one time for forming 
one of these than is used for a shallow bed which only gives, say 
about two-thirds as much surface for spawning. In reality, as I 
shall attempt to prove, sufficient manure for a ridge-shaped bed can be 
collected in much less time than it is usually saved for a shallow bed. 
In numerous stables it is the custom to save all the horse droppings 
specially for Mushroom beds, these being frequently fetched away 
by the gardeners, and what little straw there may be with them is 
carefully forked out. It follows unless several horses are kept a 
sufficiency of manure is only slowly accumulated, some of this 
being spoilt before it is used, and some does not have time to 
sweeten properly. If ridge-shaped beds are formed there is no 
necessity for taking special care of the droppings, these going with 
the rest of the strawy litter. When a good sized heap has been 
accumulated, and before it heats strongly, this ought to be forked 
over, but only the long clean straw and wisps of hay thrown 
out, and the former stored in a separate heap. That portion 
of the original heap intended for a Mushroom bed may consist 
of about equal parts of droppings and short stained straw, and in 
this manner a good bulk is quickly collected. It should be thrown 
into a conical heap to ferment, and in the course of about a week, 
sometimes less, the centre will be found quite hot. The time has 
then arrived for turning the heap inside out, and this ought to be 
repeated every two or three days, or always before the centre 
attains a very strong heat, the manure being well shook out or 
separated at each turning. Altogether it will take nearly three 
weeks to properly prepare the manure so as to insure the requisite 
amount of decomposition without the loss of valuable properties 
by overheating. As a rule the manure is best prepared in the 
open, and should it be found very dry at any time water must be 
freely given, as there must be sufficient moisture in the material to 
ensure gradual decay and a steady generation of heat. 
In many establishments horse manure is most abundant just 
now, and enough may be collected for an experimental ridge¬ 
shaped bed in addition, if need be, to the successional flat beds. 
Late in January or early in February is a capital time to form 
a bed in the open or in a cool yet sheltered shed, and if 
another is made three weeks or a month later a good supply 
of Mushrooms may be had from the latter part of March to 
June. As far as the formation of the beds is concerned the 
method is the same whether the beds are under cover or in the 
open. In either case shelter from cold drying winds must be 
afforded, and the site should also be well drained, or otherwise the 
lower part of the bed soon becomes saturated and cold. Some 
imagine a considerable amount of skill is needed in building these 
beds, but this is really imagination only, any good labourer being 
capable of forming a model bed at the first attempt. Some 
judgment may be exercised with regard to the size, but if the 
amount of manure cannot at first be estimated it is a simple matter 
to lengthen the bed gradually or according as the manure holds 
out. The outline should be well staked or marked out, a width of 
about 3 feet being necessary, and the bed be evenly and firmly 
built, being gradually narrowed off, and, when completed, 3 feet 
high and fi inches wide at the top or apex. At the outset the 
manure should be occasionally trampled, and also heavily beaten 
with forks, but when it is about 2 feet high the fork only must be 
freely used. The ends should also be sloping, and the bed ought to 
be neatly raked down much as a hayrick is finished off, this effectually 
excluding heavy rains. 
Subsequent "treatment is very much the same as necessary in 
the case of the ordinary flat beds, with the important difference 
that more judgment is needed in deciding both when to spawn and 
mould over the beds. If several strong stakes are thrust into the 
manure a few feet apart, a frequent examination will soon denote 
when the heat has risen to either a safe or too great a height. It 
usually happens that the centre becomes excessively hot, in which 
case the trial stakes, when tested, will be found uncomfortably hot 
to the hand, and it will be necessary to bore a few small and deep 
holes through the top of the ridge to near the bottom of the heap. 
This will let off much of the superfluous heat and dangerous 
steam, and which, if confined, soon spoils much of the manure. 
When the heat declines to about 75°, or sufficiently low to admit of 
the trial stakes being comfortably grasped by the hand, spawning 
should be done. The best authorities agree in recommending the 
use of large lumps of spawn, or say not less than 2 inches square, 
and from experience I find that it is a better practice than using 
much smaller pieces. They are less liable to be completely ruined 
by too much heat and moisture, and larger clusters of Mushrooms 
result from their use. These lumps of spawn may be inserted with 
the hand (dibbles are dangerous tools), only just below the surface, 
and about 8 inches apart each way, and the manure smoothed over 
and beaten. As a rule, it is unsafe to either soil over the bed 
directly after spawning, or to cover heavily with litter, either 
surfacing being liable to enclose and raise the heat to a dangerous 
