January 3, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
285 
The ground was trenched about 3 ft. deep, and 
seaweed, which comprised the greater part of the 
manure, freely incorporated with the soil—bog peat—as 
the work proceeded. 
Respecting the field culture of Carrots, I am 
informed that on a farm where failure is common, an 
extra good crop resulted after a liberal dressing of salt 
had been ploughed into the land. Another farmer in 
this district, who is generally successful, spreads soot 
broadcast among the seedlings when they are well up. 
The best and most regular crops we know of, however, 
are grown on some of the sandy plains on the Ayrshire 
coast, without any trouble in their culture after the 
seed is sown, beyond weeding and thinning the seedlings. 
Timely attention to the latter operation is considered 
of much importance by field cultivators, and the 
reminder] is also applicable to all other growers. 
—M, M. 
-- 
ABOUT WRENS. 
Every one who has visited localities with any 
pretensions to ruralness, must have seen or heard the 
'Wren, the little Jenny or skitty-toop, as it is often 
termed in the country. Even many of those who, sad 
to say, have never left our grimy cities or caught a 
glimpse of green fields and trees, have yet heard a 
superstitious couplet connecting the Robin and the 
Wren, or nursery fables to the same effect. Indeed 
this pretty little bird forces itself upon our notice, 
almost every hedgerow, copse and stream affording 
food and shelter to one or more of them. They are all 
activity and motion, flitting swiftly from spray to 
spray—never stopping, never idle, never still—and, I 
am glad to say, very rarely persecuted. One has only 
to talk to some of our old “locals” to find the tradition 
still existing, that misfortune will fall upon his head who 
injures either Robin or Wren, or even pages them. This 
fact preserves both birds to a great extent, though 
many Robins are kept as cage-birds on account of their 
attractive plumage and sweet song. This would, doubt¬ 
less, be the fate of many a Wren, were it not so 
difficult a little creature to keep alive in confinement. 
To gardeners Wrens are friends indeed, and so far as 
I know, will touch very little but hath life and breath. 
Their chief food is spiders, big and little, fat and lean, 
the bulky Epeira, or the long-legged Pholcus. For 
these insects the little birds search diligently and 
perseveringly, and may often be seen in pursuit of 
them, moving about the creepers on house-walls, 
rapidly inspecting the under-side of a climber-covered 
porch, or even entering verandahs and greenhouses, as 
they well know the abundance of legged favourites to 
be found in such places. Besides spiders they are very 
partial to aquatic insects and small worms, and often 
affect streams and ponds, darting up and down, now 
hidden by the overhanging bank, now making a dash 
at the innumerable water gnats (Hydrometra gibbifera). 
They find, too, in such positions, plenty of small 
flies and larvae, all of which are seized with avidity. No 
one can imagine the Wren’s insatiable appetite who has 
not kept one for a short time in confinement. The 
little fellow I had some time ago, unfortunately suffered 
with a broken leg and crushed foot, yet it lived until I 
turned it loose. Apart from flies, beetles, woodlice, 
spiders, caterpillars, worms, and gentles, that I collected, 
it would consume 3 or 4 doz. fat mealworms every day, 
taking them quite tamely from anyone’s hand. This 
shows that, for the size of the bird, the good done hy 
them in the destruction of pests is very great. It may 
be said that spiders and worms are beneficial, the one 
in ridding the air of flies, the other in manuring and 
aerating the ground. But there are plenty of both 
creatures, and many people would infinitely prefer the 
flies to the spiders. A wall over which some Morello 
Cherries were trained, I remember, used to be a very 
favourite place of resort for Wrens. On the trees there 
were plenty of Totrix pruniana, aphides (Cerasi), and 
spiders of sorts. 
In winter, these birds frequent rubbish heaps very 
often, where, on account of the heat caused by fer¬ 
mentation, they are able to pick up a few cockroaches, 
beetles, and grubs. They flit up and down our lichen 
and moss-covered walls, picking up the smallest insects 
with great eagerness. Wrens are very bold and fearless ; 
they are susceptible to cold and usually find warm 
roosting places. 
Some large wire baskets, lined with about 3 ins. of 
moss and filled with soil, in which were planted various 
upright and drooping flowers, were nightly tenanted 
by Wrens and Tits ; and the sides of haystacks, if 
examined by day, wdil be seen to contain many little 
holes to which these and other feathered friends return 
night after night. As regards nesting, these birds are 
erratic. A pair of Wrens, some years ago, built in the 
space occasioned by the detachment of a ventilating 
brick in the wall of our drawing-room ; the nest was 
on a level with the ground. Wrens also built for 
several years in an old Willow tree overhanging our 
potting shed. In this case, as there were several holes 
in the tree, they did not occupy the same one more 
than once, choosing a fresh opening each year ; but, of 
course, it might not have been the original pair. 
Besides these positions, we have found them enjoying 
a very thick and sheltered bush of a Laurel in the back 
part of a mixed border. It is always a snug affair this 
nest, and a lot of material somewhat similar to that 
collected by the Robin is used in constructing it. 
While the hen is sitting the cock bird feeds her every 
few minutes, and heralds his approach by his rich 
song, so loud and penetrating, and which can be heard 
quite a distance off. There cannot be much dbubt 
that the Wren is a very useful bird, and that the 
number of injurious insects destroyed by it in one 
season must be enormous.— M. 
—--> 3 =«.- 
MUSHROOM CULTURE. 
A paper on the above subject was, a short time 
since, read at one of the meetings of the Eiling 
Gardeners’ Society by Mr. Gates, gardener to the Rev. 
Professor Henshaw, Drayton House, Ealing. In the 
course of his paper, Mr. Gates said that not many 
growers used fire heat in the culture of Mushrooms ; 
artificial heat for them at any time was superfluous. 
He was not one of those who cared to attempt their 
culture in the Open air in the dead of winter, though 
that could be done. He would not desire a better 
place in which to grow them than a tool-shed, a 
potting-shed, a stable, cow sheds, or cellars. He had 
Mushroom beds in a cellar, and the crops which they 
produced were as abundant and lasting as anyone 
could desire. Their quality also was exceedingly good, 
and he would not think of growing Mushrooms 
in a heated house. Mushrooms had been grown in 
many places, some of which at first sight appeared 
unlikely to secure success. If we possessed the 
required materials for filling the boxes, and the right 
temperature could be obtained, they might be grown 
anywhere. Mushrooms would not prosper well if the 
surface was very dry at one time and wet at another ; 
a medium condition as regarded moisture suited them 
best. Half-dried manure, good spawn, and a genial, 
moist atmosphere were the principal things to be 
attended to in cultivating them. He would strongly 
recommend all to try the shed system ot culture ; it 
would be ascertained to be simple, interesting, and 
profitable. He might say that he had, according to 
orders, made beds up with moist manure, but failures 
were the rule under that system. 
Mushroom beds might be made up at any time, but 
the most successful ones were generally made in the 
autumn. August, September, and October were the 
best months, and many cultivators made up a number 
of beds then. Referring to probable causes in instances 
in which failure had occurred in Mushroom culture, 
Mr. Gates said that his experience was that more beds 
were spoilt from over-anxiety to succeed than from any 
other reason. Daily syringing, to which some people 
resorted, was, he was convinced, not necessary in the 
majority of cases, and was apt to become injurious, and 
led to the destruction of the spawn and the embryo 
Mushrooms. At most, syringing twice a week was 
quite often enough to damp the beds ; when they were 
becoming rather dry, they should be at once syringed 
with warm water sufficiently to moisten them again. 
In the cultivation of the Mushroom more depended 
upon the nature of the soil used for surfacing the beds 
than many were aware of. A thin covering of hay or 
straw tended to keep the temperature of the bed steady 
and to preserve the moisture, but the coverings must 
be changed sometimes, to avoid damp and its conse¬ 
quences ; open air beds must of course have covers, but 
care should be taken that rain did not penetrate so as 
to saturate the hay or litter next to the beds. 
After dealing with insects injurious to Mushrooms, 
and the means by which they might be extirpated, 
Mr. Gates proceeded to answer the question of whether 
Mushrooms grew in the light, and why they were 
generally grown in the dark. In reply, he said that, 
provided the requisite conditions as to warmth and 
moisture were present, it did not, in his opinion, matter 
whether the beds were made in the light or io the dark. 
A mistaken idea existed amongst Mushroom cultivators 
respecting the admittance of light into the structures 
in which Mushrooms were grown, and it was often 
stated that they grew only in the dark ; but it should 
be recollected that if darkness caused actual enlarge¬ 
ment in process of growth, light, and light only, was 
capable of enabling them to attain their full develop¬ 
ment. He advised an access of light with air as 
constantly as possible, without causing too great an 
irregularity in the temperature ; in fact, in indoor 
cultivation, let nature out-of-doors be at all times 
imitated as much as possible. A moderate degree of 
heat, with light and air, would produce sturdy, well- 
developed specimens, and would also tend to make the 
beds more productive. Light was an object of import¬ 
ance, but Mushrooms did not necessarily require its 
agency, if other conditions were favourable ; a glass 
roof to Mushroom structures would also be expensive. 
Several members took part in a discussion which 
followed the reading of the paper, and some of the 
contentions of Mr. Gates were rather severely criticised. 
In reply to a question, Mr. Gates said that he was in 
favour of the beds being dressed with salt water, the 
salt being used in the proportion of two ounces to a 
gallon of water, after two or three crops had been 
taken off them. Such a dressing would keep the beds 
in production a little while longer ; he thought that 
this mixture of salt water was better than the use of 
ammonia or guano. 
Answering a question as to the effect of light on the 
colour of the Mushroom, Mr. Gates said that the colour 
differed according to the variety of Mushroom which 
was propagated. Mushrooms grown in the fields were 
whiter than those which were grown in the dark, so 
that it appeared that light had the effect of whitening 
the Mushroom. He was sure that light was not detri¬ 
mental to the Mushroom, though he did not approve of 
draught or cold winds being admitted to it. Mr. 
Cannon said that it had struck him that exposure to 
light would cause the Mushroom to become of a darker 
colour, to the consequent prejudice of it as a saleable 
commodity. He did not know whether that theory 
would be confirmed by other growers. Mr. Gates 
replied that he did not think it would. The question 
of the necessity of artificial heat being employed was 
also raised, and it was pointed out that Mr. Gates in 
his paper, whilst he declared that artificial heat could 
be dispensed with in the cultivation of the Mushroom, 
likewise recommended a temperature of 5o°, or a little 
less, and it was asked how that temperature could be 
maintained in all cases without artificial heat. It was 
also remarked that Mr. Gates, by the system he adopted 
of growing Mushrooms in a cellar, was himself using a 
form of artificial heat, and that those who did not 
possess cellars or sheds, the natural temperature of 
which was equal to that which Mr. Gates obtained, and 
which he recommended as essential to the proper 
growth of the Mushroom, must of necessity have 
recourse to fire heat to procure a like temperature. Mr. 
Gates replied that, as he had asserted, Mushrooms 
could be grown without heat at all ; persons could be 
seen picking bushels ot them in the country round 
London, on a cold, frosty morning, which was evidence 
of the fact that artificial heat, in the sense of fire heat, 
was not indispensable to their growth. The beds were, 
however, covered over as a precaution from the frost 
and cold. 
-«>»-- 
ORCHID ROTES AND GLEANINGS. 
PLATYCLINIS COBBIANA- 
The plant of which the above is the botanically accepted 
name, is better known in collections as Dendrochilum 
Cobbianum. Of the several species in cultivation, tnis 
has the largest flowers, and if not the most popular is 
at least one of the showiest. The habit of the plant is 
much the same as the others, and the long raceme 
(6 in 3 . to 12 ins.) of flowers droops gracefully from the 
slender ascending scape. The bracts are straw-coloured, 
but moderate in size, while the spreading sepals and 
petals are pale straw-coloured changing to white. The 
lip on the first expansion of the flowers is pals greenish, 
changing to lemon and then to orange when at its 
best, in which condition it remains for several weeks. 
Like all others of this class it may be grown either in 
pots or baskets, and always seems most at home when 
suspended near the glass. It is comparatively a recent 
introduction from the Philippines, and may be grown 
in the Sims house with Olontoglossums, Cattleyas 
and Lycastes. 
