so that no water can settle under the dung. The substance of dung from the bottom of the bed should be from three to four feet, according to the season of planting, and the mould should be laid on as soon as the bed is settled, and has a lively, regular-tempered heat. Lay the earth evenly over the dung, about six inches deep; after it has lain a few days examine it, and if no traces of a burning effect are discovered, by the mould turning of a whitish colour and caking, it will be fit to receive the plants; but if the earth appears burned, or has a rank smell, some fresh sweet mould should be provided for the hills, and placed in the frame to get warm; at the same time, vacancies should be made to give vent to the steam, by running down stakes.

After the situation of the bed has been ascertained, and the heat regulated, the hole should be closed, and the earth formed into hills; raise one hill in the centre under each sash, so that the earth is brought to within nine inches of the glass; in these hills, plant three seedlings, or turn out such as may be in pots, with the balls of earth about their roots, and thus insert one patch of three plants in the middle of each hill. The plants should be immediately watered with water heated to the temperature of the bed, and kept shaded till they have taken root.

The temperature should be kept up to 600, and may rise to 800 without injury, provided the rank steam be allowed to pass off; therefore, as the heat begins to decline, timely linings of well-prepared dung must be applied all round the frame. Begin by lining the back part first; cut away the old dung perpendicularly by the frame, and form a bank two feet broad, to the height of a foot, against the back of the frames; as it sinks, add more; renew the linings round the remainder of the bed as it becomes necessary, and be careful to let off the steam, and give air to the plants at all opportunities.

Give necessary waterings, mostly in the morning of a mild day, in early forcing; and in the afternoon, in the advanced

season of hot sunny weather. Some use water impregnated with sheep or pigeon dung. As the roots begin to spread, and the vines to run, the hills should be enlarged by gathering up the earth around them, for which purpose a supply of good mould should be kept ready at hand, to be used as required.

When the plants have made one or two joints, stop them, by pinching off the tops, after which they generally put forth two shoots, each of which let run till they have made one or two clear joints, and then stop them also; and afterward continue throughout the season to stop them at every joint; this will strengthen the plants, and promote their perfecting the fruit early.

The following artificial operation is recommended by Abercrombie, Phial, and other writers, as essential to the production of a full crop of Cucumbers under glass. In plants more freely exposed to the open air, the impregnation is effected by nature. Those which some call false blossoms are the male flowers, and are indispensable in this operation.

"The Cucumber," Abercrombie observes, "bears male and female blossoms distinctly on the same plant. The latter only produce the fruit, which appears first in miniature, close under the base, even before the flower expands. There is never any in the males; but these are placed in the vicinity of the females, and are absolutely necessary, by the dispersion of their farina, to impregnate the female blossom; the fruit of which will not otherwise swell to its full size, and the seed will be abortive. The early plants under glass, not having the full current of natural air, nor the assistance of bees and other winged insects to convey the farina, the artificial aid of the cultivator is necessary to effect the impregnation. At the time of fructification, watch the plants daily; and as soon as the female flowers and some male blossoms are fully expanded, proceed to set the fruit the same day, or next morning at farthest. Take off a male blossom, detaching it with part of the footstalk. Hold this

between the finger and thumb; pull away the flower leaves, or petals, close to the stamens and antheræ, or central part, which apply close to the pistil in the bosom of the female flower, twirling it a little about, to discharge thereon some particles of the fertilizing powder. Proceed thus to set every fruit, as the flowers of both sorts open, while of a lively full expansion; and generally perform it in the early part of the day, using a fresh male, if possible, for every impregna tion, as the males are usually more abundant than the female blossoms. By this management, the young fruit will soon be observed to swell freely."

Cucumbers attain the proper size for gathering in from fifteen to twenty days after the time of setting; and often in succession for two or three months or more, in the same beds, by good culture.

FORWARDING CUCUMBERS UNDER HAND GLASSES.

Ir it be desired to have Cucumbers in the open garden at an early season, the plants may be raised in pots as before directed, and planted in a warm border either in the earth, or in hot-bed ridges. A hand-glass should be provided for each hill, which must be kept close down every night and in cool days, taking care to admit air when practicable. The plants may be hardened by degrees, by taking off the glass in the heat of the day, and as the weather gets warm they may be left to nature.

FORWARDING LETTUCE FOR USE IN WINTER.

HEAD Lettuce may be cultivated for use in the winter season by means of gentle hot-beds, or in cold-beds made in the manner recommended for the raising of early Cabbage

plants, &c. (See article Cabbage.) For such Head Lettuce as may be wanted for use before Christmas, the Hardy Green, the Loco Foco, and Coss, are the most suitable kinds to sow; and plants may be raised in the open border by sowing seed two or three times between the middle of August and the first week in September. The plants from these sowings may be set out, about six inches apart, in cold-beds, when they are one or two inches high.

In September and early in October, some of the Silesia, Sugar Loaf, Butter Lettuce, or any other esteemed sorts, may be sown in a cold-bed frame, which, with the aid of sashes, will produce plants in from a month to six weeks; these being planted in gentle hot-beds in November and December, will produce Head Lettuce until a plentiful supply can be obtained from the open borders. The same attention is necessary, as respects the protection of these beds, as for other half-hardy plants.

FORCING MUSHROOMS AT ALL SEASONS.

THE Agaricus is said to be the most extensive genus in the vegetable kingdom. The species are determined upon various principles. As some of the kinds are poisonous, it is necessary to describe the eatable Mushroom. Loudon says, it is most readily distinguished when of a middle size, by its fine pink or flesh-coloured gills, and pleasant smell. In a more advanced age, the gills become of a chocolate colour, and it is then more apt to be confounded with other kinds of dubious quality; but that species which most nearly resembles it, is slimy to the touch, destitute of fine odour, and has a disagreeable smell.

Again: the noxious kinds grow in woods, while the true Mushroom springs up chiefly in open pastures, and should be gathered only in such places.

Unwholesome fungi will sometimes spring up on artificial

beds in gardens; thus, when the spawn begins to run, a spurious breed is often found to precede a crop of genuine Mushrooms. The poisonous toad-stool, Agaricus cirocus, may generally be detected by the presence of a sickly, nauseous smell, though some hurtful kinds are so free from any thing disagreeable in the smell, as to make any criterion, drawn from that alone, very unsafe. The wholesome kinds, however, invariably emit a grateful, rich odour. The Agaricus campestris is most generally cultivated. Dr. Withering mentions other eatable varieties, which grow considerably larger, but are inferior in flavour; he says "that a plant of the variety Georgia was gathered in an old hot-bed at Birmingham, which weighed fourteen pounds; and Mr. Stackhouse found one fifty-four inches in circumference, having a stem as thick as a man's wrist."

Mushrooms may be obtained at any season of the year, by a proper regulation of the time and manner of forming the beds. A good crop is sometimes collected without making a bed on purpose, by introducing lumps of spawn into the top mould of old hot-beds.

The methods of procuring and propagating spawn, and of forming Mushroom beds, are numerous. Indigenous spawn may be collected in pasture lands in September and October, or it may be found in its strength and purity in the paths of mills worked by horses, or in any other horse-walks under shelter; it is frequently found in old hot-beds and dunghills in the summer season, and Mushrooms of good quality may often be seen beginning to form on the surface, like large peas; when these are absorbed, it is time to take out the spawn, which is generally in hard, dry lumps of dung, the spawn having the appearance of whitish coarse pieces of thread. The true sort has exactly the smell of a Mushroom. If spawn thus collected be required for immediate use, it may be planted in the beds at once, or it will keep three or four years, if laid to dry with the earth adhering to it, and afterward placed in a warm, dry shed, where there