January 9, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
295 
as soon as ready, using rich soil. Place 
a wire round the pot under the rim to which 
fasten cross-wise two or four laths, on to these secure 
a slight iron ring 3 ft. in diameter and commence 
tying the shoots down, an operation that requires 
neat handling as the shoots easily pull out. I usually 
tie the shoots together at the point where they 
branch out to prevent them splitting. Start them in 
a cold pit or frame, after which they may be stood 
outdoors in an open position, attend to them care¬ 
fully as regards watering and tie down as they grow, 
syringing them every evening in dry weather. 
Young plants seem to grow with more freedom than 
old stools potted up to form specimens, and it is 
generally stipulated that the plants should show two 
or three inches of clear stem above the soil, and by 
running them up to gin. before stopping the speci¬ 
mens are higher in the centre and do not present a 
pancake aspect. I have found such varieties as 
Edwin Molyneux, Fair Maid of Guernsey, M. Astorg, 
Peter the Great, and Mons. C. Hubert, answer well. 
It is difficult to get the incurved varieties to carry their 
blooms erect. They should be disbudded, and the 
last tying should be done before the flowers com¬ 
mence opening, they can then be evenly distributed 
over the plants, and the flowers will right themselves. 
—Geo. Potts, Hcronden Hall Gardens, Tenter den, Kent. 
AMATEUR MUSHROOM 
CULTURE. 
A correspondent, writing for advice, remarks as 
follows: " In my little greenhouse I have boxed off 
the space under the bottom shelf, and have been 
trying to grow Mushrooms. The temperature is 
always about 6o°, and the house is heated by a 
Bunsen burner in the centre of the house, the pro¬ 
ductions of combustion being carried outside. I fear 
the spawn was not good, as after being set a month I 
pulled up some of the pieces and they showed no 
signs of life. I thought of taking them all up and 
planting some fresh spawn, but find the heat has 
gone out of the manure considerably.” And he puts 
these queries—"Would it do to get some fresh horse 
dung and mix with what I have to increase the heat ? 
What is the best manure to grow them in ? Describe 
the general appearance of good spawn: should it 
have little white live fibres running all about it, 
when broken up, about the size of a pin ? " Here 
then we get a good illustration of the difficulties 
which beset amateur Mushroom growing. A great 
many amateurs are endeavouring to cultivate a few 
of this popular esculent, and thinking it desirable 
the most reliable information possible should be 
furnished to our correspondent, his letter was sent 
to a Mushroom grower of large experience. 
His reply runs as follows:—"Sixty degrees is 
rather too high a temperature; I prefer 55 0 as an 
average. The beds may be too dry with the kind of 
heating employed, which has, I think, a tendency to 
over-dry the house. There is, I fear, a great deal of 
bad Mushroom spawn about this year owing to the 
wet and cold summer. I have heard of various com¬ 
plaints, and in my own case, though the beds have 
been made up with the usual care and in the usual 
manner, the yield is a very doubtful one. If your 
correspondent’s bed is fairly moist and its tempera¬ 
ture ranges about 6o° there is yet hope. The spawn 
will not always run or show so quickly sometimes as 
at others: it will occasionally lay for eight or ten 
weeks before evidence of vitality. If later on there 
is no sign of a crop the bed can be re-made, 
adding fresh manure to give sufficient heat. The 
best manure for the purpose is horse droppings with 
the short litter left in it. Good Mushroom spawn 
in the form of bricks should have a fair amount of 
white-looking mycelium, that is, the white lines 
running through the spawn, and possess a faint smell 
of Mushrooms, but not always capable of being 
detected. I do not understand your correspondent 
when he speaks of the spawn being broken up 
' about the size of a pin.’ Bricks of ordinary Mush¬ 
room spawn, such as can be purchased at the seed 
shops, should be broken up into about six pieces ; 
this will allow of a fair amount of spawn or thread¬ 
like fibres to each. If the spawn was very dry, and 
the manure dry also, when the bed was made up, 
that would to a large extent account for failure. In 
such cases the spawn should be SGaked in warm 
water just before insertion, but only for a few 
minutes, and the temperature of the water should 
not exceed' 85°,” 
Now it is generally supposed that the parts which 
in reality are only the organs of fructification are the 
entire plant. The true plant, however, which feeds, 
grows, and finally prepares to flower, is the network 
of whitish threads which form what is commonly 
called the "spawn,” or botanically, the mycelium of 
the mushroom. The growth of this spawn, which is 
suspended in dry weather, becomes active under the 
influence of moisture accompanied with a sufficient 
degree of heat, and is developed in an especial degree 
by horse-manure, which appears to be the most 
favourable medium of all for the growth of the 
Mushroom. 
I know a case where a gardener made up a Mush¬ 
room bed in the usual way; and after waiting for the 
usual time, found he had never a Mushroom to 
reward his lahours. He fancied perhaps the spawn 
was old and therefore useless, and in his vexation 
and disgust, forked over the bed, throwing it up in¬ 
to a loose, conical heap, or rather heaps, for he 
made two. He had intended using the compost for 
potting purposes, and it was left for the space of 
eight weeks or so, exposed and uncared for; but 
happening to require some rich soil for Chrysan¬ 
themums, he went to the heaps for some, and to his 
great amazement found the beds covered with some 
of the finest Mushrooms he had ever seen. Here, 
then, was a case of failure of crop in a bed resulting 
from other than defective spawn. 
I well remember many years ago seeing in the 
south of England a full crop of Mushrooms growing 
in the open ground. The soil was from an old pasture 
newly broken ; it had been planted with spring-sown 
Cabbages, and on a warm summer day the ground 
was hoed to the depth of 2 ins. or 3 ins., and the soil 
drawn up on either side to the plants. Then some 
Mushroom spawn was broken up into small pieces, 
inserted in the little banks of soil, and covered. In 
the early autumn a remarkable crop of Mushrooms 
was gathered. It would, perhaps, aid the production 
of a crop if, soon after planting the spawn, a layer of 
short horse droppings was placed over it to the 
depth of 2 ins. or 3 ins.— R. D. 
-^- 
GROWTH OF THE 
NURSERY TRADE IN AMERICA. 
Commercial tree and plant growing on one side, 
and the production and consumption of fruits on the 
other, are in close mutual touch. Their relation is 
as cause and effect, but the lines are not distinctly 
drawn, and it is not easy to say which of the two is 
cause and which is effect. Increased demand for 
fruit calls for increased planting ; this for increased 
nursery operations. The increase in the number of 
nurserymen again brings greater efforts in selling 
stock, which efforts result in increased planting, in¬ 
creased supply and increased use of fruits, and so on 
in a steadily growing circle. Its growth may be 
watched at any of the three main phases, viz., the 
nursery interest, the fruit supply, or the sale of fruits. 
The growth of any link in this endless chain is a 
pretty fair indication of the growth of all the others. 
Just for this reason it is interesting to note the 
gradual increase of the nursery interest in the United 
States, from the two nurseries existing here previous 
to 1S00, one in New York and one in Connecticut, to 
an establishment of 32 new ones between 1840 and 
1850, and finally to an increase of 1,757 such insti¬ 
tutions between the years 1880 and 1890. 
The census of 1890 was the first in which the nur¬ 
sery business was made the subject of special inquiry. 
J. H. Hale probably had some difficulties in getting 
at all the facts, but his skill knew how to overcome 
the obstacles ; and we believe the figures given in the 
census reports and tabulations, so far as the nursery 
industry is concerned, are at least approximately 
correct. "It appears,” says Mr. Hale, "that there 
are in the United States 4,510 nurseries, valued at 
$41,978,835.80 and occupying 172,801 acres of land, 
with an invested capital of $52,425,669.51, and giving 
employment to 45,657 men, 2,279 women, and 14,200 
animals, using in the propagation and cultivation of 
trees and plants $990,606.04 worth of implements. 
Of the acreage in nurseries 95,025.42 were found to 
be used in growing trees, plants, shrubs and vines of 
all ages; and the figures, based upon the best 
estimate of the nurserymen, make the grand total 
of plants and trees 3,386,855,778, of which 
518,016,612 are fruit trees, 685,603,396 Grape vines 
and small fruits, and the balance nut, deciduous, 
and evergreen trees, hardy shrubs, and Reses, The 
largest acreage is devoted to the production of Apple 
trees, namely, 20,232.75 acres, numbering 240,570,666 
young trees, giving an average of 11,890 per acre; 
while the Plum, Pear, and Peach have respectively, 
7,826.5, 6,854.25, and 3,357 acres, which produce 
respectively 88,495,367, 77,223,402, and 49,887,894 
young trees, or an average of 11,307, 11,266, and 
14,861 trees to the acre." 
New k ork state leads in number of nurseries (530), 
acreage (24,840), capital invested ($12,202,844.50), 
and number of men employed (3,970). Next comes 
California, then Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, etc. 
The figures clearly prove the steady growth of the 
industry, which appears to be general, the only 
states showing a falling off being Vermont, Maine 
(in several lines only), and Florida in respect to her 
Orange production. This decrease is plainly trace¬ 
able to local causes. Otherwise the continued growth 
and prosperity of the industry is well assured, as it 
is, in a measure, a self-feeder, producing its own 
stimulus. 
The lower prices of nursery stock are offset by 
greater knowledge in the art of production. Better 
culture gives better stock at less cost. These are 
conditions favourable to the planter, and not in the 
least discouraging to the nurseryman who under-, 
stands his business. 
To allay all fears that the production of these 
millions of plants and trees in these thousands of 
nurseries would soon overstock the country, we 
might endorse Dr. Beadle’s statement, made less 
than a year ago before the Ontario Fruit Growers’ 
Association, that of twenty trees set out, only 
one will ever bear fruit. It is a sad reflection on 
our methods of transportation, and on the skill of 
planters, but it does not come far from the truth. 
We have here a great waste of material and effort, 
which it behoves those who buy and plant nursery 
stock to prevent to a great extent in future. In the 
meantime, however, it will take all the efforts of our 
established nurseries to supply the demand of tree 
planters. The loss of trees, coupled with the steady 
growth of the country and the increased taste in 
horticultural matters, must of necessity cause the 
demand for nursery products to be even greater in 
the future than in the past. Twenty years ago a 
fruit orchard fifty acres in extent was considered a 
wonder; now in nearly every state Apple, Pear, and 
Peach orchards of 100, 200 and 300 acres are being 
planted, while in Georgia and California there are 
many Peach orchards of 1,000 or more acres each. 
The greatest and most steady demand, however, 
will ever continue to be for plants and trees for the 
home ground and the fruit garden. The latter, a 
luxury a few years ago, is fast becoming a recognized 
necessity. —American Garden. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM 
NOTES. 
What is a Reflexed Chrysanthemum ? 
In reference to the question, "What is a reflexed 
Chrysanthemum ? ’’ raised by the Batley Society 
and discussed in your issue for January 2nd, will 
you kindly allow me space for a few remarks. At 
the Sheffield Chrysanthemum Show, held at the 
Corn Exchange, November 14th, 1891, prizes were 
offered in aclass for " Six Reflexed varieties,” and the 
first prize was given to an exhibitor who staged four 
Japanese reflexed and two reflexed varieties, viz., 
Dr. Macary, La Triomphante. Elaine, Mons. W, 
Holmes, Cullingfordii, and Dr. Sharp ; while I, who 
staged six true reflexed, viz., Chevalier Domage, 
Dr. Sharp, Cullingfordii, Temple of Solomon, King 
of Crimsons, and Distinction, was awarded the 
second prize. 
I appealed to the committee on the injustice of 
the decision, but failed to induce that important 
body to disqualify the winner of the first prize. I 
presented myself before the committee at a subse¬ 
quent meeting, but as my objection had been over¬ 
ruled at a previous meeting, it was decided to allow 
matters to remain as they were; one member 
remarked that the exhibitor was right in showing 
"Japanese reflexed” as "reflexed.” Unfortu¬ 
nately the Sheffield Society is not now affiliated with 
the National Chrysanthemum Society, or the 
classification of that society would have, no doubt, 
been adhered to.— An Exhibitor. [The winner of 
the first prize in this case should certainly have 
Jieen disqualified.—E d.] 
