962 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 16, 1905. 
MUSH ROOMS. 
How to grow them 
in the open, 
mixed together, and add small quantities of 
water it will give off fumes strong enough to 
eradicate red spider. The same remedy can 
be applied for mildew, which is caused by 
ill-ventilated houses, and could be avoided 
if ventilation were properly attended to. 
Red spider can also be checked by sponging 
the infected leaves with a rather strong in¬ 
secticide, for it works about beneath a thin 
web, which is difficult to penetrate. 
Mealy Bug.—It is advisable to hunt for 
mealy bug, which will by this time be crawl¬ 
ing about. Take a small camel hair brush 
and use diluted methylated spirits on the 
affected parts, which will destroy many of 
these pests. When the berries are colouring 
up in a badly-infected house of mealy bug, 
some bugs are bound to find their way between 
the berries and cause a sticky matter to 
appear on the surface, which disfigures the 
bunch and makes it unsightly for the table. 
I adopt two methods in cleansing the 
bunches when in that condition. Take a 
feather, and by pushing it between the berries 
the bugs can be removed. The second method 
is good, but perhaps not so good as the 
former, as it destroys more of the bloom. 
Take a bucket of soft water and submerge 
the bunch a few times beneath the surface of 
the water, afterwards suspend it on wire to 
the roof of house for a day or two, and this 
will improve it greatly. 
A vinery under my charge last year was 
very much infected by mealy bug. I tried 
the following method:—Having gathered all 
the bunches of grapes, I took paraffin, a wine- 
glassful to a bucket of water, adding some 
soft soap, thoroughly mixed together, and 
applied it to the rods with force every morn¬ 
ing for a week, leaving on full ventilation 
day and night. If there is any frost, so 
much the better. When the time comes to- 
clean off the old bark, scrape all as clean as 
possible, after which give it a- good dressing 
with diluted methylated spirits or Fowler’s 
mealy bug destroyer. I took also a piece of 
wire and cleared all the holes and crevices, 
which I found on the old spur, afterwards 
filling them up with putty, then painted them 
over with a mixture composed of sulphur, 
clay, soot, cow manure, and Gishurst Com¬ 
pound. This year, I must say, that L have 
only found two bunches affected with this 
most troublesome pest. A. C. W. 
Obituary. 
Mr. Henry Eckford. 
With much regret we announce the death of 
Mr. Henry Eckford, at his residence, Wem, 
Shropshire, on the 5th inst., in his eighty- 
third year. 
The' late Mr. Eckford was born at Stone- 
house, Liberton, Midlothian, on May 17th, 
1823, and had a long gardening career in 
private establisliments, after which he com¬ 
menced seed-growing at Wem on his own 
account. Previous to this, in 1878, lie entered 
upon the most important work of liis life, the 
improvement of the Sweet Pea, which has 
since then become the most popular annual 
on both sides of the Atlantic, or, indeed, 
anywhere. In July last, on page 543 of The 
Gakdenixg Would, is a full account of this 
veteran and successful florist. About that 
t im e a testimonial, contributed by Sweet Pea 
lovers in this country and America, was being 
got up, and was to be presented to Mr. Eck¬ 
ford at Edinburgh in September last, but he 
was too ill to attend, and the presentation was 
made at his home. The business at Wem will 
be carried on as heretofore by his son, Mr. 
■John Stainer Eckford. 
It seems a great question about growing 
Mushrooms with success, as SO 1 many growers 
meet with failure and give up the attempt; 
but if they would carefully carry out these 
instructions, I do not think they will meet 
with anything but success. 
Considerably great difficulty is sometimes 
experienced in growing it, as it is sometimes 
found that a bed has a large quantity at one 
end and practically none at the other, but I 
think the difficulty may be overcome by using 
nothing but manure from stables where horses 
are corn-fed and very little physic is given 
the horses, as this tends to kill the proper 
spawn, and creates all other kinds of 
fungi. When the quantity of manure is got 
together that is required for the number of 
beds you want to ; make, pack it into a heap, 
shaking out the longest litter, though it is 
not necessary to shake all of it out. A square 
heap is best, as it has better advantage in 
keeping the heat. Turn the heap at intervals 
of two or three days to prevent violent heat¬ 
ing and to make it sweet and free from 
ammonia. If the manure is dry at the time 
of turning, sprinkle it with clean water 
through a rosed watering-pot, being careful 
not to give too much, but enough to give it 
a nice, damp, warm condition, or the fer¬ 
mentation will be retarded or entirely 
checked. 
When the manure is practically fit for beds 
outside, select a rather sheltered position, if 
obtainable, from north and east winds, if pos¬ 
sible. Make the beds in the shape of ridges, 
about 4ft. wide at the bottom, about 3ft. high, 
and a foot wide at the top, which will leave 
the sides at an angle of about 70 deg., and at 
the same time form a good body. Do 
not be led away with the idea of mix¬ 
ing soil with the manure, either in the 
preparation of the manure or making 
up a bed, as it only tends to weaken the 
spawn, which makes it thready, and leads to 
disappointment in most cases. 
WTien the bed is made, keep a sharp eye 
upon the temperature. As soon as it falls to 
85 deg., tread down the top as hard as it pos¬ 
sibly can be trodden, beating in the sides 
with a spade while standing upon the top, so 
as to keep it firm, then, when it falls to' about 
80 deg. or 75 deg., spawn it, breaking the 
spawn up in pieces about the size of a hen’s 
eggs. Take an ordinary garden dibber and 
dibble holes about 8in. apart, placing the 
spawn and pressing it in firmly with the hands 
at the same time. After this, beat the bed 
again with a spade nice and evenly all over ; 
then cover the bed with some old sacks for 
about- five or six days, in which time you will 
find the spawn has begun to run. Then is the 
time to begin soiling. The best way is to 
take two ineces of board about 18in. in length ; 
hold one away from the bed about 1-gin., but 
parallel, starting from the bottom, stuffing 
the soil firmly between, continuing upwards 
until the top is reached. Then beat it all 
over with a clean spade as firmly as possible, 
taking care not to> jar the soil down on the 
other side. If it is found to be somewhat 
dry, dip the spade into a bucket of water 
which -should be handy, taking care not to 
water the soil, or it will stick to the spade 
and cause a deal of trouble. The soil used 
should be good fibrous loam, well chopped, 
but not sifted. 
The bed soiled, cover it with the litter 
shaken from the manure, about 3in. or 4in. 
for the first week, to prevent it from becoming 
overheated ; then put on another coat of about 
4in. It is advisable to put a few sticks in 
the bed at about every four yards, so that 
you might easily tell if the temperature is 
rising or falling. If rising, take a little of 
the litter off for a few hours-; if getting colder, 
add more. The bed being completed, cover 
it over with mats or old sacks, which will keep 
it warm, especially in cold or windy weather. 
If the bed is- inclined to- be dry, sprinkle a 
little lukewarm water over it with a fine-rosed 
water-pot, but if the manure has been pro¬ 
perly prepared, and not burned in the process 
of fermentation, no watering will be required. 
In winter, especially, take every care not to 
use too much water, as heavy watering at all 
times is dangerous. 
When the bed is- in full bearing, a little 
salt in the water is well recommended, about 
one teaspoonful to the gallon, as it feeds 
Mushrooms much better than manure water. 
If the flies or grubs are at all troublesome, 
put a little of Jeye’s fluid in water and syringe 
the beds. This 1 will be found to have great 
effect in destroying the grubs, and not inter¬ 
fere with the beds. 
E. H. Hallett. 
REVIEW. 
“Wayside and Woodland Blossoms.” A 
pocket guide to British wild flowers- for the 
country rambler. New edition. By Edward 
Step, F.L.S. London: Frederick Warne 
and Co., and New York. 1905. All rights 
reserved. In pocket size, 6s. net. ' 
The above is a new edition of the first series 
.of “ Wayside and Woodland Blossoms,” and 
runs to 176 pp., including the index. The 
book does not pretend to deal with the whole 
of the British plants, although it takes in a 
very large number of them. The descriptions 
of the principal ones are printed in large 
type, and the less common or rare plants, 
less likely' to be met with by the rambler, 
are printed in small type. A very large num¬ 
ber of full-page coloured illustrations very 
graphically portray the principal wild plants 
to be met with. In a book of this size and 
price it is very rare to find so excellent 
coloured illustrations and so- many of them. 
The book should therefore find acceptance 
with those who desire to- become acquainted 
with the names of the wild plants which they 
find in their rambles. Some might even wish 
to try and preserve the same for future refe¬ 
rence, and with the aid of this graphically 
illustrated book they will be able to- attach 
to them their common as well as their 
botanical names. The plan of the book seems 
intended to commence with early spring 
flowering plants, and to follow these up in 
succession as they come into bloom. In 
speaking of the Dog Bose, the author says 
that non-botanical ramblers will be able to 
distinguish between it and the Field Rose, 
the Burnet Rose, and Sweet Brier. Beyond 
that he does not expect them to go very far, 
as botanists who have specialised in this par¬ 
ticular genus have their difficulties. For that 
reason he only attempts to describe four of 
the leading species of wild Rose, illustrating 
the Dog Rose. 
