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House & Garden 
70 
as’es > 
,owers > 
Portfolio of Designs 
Upon Request 
Vases Forwarded 
For Approva 
Pallas Athena Vase of Silver 
recalling, by its simplicity, the exqui¬ 
site interpretation of Doric art by 
Phidias in the* Parthenon, dedicated 
to the Greek Goddess Pallas Athena, 
patroness of useful and elegant arts. 
In accord with Colonial or Geor¬ 
gian interiors. 
Sizes, 8 to 18 inches rn height. 
Jewelers Jtlvers’mitks’ Stationer? 
Philadelphia 
The Ware of Thomas Whieldon, Potter 
(Continued from page 68) 
any such pieces, as he retired from busi¬ 
ness in 1780 and there seems to be no 
evidence of a reliable nature that assigns 
the introduction of the Toby jug into 
ceramic art prior to that date. There is 
no doubt but that Whieldon’s figures 
were imitated during the period of his 
activities and afterward, but there 
should be no difficulty in discovering 
which was the ceramic wheat and which 
the imitator’s chaff. 
Beyond the fact that he became a 
consummate craftsman, we know little 
of Thomas Whieldon’s early life. Like¬ 
wise the details of later activities are 
more meagre than we could wish. But 
we do know that his was a provident 
nature, and that with perseverance, 
thrift, sound common-sense, application 
and ability he came to exercise an influ¬ 
ence upon Staffordshire wares that at 
once gives him place as one of the 
world’s master-ceramicists. Whieldon 
earned a comfortable fortune, built for 
himself a mansion of goodly proportions 
near Stoke, whither he retired, and as a 
considerable landowner was able to sup¬ 
port the dignity of High Sheriff of his 
county, to which office he was ap¬ 
pointed. He died in 1798. 
Crops to Grow In the Cellar 
(Continued from page 55) 
comes in bricks, should be broken into 
pieces about the size of an egg and then 
planted about 4" apart and from 2" to 
4" deep and the bed then firmed. In 
about ten days the new growth should 
appear about each piece of spawn. The 
bed should then be smoothed and again 
slightly compressed. If the surface lay¬ 
er has become dry it should be sprinkled 
and then covered with a casing of 
loamy soil, applied evenly to a depth 
of about 1" or \ l / 2 " and then firmed. 
It must be kept moist but not wet 
while the spawn is spreading. It is 
sometimes advisable to cover the mush¬ 
room bed, after the soil has been ap¬ 
plied, with about a foot of straw to 
prevent the air from reaching the sur¬ 
face of the bed. The mushroom, like 
all other fungi, is not benefited by fresh 
air. 
Growth 
The best temperature for mushroom 
raising is about 54° F. and no one 
should attempt to raise them in a place 
over 60° F. In warm atmosphere in¬ 
sects and other mushroom enemies have 
a better chance of development and the 
quality of the mushroom will be af¬ 
fected. In hot weather they are small 
and long-stemmed. On the other hand, 
at a temperature continuously 45° F. 
they will develop so slowly as to be 
unprofitable. For the best quality 
mushrooms, it is advisable to keep the 
temperature fairly low. The surface 
soil should be kept moist but not wet 
and care should be taken that the drain¬ 
age and ventilation are good. This is 
particularly necessary in caves and 
cellars. 
Under favorable conditions mush¬ 
rooms should begin to appear in seven 
or eight weeks. The mycelium in the 
spawn becomes active and fine white 
lines start running through the bed. 
Where these lines cross is the base of 
the mushroom. Often they may run 
freely and never cross, which is due to 
poor planting, or the lines may cross 
and owing to weak spawn or unfavor¬ 
able growing conditions, fail to become 
active. But generally, if the mycelium 
starts running through the bed, there 
will be a good crop. Sometimes a spell 
of cold weather will retard the growth, 
but where the growing conditions are 
good and nothing shows in ten weeks, 
it is almost certain the bed will not 
produce. 
Mushrooms should be picked before 
they open or just at the time the veil 
begins to break. Never cut them, but 
take the top between the thumb and 
second finger and then gently twist. 
This will bring the mushroom out clean. 
Families of Mushrooms 
Agaricus campestris, the common, cul¬ 
tivated mushroom, when full grown is 
a somewhat umbrella-like plant with a 
central stalk which supports a rather 
thick cap. The stem may be from 2" 
to 5" in height and 1" or more in diam¬ 
eter. Above the middle there is a ring 
or annulus. The cap varies in color 
from cream to brown or gray brown. 
It bears on the under side the gills, 
blade-like lamellae, which, when first 
discovered, are a beautiful pink color. 
Later they darken and eventually be¬ 
come almost black. 
Agaricus arvensis, known as the horse 
mushroom, has much the same qualities 
as Agaricus campestris. They are larger 
and stouter than the field mushroom 
and possess a double ring. 
Agaricus fabaceus is the almond 
flavored mushroom. This is easily dis¬ 
tinguished by the long-persistent mem¬ 
braneous veil which is covered on the 
lower surface with frosty scales. It is 
reddish brown with an enlarged lower 
part of the stem. 
Agaricus silvicola, an inhabitant of 
the woods, is almost pure white except 
as to gills. It is small, occurring in 
summer. 
Coprinus is the only other genus of 
the Agaricacece with black spores im¬ 
portant enough from an economic stand¬ 
point to warrant consideration. It is 
characterized by the dissolving of the 
gills and other parts of the pileus at 
maturity to an inky black liquid. There 
are three edible species, usually appear¬ 
ing on lawns in the spring. C. comatus, 
a shaggy-mane mushroom, is the largest, 
often 6" high with a cap sometimes 3" 
long and V/ 2 " in diameter. The gills 
are salmon color. C. atramentarius is 
smaller and commonly grows in clusters. 
The short oval cap is slaty gray. C. 
micaceus is much smaller than either 
and usually grows in a solid phalanx, 
covering several feet of space about old 
stumps. When young, the tan-colored 
cup is covered with temporary, glisten¬ 
ing scales, like minute particles of mica. 
The genus Lepiota differs from Agari¬ 
cus in that the spores of the former are 
white. The more important species of 
this genus are Lepiota procera, the para¬ 
sol mushroom which stands often 16" 
high with a reddish-brown pileus 5" to 
6" in diameter, and L. naucinoides. This 
is usually pure white and is about the 
size of an ordinary cultivated mush¬ 
room. Both occur in lawns, fields, 
and meadows. 
The genus Amanita is interesting be¬ 
cause of the beauty of some of the 
species and because among these species 
are several which are the most deadly 
poisonous of all mushrooms. The 
Amanita phalloides —deadly amanita— 
is widely distributed in the United 
States. The plants reach a height of 6" 
and a pileus diameter of 4". As a 
rule, the upper surface of the cap is 
grayish, brownish or greenish. Usually 
there are no scales on the cap, and the 
veil, which in mature mushrooms ap¬ 
pears at the base of the stem, is cup- 
like. In the button stage, this universal 
veil is an outer skin or envelope, and 
(Continued on page 72) 
