November 10, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
173 
exhibitions, which could not fail to have good 
results on the horticulture of the neighbourhood. 
The desire to shine in such competitions was com¬ 
mendable, and ought to be encouraged. The prizes 
given by Provost Brown and himself for “ the best 
cropped and kept gardens ” had been well competed 
for. On one occasion he had the pleasure of going 
round three of the gardens, and they were all worth 
a visit, showing the enormous amount of produce 
that could be obtained from a small piece of ground. 
The allotment system was developing slowly, but 
there should be allotments connected with every 
town for those who had no garden attached to their 
dwellings. Their cultivation would be a profitable 
relaxation, and it should be the aim of those in power 
to provide them. A man was generally much re¬ 
freshed in body, mind, and spirit who had been able, 
after the ordinary toils of the day, to engage in 
some favourite pursuit, and gardening was at once 
the most interesting and engaging of pursuits in 
which business worries and troubles were forgotten 
for the time. 
Discussing the production of Grapes for market, ne 
said that often the public were supplied with Grapes 
that had few of the qualities that should pertain to 
that noble fruit. Some could grow heavy crops, but 
they were as different as night is to day to Grapes 
well grown and properly handled, before being 
offered to the public. The Muscat of Alexandria, 
when well grown and thoroughly ripened, was a 
Grape fit to set before a king. The Duke of 
Buccleuch was another excellent Grape. Neither 
were grown very much for the market, but anyone 
who had not tasted these in prime condition could 
have little idea of what a splendid fruit the Grape is. 
The Black Alicantes and Gros Colmans, sent to 
market by the hundred ton, were no more like a fine 
Muscat or Duke of Buccleuch than chalk is like to 
cheese. The two former could be greatly improved 
by proper culture. What he had said of Grapes 
applied to other fruits, and it should always be the 
aim of cultivators to see that quality was maintained 
along with increased production. One adverse cir¬ 
cumstance against producers in this country was that 
foreign produce was carried to London at lower 
rates than home produce. For example, a writer in 
the Scotsman of 29th September last stated “ that 
Grapes are now sent direct from Antwerp to London 
at is. a basket. While the rate for English Apples 
from Folkestone to London is 24s. per ton, French 
Apples are brought from Boulogne to London for 
15s. 8d. per ton.” This favouring of foreign com¬ 
petitors by railway companies should not be, and it 
seemed unpatriotic in the railway companies to do it. 
All horticultural societies should petition the railway 
companies on this matter, and if Government inter¬ 
ference could be invoked in any way, he would 
recommend petitioning the Government. The 
Solicitor-General of Scotland would do all he could 
in the matter, and the societies in the Border Burghs 
should appeal to him. The foreign importations 
yearly increased, and were likely to increase. 
-- I — - 
liaftleiiejy Ijnpfovepiejit jlpciatiop. 
Exeter, October 31 st .—At the monthly meeting held 
on this date, Mr. Bartlett presiding, Mr. Samuel 
Radley, of the Royal Nursery, Exeter, read a paper 
on the cultivation of bulbs. Dealing first with the 
Hyacinth, which he thought the most important of 
bulbous plants grown for exhibition, Mr. Radley 
contested the widespread opinion that exhibition 
bulbs were expensive, Mr. Radley said that many 
people thought that the largest bulbs were always 
the best. He was sure that there was nothing better 
than medium-sized plump bulbs. From those you 
were sure to get a good spike of flower. The best 
time to pot the Hyacinths, if they were to flower in 
March, was about the middle of October. The com¬ 
post should be rich, and mixed a month or more 
before it is used. He had found the following an 
excellent mixture:—One half good fibrous loam, one 
quarter well rotted cow dung, the remaining quarter 
to consist of silver sand or road grit, with a sprinkling 
of soot and a little leaf mould. Six-inch pots were 
the best. One good stopper and a few smaller crocks 
at the bottom were quite sufficient, covered with a 
little of the rougher compost. The soil must be 
kept very loose under the bulb. The soil should be 
pressed round the bulb, so that only the point 
showed. If that were not manipulated the bulb 
would gradually lift itself out of the soil. One of 
the most important points was to keep the bulbs in 
the dark, so that they rooted well before they sent up 
their flower spikes. He was sure a good many 
gardeners failed from neglect of that. If the bulb 
got the light too soon, the spike grew and not the 
roots. He advised that the pots should be placed 
out of-doors and covered with empty 4-in. pots, 
upside down. They should then be covered with old 
rotten tan or old ashes—new ashes should never be 
used. Under this covering the pots should stay 
until the end of December. In January the pots 
should be put in a frame, close to the glass, the 
empty pots remaining on for a week or two. The 
bulbs needed plenty of air, day and night. At first 
not much water should be given. A little soot-water 
should be adminstered occasionally. All side shoots 
should be cut off. He had found that one of the 
very best manures for hastening on a bulb was 
Veitch’s Horticultural. 
A few of the best Hyacinths for exhibition were:— 
(Single whites) Grandeur a Merveille, La Grandesse, 
Lady Derby, Madame Van der Hoop, Mont Blanc, 
and Nectar; (single reds) General Pellissier, 
Gigantia, King of the Reds, Lord Macaulay, Von 
Schiller and Vuurbaak ; (single blues), King of the 
Blues, Grand Maitre, Lord Derby, the Sultan, Queen 
of the Blues, Grand Lilas and King of the blacks. 
The best single yellows were King of the Yellows and 
Marchioness of Lome. Doubles could not be 
depended on, but among the best were Koh-i-noor 
and Princess Louise, red; Florence Nightingale and 
Van Hoboken, white; Duke of Edinburgh and 
Garrick, blue ; and Minerva, yellow. Hyacinths in 
glasses were not much trouble. Just a little charcoal 
in the water to keep it fresh, and the dark 
cupboard till the root had grown. The lecturer 
treated next of Tulips, which, he said, should be 
potted in the same way as Hyacinths. The bulbs 
should not be pressed into the soil. After potting the 
Tulips should be plunged in rotten tan or old ashes 
six inches deep, as frost cripples them. When 
removed from the ashes the earlier sorts should 
be put in an airy frame, the late varieties in a warm 
house. They should be close to the glass and well 
watered, root water being given occasionally, and 
Veitch’s Horticultural Manure should be used to 
assist the development of the blooms. A few of the 
best exhibition sorts were :—(Singles) Belle Albanie, 
Cardinal’s Hat, Cottage Maid, Crimson King, Due 
van Thol, Chrysolora, Gold of Ophir, Pottebakker, 
White Queen, Proserpine and Joost von Vondel; 
(doubles) Velvet Gem, Yellow Rose, Tournesol, 
Rubra Maxima, Murillo and Marriage de ma Fille. 
Daffodils, Mr. Radley said, should be potted at 
the end of September. There should not be so much 
manure in the soil as recommended for the Hyacinth, 
and a little more leaf mould. Three bulbs should 
be put in a six-inch pot. The pots should 
be plunged for a few weeks in ashes and afterwards 
placed in a cool frame. No stimulant should be 
given until the bud was nearly open. The most 
showy sorts of Daffodils were Horsfieldii, Empress, 
Golden Spur, Emperor, Maximus, Princess, Old 
Double, Ard Righ, Cernuus, Rugilobus, Queen Bess, 
Aurantius Plenus, Sulphureus Plenus, Albus Plenus, 
Sir Watkin, and Stella. The Polyanthus Narcissus 
would grow in any soil. Five or six crocuses should 
be put in a five-inch pot. Plenty of manure water 
should be given after the resurection from the ashes, 
and then there would be no lack of flowers. 
Chionodoxa required sandy soil. Five or six bulbs 
in a six-inch pot, and ordinary treatment. Scillas 
were very showy and grew well in pots. Ordinary 
soil and treatment. Freesias should be potted in the 
middle of September. Seven or eight bulbs in a five- 
inch pot. Soil should be of equal parts of loam and 
and well rotted manure. Lilium Harrisii required a 
six-inch pot to itself. The soil recommended for 
Hyacinths would do for Gladioli, early October was 
the time for potting. Frost should be avoided by 
plunging. As soon as the bulbs had started they 
should be placed in moderate heat. Plenty of water 
should be supplied to the roots, and the bulbs should 
be exposed to the sun. An interesting discussion 
followed after which a hearty vote of thanks was 
accorded to Mr. Radley for his excellent paper. 
Birmingham.— October 22nd. At the usual meet¬ 
ing of the members of this association, Mr. W. B. 
Latham presiding, a paper was read by Mr. W. B. 
Child, Acock’s Green, on the ” Aster, or Michael¬ 
mas Daisy.” Mr. Child treated the subject in a very 
interesting manner, dwelling on the immense variety 
of seedling garden forms, and explaining the best 
modes of propagation. An instructive discussion 
followed. Specimens were exhibited by Messrs. 
T. S. Ware (Tottenham), R. Smith & Co. (Wor¬ 
cester), Dicksons (Chester), and Child (Acock’s 
Green), Messrs. Pope (King’s Norton) exhibited a 
bouquet of autumn leaves and berries, interspersed 
with a few asters. Messrs. Cannell (Swanley) sent 
a small spike ofCanna Queen Charlotte, and Messrs. 
Thomson (Sparkhill) two very fine seedling carnation 
blooms. 
-- 
MUSHROOM. 
An idea that seems to have become pretty firmly 
fixed in the minds of the general public is that it 
takes a great deal of trouble and involves a lot of 
expense to grow Mushrooms; and while all, or 
nearly all, are agreed in declaring them to be of 
great value, very many are frightened from trying to 
grow this coveted esculent for themselves on account 
of the elaborate preparations considered necessary. 
Many growers, too, are apt to blame the seedsman 
or nurseryman from whom they obtain the spawn, for 
supplying them with a bad article, when, in reality, 
it is they themselves who are at fault, or rather the 
methods of culture they adopt. It does not matter 
much what house they are grown in as long as it 
has a moist, equable temperature of about 55 0 F. 
As good Mushrooms can be obtained from a box 
filled with suitable compost and placed in a cellar 
or basement, as from the regular Mushroom house 
fitted with every convenience. 
The great consideration is the procuring of suit¬ 
able material. If plenty of fresh horse droppings 
can be obtained from the stable, the battle is half 
won. These should be brought direct from the 
stables each morning, and thrown up together to 
heat. The heap must be frequently turned over so 
that the new material may be well incorporated with 
the old, as well as to liberate the strong and noxious 
gases which are always generated by the fermenting 
of material of this sort. 
As soon as a sufficient quantity has been obtained 
for the forming of one bed, it should be made up. 
The heated horse droppings, to which, if it is 
thought advisable, a few leaves may be added, 
should be rammed as tightly in the bed as possible, 
filling the compartment up to within a couple of 
inches of the top. As soon as the heat of the bed 
has declined to 85° F., it may be spawned. It is 
not advisable to spawn at a higher temperature than 
this, and if the bed is allowed to decline too much 
in temperature the spawn will not run at all. Pieces 
of spawn about the size of a pigeon’s egg should be 
inserted at intervals of about 4 in. apart each way 
all over the surface of the bed. This done, the 
surface of tne bed may be levelled and a layer of 
one and a half to two inches of fine loam spread 
evenly over the whole. As a rule Mushrooms 
should begin to appear within five to six weeks from 
the date of the insertion of the spawn. All will 
depend, however, as to whether the temperature 
maintained is the correct one. The heat of the beds 
will, of course, decline gradually ; the atmospheric 
temperature should, however, not fall below 55 s F. 
Plenty of moisture in the air, too, is a considera¬ 
tion of vital importance. Sheets of brown paper, 
or a layer of hay, spread over the surface of the 
bed, will assist greatly in keeping the heat in for a 
much longer period than would be the case were no 
covering at all given. Should the beds at any time 
show signs of getting dry, a light watering should 
be given with tepid water. Beds that are going out 
of bearing may often be encouraged to throw up 
another crop by judicious watering with salt and 
warm water. Care should be taken, however, that 
this is not used too strong, or harm instead of good 
will result. 
With regard to the kind of house most suitable for 
Mushroom growing, an ordinary shed, the floor of 
which is sunk a couple of feet below the level of the 
ground, will answer admirably. No windows at all 
will be needed, for the house must be kept as dark as 
possible. A path through the middle about two feet 
six inches to three feet in width will be required, 
and on either side of this the tiers of compartments 
one on the top of the other. Wood is as suitable a 
material as anything for the making of these, as it 
is not so cold as slate or iron, and the Mushrooms 
seem to take to it in a much more kindly fashion. 
A couple of rows of 4 in. pipes running the whole 
length of the house will be sufficient to supply all 
the artificial heat required, if the house is well built. 
A house of this kind is well nigh a necessity in a 
garden, for besides the growing of Mushrooms it 
will prove of the utmost service for the forcing of 
Rhubarb and Seakale.— Agaricus. 
