! i I
ìì f i !
holes, with boarded shutters. W’hen the house fs of considerable length, there might bo a window in
the middle of the roof, for the admission of light when work is being done within. The door should be
in the centre; and in the floor, from the door-sill to the back wall, there should be a trench 18 in. or
2 ft. wide. Tho use of this trench is to receive a supply of hot dung, a t such times as it may be found
necessary to raise a greater heat, or a greater degree of moisture than what is supplied by the external
linings. All the rest is common routine, and will be perfectly understood by any gardener, from the
following description o fth e ground-plan and section (Jig. 774.), taken from Mr. Callow’s valuable little
work. T h e plan a, b, is of half a mushroom-house, 36 ft. long, and 9 ft. wide w ith in ; c shows the plan
of half the trench for receiving hot d u n g ; rt d are flues, the section of which is shown a t e, for receiving
the steam from th e linings made at the back and front, in the t r e n c h e s g g a r c the flues inside
and outside the back and front walls, which communicate with the cross flues; their sections are shown
at h \ i i are two shelves of stone, slate, or board ; k is the space beneath the bed, filled with loose stones;
I is the bed prepared in tb e usual man n e r; and m, the linings of dung, leaves, or grass. (Obs. on Mush-
rooyns, with a fu l l e.vplanation of ayi iyyiproved mode of culture.)
3406. The following details o f culture are common to each o f the above modes oi rearing the mushroom
: —
3407. Season fo r conmiencernent. Mushroom-beds or boxes may be formed and planted a t any time of
le y ea r; but the month of September is the most natural season ; and the time next to be recommended
is early in spring,spring. in In June,ju n e , July,auiy, and anu August, cue the w weather e a t l i e r is r ra a t the i i e r r too warm; and aiiu in the me depth uepm of
oi
“ " .
it is not equally easy to excite and cherish the spawn (Abercroynbic.) Nicol makes up a bed in
;o last till September,
and another at that time to last through the winter, till the bed to be again
winter,
March to made in March comes into bearing.
He adds, however, th at there is no rule for making up these beds,
is it may be done a t any day of the year with nearly equal propriety. (Kalendar, p. 50.)
3408. Tbyie o f growth. In autumn and spring, common ridges will often begin to produce plentifully in
four, five, or six weeks. In summer or winter th e y a re much longer before they become productive.
(Abercrombie.) In Wales’s method of growing in boxes, they come up in five weeks. Abercrombie says,
mushroom -beds have been known to lie dormant for five or six months, and yet afterwards produce
abundant crops. Where a bed is cold, Nicol observes, it will be sometimes two or three months of producing
m ushrooms.
3409. Syyyiptoyns of progress. Nicol says, when you would know whether the spawn has begun to run,
th ru st your hand a lew mches deep into the different parts of the bed, and examine what you bring up.
If it smells exactly of mushrooms, and has the appearance of bits of thread, then the spawn is in action.
“ But generally you will be forewarned of the spawn’s running, by a previous crop of spurious fungi,
which rise more or less abundantly, according to th e fineness or grossness of tho materials of which the
bed is composed. These fungi generally are either what are called pipes or ba lls ; and sometimes a kind
of mushroom, of a very bad sort, thin, flat, with white or pale yellow gills. They have all, however, a
nauseous, sickly smell, and may readily be distinguished from the tru e mushroom, which is thick,
hemispherical, with brown or reddish gills.”
3410. Duration of crop. Six months is the ordinary duration of a common bed or ridge, made in the
open air or in a fined shed. Oldaker says, his beds will continue to produce for several months. To have
a succession, he earths a bed every two or three months. Wales’s boxes (3395.) continue to produce for
six weeks, and sometimes two months.
3411. Tcyyyperature. Nicol says, if tho bed be placed in a fiued shed, th e temperature in winter should
he kept steadily to about 55°. This is also Oldaker’s temperature.
3412. Wales says, “ I have ever found the best adapted and most productive heat to be from 55° to 6-5°;
and the nearer th e beds are kept to this heat, the greater will be th e success.”
3413. Air is essentially necessary to the flavour of mushrooms. Oldaker savs, air must be admitted in
proportion to the heat, otherwise the mushrooms become long in their stems, and weak. T:'he same thing
takes place in ridges when the coverings are too thick.
3414. Water. A'.bercrombie ' ' and —
Nicol agree in recommending no water to be given till th e spawn
begins to run.
4415. Abercrombie says, “ in autumn, the bed will want no water until th e first crop is gathered. Then
a sprinkling will help to excite a fresh vegetation. In spring, should a drying air long prevail, it may be
necessary to moisten th e bed a little. In summer, tho bed may be now and then exposed to gentle
showers, or otherwise watered according to th e dvjmoss and heat of th e season. In order to give wator,
without wetting the bed excessively ov unequally, scatter a thin layer of short hay over th e ridge ; and let
a small quantity of water be gently distributed, to all parts alike, from a rosc-pan. Leave it to filter
through the hay, and cover the bed up with litte r. In winter, the substitute for watering must be some
wann mulch from a dung-heap, laid over the dry litte r ; th e moisture evaporating from this will promote
the growth of the mushrooms. Excessive moisture is not only apt to destroy th e spawn, b u t it debases
the flower of such fungi as can be produced under it. It is also supposed to render the salutary sorts
less so, and to make the unwholesome kinds more acrimonious.”
3416. Nicol %ay%, “ when the spawn is fully formed, give th e bed two or three hearty waterings, in
order to set it a growing ; for, otherwise, it will lie dormant, and show no symptom of vegetation. Give
ju st as much water (but by no means a t once) as wiil fairly reach to the bottom of all the materials, and
afterwards keep the bed in a state neither wet nor dry, but ra the r inclining to the latter, this being the
safe side to err on, as it is more easy to make it damp than to dry it. When a bed has been, as it were,
tired of producing, I have sometimes desisted from watering for several months ; then by examination I
have found a new net of spawn formed all over the surface, the threads being deep-rooted, even to the
bottom. By a hearty watering, as above, a most plentiful and lasting supply has been obtained. The
idea of treating my bed so, arose by observation of th e manner in which field mushrooms are often produced.
We frequently see th e crop suddenly disappear, and as suddenly appear again, according to the
state of the weather, with respect to wet or drought ; and th a t too in th e same field.”
3417. Oldaker waters with extreme caution, using water nearly as warm as new milk, sprinkling very
lightly with a syringe, or a small watering-pot. Cold water destroys the bed and th e spawn, and thus
renders th e wholc useless.
3418. Soyyie old authors advise to take a few full-grown mushrooms, and breaking them down in the
watering-pot, to water the beds with th e infusion. This, Neill observes, is plainly nothing else than
sowing mushroom seed.
3419. Light. Abercrombie, Nicol, and most gardeners, and authors, consider light as quite unnecessary
for th e production o f the mushroom. It is very probable, however, th a t it contributes in some way to
th e ir perfection, since in their natura l situation, they enjoy a considerable portion of it. Our opinion is,
th a t it should not be entirely excluded from mushroom-houses or beds, on whatever plan they may be
constructed. See an interesting proof of the value of light in Chaptal’s L a Chimie appliquée, ^c.,
vol. i. p . 180-
3420. Gathering the crop. When th e bed is in full production, and the season fine, mushrooms maybe
gathered two or three times a week. T u rn off the straw covering, and re tu rn it carefully at each
gathering. (Abercrombie.) “ In gathering mushrooms,” Nicol observes, “ they should always be cut,
and never be pulled ; as by pulling, many young ones might be destroyed. T h ere are always a number
of these forming ov clustering about the roots of the old ones, which should not be disturbed. If the
fo il Rw^rffoi possible. Oldaker says, in gathering mushrooms, avoid disturbing the small ones,
foat invariably, with g o ¿ mani^eraent, surround the stems of those which are more early m atured,
i i 7 7 gently m all instances where you can ; and when obliged to cut them, take care to
Gut, as they would rot and injure those around them.
342J. hy owing mushrqoyyis in the open air. Mushrooms are now generally grown by the market-
gardeners in the open mr during the warmer months ; and this, we are informed, was practised twenty
years ago, by Mr. Cunningham, a nurseryman a t Edinburgh. This mode of growing m uihrooms was also
¿ c ce sslu lly tried in the garflens ol the Archbishop of Armagh, by Mr. Elies, who gives th e following
? of P 'ty tic e :—After trying various modes, with different degrees of success, he says, “ in April,
ifiH • ? ® A 7 It. Wide, 40 ft. long, and 2 ft. high ; the bottom part, say upwards
ot I8m ., I covered with fresh litte r, and th e top entirely with an old mushroom bed, from which the best
■ 1 ® '"'fis picked, to be afterwards distributed regularly over the surface. Upon this about 4 in
thick ot pasture loam w ¿ spread, and a thick straw rope pegged down round the edges, to keep the loam
or mould from falling off, and to give a finished appearance to the bed. I now sowed some seeds of short
¿ r a e d carrots, raffish^, cauliflowers, tender annuals, &-c.; in short, any thing that required a little h e a t;
lor, in tact, I t was lor these things that I made the bed; themushrooms being only a secondary considera-
¿ 11. 1 he bed thus finished came into bearing about the middle of June, and continued till November
It was in July and August that I first perceived th e value of the carrots ; for the tops completely shaded
th em u s h r o ^ s from the scorching heat o fth e sun, and as effectually sheltered them from the chilling
Irosts ¿ Oc tobe r The crop surpassed any thing either my neighbours or myself ever before saw ; it
must, howeve^be recollected, that 1831 was a remarkably good year for mushrooms, whichever way they
were grown. By this plan, every farmer in the empire might be taught to produce mushrooms in abund?
¿ c e ; since nothing can be more simple than making a bed 2 ft. high, and 6 ft. or 6 ft. wide with fresh
horse litte r on the suriace of the ground, in a dry airy situation. The length, of course, is a matter of
¿O le e or convenience. The bed will require to be covered with the cleanings from the horse track of a
threshing-machine, or from a colt house ; over these cleanings spread a few inches of mould, sow the
carrot seed, and the work is done.” (Gard. Mag., vol. ix . p .m . )
3422. Poisonotis mushrooyns. For the characters of the true mushroom (AÍgáricus campéstris) and the
® and vaneties, edible and deleterious, see the fourteenth section o fth e following chapter
‘ A A , ' ifii^Gts, %c. Mushrooms are liable to be eaten by slugs and wood-lice ; the latter being very ant
to take shelter among the straw wliich is generally used as a covering to the beds. Snails and slugs ought
to be exdudM, or picked up as soon as they find entrance. Wood-lice are not so easily got rid of, except
at periods when the beds are to be renovated, when the whole house may be syringed with boiling water.
A toad k ¿ t m a mushroom-house will eat the vermin mentioned, and also worms, and ants and other
tlieLabfe P®°Pl® the idea would be disgusting of a toad crawling over any thing intended for
C h a p . VIH.
Horticultural Catalogue.— Hardy Herbaceous Culinary Vegetahles.
3424. The various plants and trees grown in the different departments o f horticulture
shall now be more particularly enumerated and characterised, and some account given
of their histoiy, use, and culture. We shall commence M’itii the hardy herbaceous
vegetables; and the most suitable aiTangement for this class of plants seems to be, that
arising from a combined view of thefr habits, culture, and uses in domestic economy.
Though no such an-angement can be absolutely perfect, from the circumstance of some
o f the plants being used for different purposes, yet, by bringing together such as present
most points of imion, something better than a mere alphabetical catalogue is formed, of
which the following is the outline : —
3425. The cabbo.ge tribe ; comprehending the white and red cabbage, cabbage-colewort,
Savoy, Bi-ussels sprouts, borecoles or winter greens, cauliflowers, and broccolis.
3426. Leguminous vegetables ; comprehending the pea, bean, and kidneybean.
3427. Esculent roots ; comprehending the potato, Jerasalem artichoke, tm-nip, carrot,
parsnep, red beet, skin-et, scorzoncra, salsify, and radish.
3428. Spinaceous plants ; comprehending the garden-spinach, white-beet, orache, wild
spinach, New Zealand spinach, soiTel, and herb-patience.
3429. Alliaceous plants ; comprehending the onion, leek, chives, gai-lic, shallot, and
rocambole.
3430. Asparaginous plants ; comprehending asparagus, sea-kale, artichoke, cardoon,
rampion, alisanders, hop, bladder-campion, cotton-thistle, and milk-thistle.
3431. Acetarious plants or salads; comprehending small salads, lettuce, endive, suc-
coiy, dandelion, celery, mustard, rape, corn-salad, gardcn-cress, American cress, winter
cress, water-cress, brook-lime, scurvy-grass, gai-deu-rocket, burnet, buckshoni plantain,
ox-eye daisy, and some of those included in other sections, as the sorrel, tan-agon, Indian
cress, &c.
3432. Pot-herbs and gamishings ; comprehending parsley, purslane, tarragon, fennel,
dill, chervil, horse-radish, Indian cress, mai-igold, borage, and some others included in
other sections.
3433. Sweet herbs; comprehending thyme, sage, clary, mint, balm, marjoram, savory,
basil, rosemaiy, lavender, tansy, costmary, and some of those in the preceding section.
3434. Plants used in tarts, confectionary, domestic medicine, and for destroying insects ;
comprehending rhubarb, gourd, angelica, anise, coriander, caraway, rae, hyssop, chamomile,
elecampane, liquorice, blessed thistle, wormwood, tobacco, and some others.
3435. Plants used as preserves and pickles; comprehending love-apple, egg-plant,
3 G 2