places Lettuces stand out the winter without covering, and turn in
early in the spring. But in other districts they seldom survive the
winter without protection, even when the sparrows spare them. The
summer sowings will afford supplies to a late season of the year, and
the crop that remains when frost sets in may be preserved with slight
and rough protection. But for the profitable production of Winter
Lettuces frames are a necessity, and care must be taken not to promote
a strong growth, for after a term of mild winter weather a sudden and
severe frost will probably annihilate those that are in a too thriving
condition. In the least likely places, however, it is well to have a
small plantation of Winter Lettuces in the open, and to give some rough
protection in bad times, as these often prove of great advantage, and
even outlive frame crops which have been allowed to get too forward by
the aid of warmth and a rich soil.
For winter and spring use sowings should commence in August and be
continued, according to requirements, until the middle of October,
after which it is waste of time and seed to sow any more. The August
and September sowings may be made partly on an open border and partly
in frames, but the October sowings must be in frames only, for winter
may overtake them in the seed-leaf. The seedlings must in all cases be
thinned and pricked out as soon as large enough, and should be planted
in fine soil, free from recent manure, being carefully handled to avoid
needless check. Some should be planted in frames on beds of light soil
near the glass, at three inches apart, and when these meet they must be
thinned for the house as may be necessary: the remainder of the
thinnings may be put out on warm borders at six inches, and, if quite
convenient, a crop should be left in the seed-bed at six inches. From
the frames, the supplies will be ready in time to follow those from
late summer sowings, and thus through the winter until the frames are
cleared out for the work of the spring. The frame crop must have plenty
of air, and be kept as hardy as possible, but with moisture enough to
sustain a steady healthy growth. If roughly handled in the planting, or
a little starved in respect of moisture, the plants will rise from the
centre just when they ought to begin to turn in, and the first few days
of warm sunshine will start them in the wrong way. As to those wintered
out, there are many ways of protecting them, and when success has
crowned the effort there will be a crowded plant. It will be necessary,
therefore, to transplant at least half the crop by lifting every other
one. This must be done with care, as though they were worth a guinea
each. By transplanting early in March to a piece of rich light ground
in a warm spot, and doing the work neatly and smartly, the result will
be a valuable crop of early Summer Lettuce, while those that remain
will help through the spring.
Forcing.—Lettuces do not force well; but as they are so constantly in
demand, it is a matter of importance to grow them in every possible
way. Nice promising plants from August and September sowings may be
selected from the frames, and planted on gentle hot-beds from November
to January, and will do well if tenderly lifted. The Commodore Nutt and
Golden Ball are the best of the Cabbage varieties for forcing. The Cos
varieties do not differ much as to forcing, none of them being well
adapted for the purpose; but the Superb White Cos may be brought to
fine condition by taking time enough, so as to make a very moderate
warmth suffice. On sunny days the heat should not exceed 75°; but 65°
is sufficient, with a night temperature of 45°to 50°.
One other method of providing small delicate salading may be adopted to
meet emergencies. On the barrows of itinerant greengrocers in Paris the
thinnings of Lettuce crops form part of the general stock, and in this
country we do not sufficiently utilise this young tender stuff. But we
have now in view the use of Lettuce in a still earlier stage of growth.
By sowing rather thinly in boxes, kept under glass, a dense growth is
produced in a short time which can be cut in the same manner as
Mustard. For this purpose Sutton’s Winter Gathering is especially
valuable, or one of the best White Cos varieties should be sown.
MAIZE and SUGAR CORN
Zea Mays
Maize is a tender plant of great beauty that may be grown as a table
vegetable, a forage plant, or a corn crop; but in the last-named
capacity it is rarely profitable in this country, owing to the brevity
of our summers. As an ornamental plant it is entitled to consideration,
and the more so because, while adorning the garden with its noble
outlines and splendid silken tufts, it will at the same time supply to
the table the green cobs that are so much valued when cooked and served
in the same manner as Asparagus.
There is a simple rough and ready way of growing Maize, the first step
towards which is to prepare a deep rich soil, in a sunny and sheltered
situation. Late in April or early in May dibble the seeds two inches
deep, in rows two feet asunder and one foot apart in the rows. When the
plants have made some progress, remove every other one, these thinnings
to be destroyed or planted at discretion. Plants may also be started
under glass by sowing seeds in gentle heat in April. Prick off into
pots and gradually harden for transfer to the open. The crop will
almost take care of itself when the weather is warm enough to suit it.
But a deluge of water may be given during the hottest weather. In its
native country, and indeed wherever Maize thoroughly thrives, it is
dependent on frequent storms.
MELON
Cucumis Melo
The popularity of this cool and delicious fruit has in recent years
been greatly enhanced by increased knowledge as to the best method of
treating the plant, and also by the introduction of several varieties
which are attractive in form and superb in flavour. It would shock a
modern Melon eater to be advised to cook a Melon, and flavour it with
vinegar and salt, as in the early days of English gardening. A good
Melon of the present day does not even need the addition of sugar; the
beauty, aroma, and flavour are such that it is not unusual for the
epicure to push the luscious Pine aside in order to enjoy this cool,
fresh, gratifying fruit that delights without cloying the palate. The
newer varieties are remarkable alike for fruitfulness and high quality,
and are somewhat hardier than the favourites of years gone by.
The Melon is grown in much the same way as the Cucumber, but it differs
in requiring a firmer soil, a higher temperature, a much stronger
light, less water, and more air. It may be said that no man should
attempt to grow Melons until he has had some experience in growing
Cucumbers. As regards this point, the hard and fast line is useless,
but Cucumber-growing is certainly a good practical preparative for the
higher walk wherein the Melon is found. But Cucumbers are grown
advantageously all the winter through; Melons are not. The former are
eaten green, and the latter are eaten ripe; this makes all the
difference. Melons that are ripened between October and May are seldom
worth the trouble bestowed upon them; therefore we shall say nothing
about growing Melons in winter.
The Frame Culture may with advantage begin about the middle of March by
the preparation of a good hot-bed. It is best to use a three-light
frame, as the heat will be more constant than with one of smaller size.
There should be six loads of stuff laid up for the bed, and the turning
should be sufficient to take out the fire, without materially reducing
the fermenting power. Begin a fortnight in advance of making up the
bed, and be careful at every stage to do things well, as advised for
the cultivation of frame Cucumbers. The best soil for Melons is a firm,
turfy loam, nine inches of which should be placed on top of the manure.
In a clay district, a certain amount of clay, disintegrated by frost,
may be chopped over with turfy loam from an old pasture. If the soil is
poor, decayed manure should be added, but the best possible Melons may
be grown in a fertile loam without the aid of manures or stimulants of
any kind. It is good practice to raise the plants in pots, and have
them strong enough to plant out as soon as the newly-made beds have
settled down to a steady temperature of about 80°, but below 70° will
be unsafe. If plants cannot be prepared in advance, seed must be sown
on the bed, and as a precaution against accidents and to permit of the
removal of those which show any sign of weakness, a sufficient number
of seeds should be sown to provide for contingencies.
As regards the bed, it may be made once and for all at the time of
planting, a few days being allowed for warming the soil through. But we
much prefer to begin with smallish hillocks, or with a thin sharp ridge
raised so as almost to touch the lights, and to plant or sow on this
ridge, which can be added to from time to time as the plants require
more root room. The soil, coming fresh and fresh, sustains a vigorous
and healthy root action. The high ridge favours the production of stout
leaves, and the absorption by the soil of sun-heat is to the Melon of
the first importance.
The practice of pruning Melons as if the plants were grown for fodder,
and might be chopped at for supplies of herbage, must be heartily
condemned. Melons should never be so crowded as to necessitate cutting
out, except in a quite trivial manner. A free and vigorous plant is
needed, and under skilful attention it will rarely happen that there is
a single leaf anywhere that can be spared. We will propose a practical
rule that we have followed in growing Melons for seed, of which a large
crop of the most perfect fruits is absolutely needful to insure a fair
return. The young plants are pinched when there are two rough leaves.
The result is two side shoots. These are allowed to produce six or
seven leaves, and are then pinched. After this, the plants are
permitted to run, and there is no more pinching or pruning until the
crop is visible. Then the fruits that are to remain must be selected,
and the shoots be pinched to one eye above each fruit, and only one
fruit should remain on a shoot; the others must be removed a few at a
time. All overgrowth must be guarded against, for crowded plants will
be comparatively worthless. It is not by rudely cutting out that
crowding is to be prevented, but by timely pinching out every shoot
that is likely to prove superfluous. From first to last there must be a
regular plant, and not a shoot should be allowed to grow that is not
wanted. Cutting out may produce canker, and crowding results in
sterility.
As the Melon is required to ripen its fruits, and the Cucumber is not,
the treatment varies in view of this difference. It is not necessary to
fertilise the female flowers of the Cucumber, but it is certainly
desirable, if not absolutely necessary, to operate on those of the
Melon to insure a crop. The early morning, when the leaves are dry and
the sun is shining, is the proper time for this task, which is
described in a later paragraph. And the necessity for ripening the crop
marks another difference of management, for Cucumbers may carry many
fruits, and continue producing them until the plants are exhausted. But
the production of Melons must be limited to about half a dozen on each
plant, and good management requires that these should all ripen at the
same time, or nearly so, fully exposed to the sun, and with plenty of
ventilation.
The requisite supply of water is an important matter. The plant should
never be dry at the root, and must have a light shower twice a day over
the leafage, but the moisture which is necessary for Cucumbers would be
excessive for Melons. It is a golden rule to grow Melons liberally,
keeping them sturdy by judicious air-giving, and to give them a little
extra watering just as they are coming into flower. Then, as the
flowers open, the watering at the root should be discontinued, and the
syringe should be used in the evening only at shutting up. If
discontinued entirely, red spider will appear, and the crop will be in
jeopardy, for that pest can be kept at a distance only by careful
regulation of atmospheric moisture.
Melons in frames do better spread out on the beds than when trained on
trellises. When so grown, each fruit must be supported with a flat tile
or an inverted flower-pot, and means must be taken, by pegs or
otherwise, to prevent it from rolling off, for the twist of stem that
ensues may check the fruit or cause it to fall. When the fruits are as
large as the top joint of a man’s thumb, watering may be resumed, and
the syringe used twice a day until the fruit begins to change colour,
when there must be a return to the dry system, but with care to avoid
carrying it to a dangerous extreme.
The Melon-house, heated by hot water, is adapted to supply fruit
earlier than is obtainable by frame culture, and is entirely superior
to any frame or pit. It appears, however, that in Melon-houses red
spider is more frequently seen than in frames heated by fermenting
material; but this point rests on management, and there can be nothing
more certain than that a reasonable employment of atmospheric humidity
may be made effectual for preventing and removing this pest. For the
convenient cultivation of the crop a lean-to or half-span is to be
preferred. The width should not exceed twelve feet, and ten to twelve
feet should be the utmost height of the roof. A service of pipes under
the bed will be required; but as Melons are not grown in winter, the
heating of a Melon-house is a simple affair, and, indeed, very much of
the cultivation as the summer advances will be carried on by the aid of
sun-heat only. The treatment of the plants in a house differs from the
frame management, because a trellis is employed, and the plants are
taken up the trellis without stopping until they nearly reach the top,
when the points are pinched out to promote the growth of side shoots.
In setting the fruit, the same principles prevail as in frame culture,
and it is advisable to ‘set’ the whole crop at once; if two or three
fruits obtain a good start, others that are set later will drop off. As
the fruits swell, support must be afforded to prevent any undue strain
on the vine, and this should be accomplished by nets specially made for
the purpose, or by suspending small flat boards of half-inch deal with
copper wires, each fruit resting on its board, until the cracking round
the stem gives warning that the fruit should be cut and placed in the
fruit room for a few days to complete the ripening for the table. In
houses of the kind described Melons and Cucumbers are occasionally
grown together. But although this may be done, and there are many
cultivators expert in the business, the practice cannot be recommended,
for ships that sail near the wind will come to grief some day. The
moisture and partial shade that suit the Cucumber do not suit the
Melon, and it is a poor compromise to make one end of the house shady
and moist, and the other end sunny and dry, to establish different
conditions with one atmosphere. A glass partition pretty well disposes
of the difficulty, because it is then possible to insure two
atmospheres suitable for two different operations. (_See also pages
157, 175, and 184._)
The Pollination of Melons is performed by plucking the mature male
blooms, and after the removal of the petals, transferring the pollen of
the male flower to the stigma of the female flower.
MERCURY
Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus
This perfectly hardy vegetable, known also by the name of Good King
Henry, is much grown in Lincolnshire. The leaves are used in the same
way as Spinach, and by earthing up the shoots they may be blanched as a
substitute for Asparagus. Sow the seeds during April in drills twelve
inches apart, and in due course thin the seedlings to one foot apart in
the rows.
MUSHROOM
Agaricus campestris
The Mushroom has many friends among all classes, few benevolent
neutrals, and fewer still who are absolutely hostile to it as an
article of food. Those who find, or imagine they find, that this
delicacy does not agree with them, might possibly arrive at another
conclusion were a different mode of preparation adopted, or were the
consumption of it accompanied with a full persuasion that the Mushroom
is not merely delicious in flavour, but thoroughly wholesome, rich in
flesh-forming constituents, and, for a vegetable, possessed of more
than the average proportion of fat-formers and minerals. These facts
have been clearly established by chemical analysis, and may dispose of
timid misgivings, always supposing the true edible Mushroom, _Agaricus
campestris_, to be in question.
Hitherto the artificial production of Mushrooms has never been equal to
the demand. Notwithstanding the enormous quantities sent to Covent
Garden by the growers around London, many tons are imported from
France, although it is generally admitted that they are neither so fine
nor so rich in flavour as those produced in this country. If, however,
the large centres of population are inadequately supplied, the scarcity
of Mushrooms is more keenly felt in the provinces, except, perhaps, in
certain favoured districts, where, after a few warm days in autumn, an
abundant crop may be gathered from the neighbouring pastures. Then
there is a brave show in the greengrocers’ windows for a brief period,
followed by entire dearth for weeks, and perhaps months. Obviously,
therefore, the demand, large as it already is, might be immensely
augmented by a commensurate supply. Yet it is not only possible but
quite easy to grow Mushrooms for the greater part of the year in very
small gardens, even when such gardens are entirely destitute of the
appliances usually considered necessary for the higher flights of
horticulture. The idea that Mushroom-growing is somewhat of a mystery,
forbidden to all but the strictly initiated, has happily been
dispelled. If we examine the conditions under which Mushrooms grow
freely in pastures, it is surprising how few and simple are the
elements of success. The crop generally appears in September, when
temperature is genial and fairly equable, with sufficient but not
superabundant moisture. The artificial production of Mushrooms in the
garden needs only reliable spawn, a sweet fertile bed, and some means
of maintaining a steady temperature under varying atmospheric
conditions. When the principles of Mushroom culture are thoroughly
mastered, they may be successfully applied in many different ways, and
they render the practical work easy and tolerably certain.
The Spawn.—Although the Mushroom may be grown from seed, it is seldom
done except for strictly scientific purposes. The seeds are, however,
largely disseminated by Nature, and, having found a suitable home, they
germinate and produce an underground growth which at a hasty glance
resembles mildew. It really consists of white gossamer-like films,
which increase in number and distinctness as they develop, until they
push their way towards the surface, and give rise to the growth above
ground of the Mushroom. It follows that if we do not begin the
cultivation with seeds or spores, we must resort to the white films or
‘mycelium,’ that the growth of the plant may begin in Nature’s own way
below ground. What is called ‘Mushroom Spawn’ consists of certain
materials from the stable and the field, mixed and prepared in such a
manner as to favour the development of the mycelium of the Mushroom.
When dried, the cakes have the appearance of an unburnt brick. The
preparation of the spawn, though a very simple matter, demands the
skill and care of experienced operators. If the work is not well done,
the spawn will be of poor quality, and will yield a meagre crop, or
perhaps fail to produce a single Mushroom. Whether the cakes or bricks
are impregnated in the manner long practised in this country, or direct
from the tissue of the Mushroom, the culture remains the same. Provided
that the spawn is good, it has but to be broken into lumps of a
suitable size, and inserted in the bed, to impregnate the entire mass
with the necessary white films. These will take their time to collect
from the soil the alkalies and phosphates of which Mushrooms
principally consist, and this part of their work being done, the fruits
of their labours will be displayed above ground in the elegant and
sweet-smelling fungus that few human appetites can resist when it is
placed upon the table in the way that it deserves. Experts can readily
form an opinion as to whether a cake of Mushroom spawn is or is not in
a fit state for planting, and it will be a safe proceeding for the
amateur to buy from a Firm which has a large and constant sale;
otherwise, spawn may be purchased which was originally well made and
properly impregnated, but has lost its vitality through long keeping.
Soil.—As to soil, it is well known that in a favourable autumn
Mushrooms abound in old rich pastures, and those who have command of
turf cut from a field of this character have only to stack the sods
grass side downwards for a year or two, and they will be in possession
of first-class material for Mushroom beds either in the open or under
cover. But small gardens, particularly in towns, have no such bank to
honour their drafts, and for these it becomes a question of buying a
load or two of turfy loam, or of making the soil of the garden answer,
perhaps with a preliminary enrichment by artificial manure. In the
general interests of the garden, the money for a limited quantity of
good loam would probably be well spent, independently of the question
of Mushrooms. No great bulk is necessary to cover a moderate-sized
Mushroom bed, but the quality of the soil will certainly have an
influence on the number and character of the Mushrooms. As a proof of
the exhaustive nature of the fungus, it almost invariably happens that
when the soil is used a second time it tends to diminish the size and
lower the quality of the crop.
Manure.—In the management of the manure two essentials must be borne in
mind. Not only is nourishment for the plant required, but warmth also.
Probably a large proportion of the failures to grow Mushrooms might, if
all the facts were known, be traced to some defect in the manure
employed, or to some fault in its preparation. It must be rich in the
properties which encourage and support the development of Mushrooms,
absolutely free from the least objectionable odour, for the plant is
most fastidious in its demand for sweetness, although it can dispense
with light; and there must remain in the manure when made into a bed a
sufficient reserve of fermentation to insure prolonged heat, no matter
what the temperature of the atmosphere may be. Of course, the duration
of the heat will depend very much on the care with which it is
conserved by suitable covering and management. These requirements,
formidable as they may seem, can be insured with extreme ease; indeed,
the work is apparently far more difficult and complicated on paper than
it proves to be in practice.