production of spawn, and, from what I saw of it, I felt almost
assured that in better hands the cultivation would at last
succeed. The grand point is to have plenty of lime in the
soil, without which there is little, if any, hope of Truffles. A
sort of cultivation is practised in Poitou, which consists in
enclosing a tract of downs, and sowing it with acorns, and in
the course of a few years a plentiful crop is almost uniformly
the result. The Viscomte Noe, in the south of Prance, succeeded
in raising Truffles in his woods by irrigating the
ground, after a certain degree of preparation, with water in
which the skins of Truffles had been rubbed. At present,
however, no progress has been made in the garden, nor do
gardeners seem inclined to persevere in their attempts, though
success would he sure to he highly remunerative.
As regards Boletus edulis, which is so highly esteemed in
many parts of the Continent, the only attempts which have
been made at cultivation are similar to those of Viscomte
Noe, and these have been attended with success. In either
case pains were taken to fence out the wild pigs, which are
the most deadly enemies to both Truffle and Boletus.
The cultivation of the common Mushroom is carried on to
a very great extent wherever scientific gardening is practised,
but nowhere to a greater than at Paris, where the Catacombs
present all the requisite conditions. Mushrooms are generally
raised from artificial spawn, which is purchased of the
seedsmen, and inserted in fragments amongst mould carefully
prepared and placed either on the ground or on convenient
shelves; and, where proper attention is paid to the requisite
degree of temperature and moisture, care being taken to
exceed neither, the cultivation is almost always successful
and very profitable. Some of the best cultivators, however,
as Mr. Ingram at Belvoir, make use of nothing more than
straw which has been thoroughly trodden underfoot in the
stable or riding-school. When this is placed in a heap, it is
soon penetrated in every direction with spawn, and may be
used in several ways for the production of Mushrooms.
Splendid crops may he obtained from it, from Asparagus-
beds, from mould in spent Cucnmher and Melon-frames,
either covered with green turf or exposed, as well as from
the ordinary Mushroom-shed.
I t has been questioned whether Mushrooms might not be
raised successfully on lawns, and there is no doubt that
this sort of cultivation would succeed. But even supposing
it should, it must more or less interfere with the nice keeping
of the surface, a point of so much consequence to English
gardeners, which would inevitably exhibit here and there
dead patches, the effects of the last year’s growth. And if
A. arvensis (Plate 10, fig. 4) should be chosen, which would
probably be more easy of cultivation in such situations than
any other species, the extent of dead surface would be considerable.
There is another very great objection to the cultivation
of this species, which is that the spawn at times gives
out a most oppressive smell. During the last summer I was
astonished at the very powerful odour which arose from the
large rings of Agaricus arvensis, creating at once a sense of
nausea. This, indeed, was so annoying, that even the labourers,
whose perceptions of such matters are not in general
very delicate, observed it. This observation applies also to
the Champignon (Plate 14, fig. 5), which is one of the most
eligible in other respects for lawn cultivation. The spawn
of A. arvensis penetrates to a great depth, and Mrs. Hussey*
relates an instance where the scent was so overpowering,
* The reader should refer to the article Fairy Eings, in Mrs. Hussey’s
‘ Illustrations o f British Mycology,’ appended to her account of Agaric%s
Oreades.