February 11, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
373 
level, and the seed covered lightly with the rake, the 
lights being put on and kept close till the young plants 
appear. 
The after treatment is very simple. Keep the soil 
sufficiently moist to ensure a healthy growth, give air 
freely on all favourable occasions, avoid exposing them 
when young to cold cutting winds, and protect from 
frost. We frequently scatter a little Lettuce seed 
among them, which comes up in advance of the 
Carrots, the plants being drawn when young, and 
pricked out into other frames or sheltered borders, 
according to circumstances. 
For outdoor crops some make their first sowing early 
in March, which may do in some localities, but for 
most places it is far too early to ensure moderate 
results. Last year we sowed during the last week of 
the month, and had anything but a good crop. For 
our principal crop we generally sow in the latter part 
of April, and sometimes have had our best from sowings 
made during May. As in other tapering roots, these 
ought not to be sown on recently-manured ground. 
Not being able to trench our ground intended for root 
crops, as is so often advised, we have of late years 
reserved a portion of the Celery quarters for them, and 
find it a better practice than followdng with Peas. In 
the process of digging out the Celery trenches and 
earthing up, the soil gets well moved about, and beiDg 
of good heart is the best we can find for these crops. 
We make a point of shifting the position of our crops 
every season. 
We are seldom seriously troubled with either grub or 
wireworm, and therefore take no precautions against 
them. In gardens where space is limited, and these 
crops have often to be on the same ground, it is an 
excellent plan to cover the seed with burnt earth and 
wood-ashes, which are largely used for Onions and 
Spinach, but not often for Carrots. The Horn varieties 
we sow in drills 8 ins. apart, and the longer kinds 
10 ins. and 12 ins. Draw the drills very shallow, as 
the seed often gets buried too deeply. We put in 
plenty of seed, as the thinning out can mostly be done 
with the hoe. The Intermediates are justly becoming 
favourites ; but we do not restrict our crop to the short- 
rooted kinds, because we think in very dry seasons the 
longer-rooted kinds, which penetrate the soil to greater 
depth, have an advantage over them, and can with¬ 
stand a prolonged drought better. If kept free from 
weeds during the earlier stages they will soon be strong 
enough to choke what comes up during the latter part 
of the season. 
Care should be taken when drawing for use from any 
crop during dry weather to water the disturbed surface, 
because the drought entering the soil will spoil the 
roots which get exposed to the air. If from any cause 
there is likely to be a scarcity, a sowing may be made 
during August to stand the winter. These come in 
very serviceable for soups and stews, but bear no com¬ 
parison for quality against those grown in frames. 
Complaints are often heard as to the difficulty of 
keeping Carrots to a late period in the spring. This is 
owing to the somewhat general adoption in private 
gardens of the plan of keeping them under cover in 
dry earth or ashes. We know that in any ordinary 
winter they are quite safe as far as weather is con - 
cerned in the open, with a light covering of leaves or 
litter ; but being a tempting bait for hares we are not 
able to leave them out, so we take them up and lay 
them thickly in row's, putting a covering of half- 
decayed leaves over them. Here they remain till we 
have no further use for them, secure from frost, and 
always handy to get at without any trouble. Since 
adopting this plan we have generally a surplus at the 
end of the season, which comes in very acceptable for 
the live stock. When the tops are about to run up we 
sort them over, cutting the crowns off as many as w'e 
think likely to be required, and lay them in again, 
carting the rest away for the animals.— W. B. G. 
-- 
HORSE MUSHROOM. 
Associations may help the student to remember names, 
and as the toad is often pictured seated on a Toadstool, 
we generally use this latter word to represent the 
poisonous as distinguished from the edible Agarics. 
The toad is generally considered a loathsome animal, 
and it is quite in keeping with the faculties of the 
human mind to draw comparison from the same, to 
indicate the loathsome character and poisonous 
qualities of certain species of Mushroom and call them 
Toadstools. The Horse Mushroom is a term generally 
applied to some of the larger species, such as Agaricus 
arvensis, from their frequenting fields where horses 
are regularly pastured. Our illustration represents that 
noble animal in a somewhat awkward position ; but 
comparisons are frequently odd. The Mushroom in 
question is termed the variety Equestris. Horse Mush¬ 
rooms are not poisonous, but are sold in great 
quantities in the London and other markets of large 
towns, probably under the' impression that it is the 
common Mushroom. It is less delicate than the latter, 
but still a wholesome article of food. The gills are 
not pink, as in the common Mushroom, which is often 
regarded as unwholesome or even poisonous in Italy. 
-—- 
THE MELON. 
The Melon is a fruit that is generally cultivated—more 
so of late years than formerly—and is very justly 
appreciated. It may be grown by those who do not 
possess the convenience to engage in the cultivation of 
the Pine, Vine, or Peach ; and on a hot summer day a 
slice out of a ripe well-flavoured fruit is very luscious 
and refreshing. They are divided into tw T o classes — 
scarlet-fleshed and green-fleshed. Both are equally 
beautiful, though the latter are more highly esteemed 
by some than the former ; but the preference is more a 
matter of pleasing the eye than the palate, as when 
thoroughly ripened both are equally well flavoured. 
Melons may either be grown in a house, or frames on 
a dung-bed. If to be cultivated in the former, the seed 
should be sown at once, if not already performed. 
Place the seed singly in small pots, using fine loamy 
soil, standing them where they will receive bottom- 
heat to ensure quick germination, and protecting them 
with a square of glass. As soon as they have made a 
rough leaf or two, shift them into larger pots, and 
%vhen established place them where they will receive 
plenty of light, in order to keep them stocky. Prepare 
the bed in the house ready to receive them when fit for 
planting out, so that they may experience no check ; 
for Melon plants that are knocking about any length of 
time prior to planting become stunted, and seldom go 
away kindly when planted out. 
The bed should be made up as advised for Cucumbers, 
though the Melon requires soil of a heavier nature. 
The hillocks for the plants we prefer to compose of clay 
that has been thoroughly pulverised by the frosts and 
winds of winter, and when rooted through to top-dress, 
as required, with the same material. As fine a lot of 
Melons as we have had anything to do with were 
planted singly in 12-in. pots, placed on about 1 ft. of 
fermenting material over the pipes that supplied the 
bottom heat. The bed was under 2 ft. wide, and the 
plants stood about 3 ft. apart, the space between the 
pots being well-filled up with rotted dung and leaves 
level with the rims. When the roots pushed through 
on the surface of the pot, the bed was top-dressed with 
soil all over to encourage the roots over the sides of the 
pots. The plants were trained with a single stem to 
the wire trellis ; when they had grown to within 1 ft. of 
the top they were stopped, and the laterals were trained 
out herring-bone fashion. We secured the fruit at the 
first or second point, and endeavoured as far as possible 
to “ set ” the fruit on each plant at the same time, 
which is very important, as by setting one fruit on a 
plant it obtains the lead, and the others produced 
afterwards on that plant seldom swell properly, even if 
they succeed in growing at all. 
We maintained a good heat and plenty of moisture 
while the fruit was swelling, and attended carefully to 
watering, taking care in doing so not to wet the collar, 
which we surrounded with pounded charcoal, as Melons 
are very liable to go off at that point. The fruit we 
supported with small squares of perforated zinc sus¬ 
pended by string. When the fruit began to ripen less 
water and moisture were given, but more air, and we 
finished off four dozen fine fruit of 3 lbs. or 4 lbs. each 
from eleven plants, a result with which we were well 
satisfied. Two of them were exhibited at the Royal 
Botanic Society’s show in 1878, and obtained first 
award. The green-fleshed fruit was of a handsome 
golden colour, beautifully netted, and of delicious 
flavour ; and being a new variety it passed into the 
hands of Messrs. Sutton & Sons, and was distributed 
by them under the name of Royal Botanic Prize. 
A few seasons later I came across that variety 
exhibited at the summer show of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society at Kensington, but could not recognise 
it by its appearance as that was a quartered fruit, and 
our original was almost round, very much like that well- 
known variety Hero of Lockinge in appearance. So 
that it is advisable for those who have a good variety 
and wish to keep it true to grow only one sort, as by 
growing several, especially in the same house, they get 
impregnated by the bees travelling from one flower to 
another. From a packet of seed of a scarlet-fleshed 
variety, we have had four distinct sorts out of eight 
plants grown ! Such variation is rather perplexing, 
especially to an exhibitor who hardly knows which 
class to enter them in, and cannot positively say what 
colour they are until he cuts them .—George Potts, Junr. 
-- 
SELECT PEAS. 
Despatching vegetable seed lists and counter-des¬ 
patching them is now a serious business with all who 
have gardens throughout the kingdom, and body and 
mind alike feel the strain in all commercial seed ware¬ 
houses, whilst some gardeners cannot remit their lists, 
halting between two opinions, pondering and musing 
over long lists of varieties which beset and bewilder 
them, ere they can fully make up their minds which to 
select. 
You rightly said in a former issue that Peas and 
Potatos head the list ; and it is to the former I wish to 
allude. Being a close observer of Peas for many years, 
I shall give the sorts I consider to be the best (new or 
old) down to the present time without bias or fear. 
Time is the great revealer and expositor of varieties ; 
many fall after a short existence, being temporarily 
kept from oblivion by attractive names, glowing 
descriptions, artistic, educational, or otherwise. Con¬ 
tributors and writers, it is to be hoped, will never use 
the press as a tool for an advertisement under the guise 
of rendering a public service. For the sake of brevity 
I will divide the Peas into sections, and give the best 
two, so far as my observation goes, in each class, com¬ 
mencing with the earliest, which are never good at 
best, but are indispensable for earliness’ sake. 
Blue and 'White Early Rounds. 
Laxton’s Earliest of All, as its name implies, I regard 
as yet unequalled ; it is a blue round, growing to the 
height of 3 ft., hardy, quick in growth, and filling the 
pod ; an excellent cropper, good colour, and the quality 
as good as any in its class. Dickson’s First and Best 
is an old standard sort which has stood the test of time, 
and cannot be erased from the seed lists, as we at least 
in the north know, and although not worth much, is 
yet the best round white, 3 ft. high, an excellent 
cropper, and good in flavour. 
Early Green-wrinkled. 
Chelsea Gem is an improved William Hurst of recent 
introduction, and without doubt the earliest and best 
dwarf ever ottered ; 18 ins. in height, with dark green 
short-jointed haulm fruiting at every joint, giving 
large pods for so small a plant, blunt, and remarkably 
well filled with six to eight peas of delicious flavour ; 
it is a unique variety. Stratagem, a strong and 
vigorous grower, about 3 ft. in height, with deep green 
foliage and pods ; is an excellent cropper, and the pods 
are long, blunt, and filled to compression, many 
containing ten peas of large size, with the flavour all 
that can be desired. I have recommended this to 
several cottagers, and they proudly have brought me 
specimens, along with thanks. I am no great advocate 
for dwarfs, yet they give us quality till the next crop 
comes into use. 
Second Early or General : White-wrinkled. 
About Prodigy there ought to be no two opinions ; with 
me it is a favourite. In a former note, The Gar¬ 
dening World, vol. iii, p. 762, I was afraid Prodigy 
would not fill up well in comparison to the next. This 
