266 STUDIES OF AMERICAN FUNGI. 



wish to plant the piece of spawn. They are left here for two or 

 three days on the surface of the beds. These pieces absorb some 

 moisture and take up some warmth from the bed. Then they are 

 planted in the ordinary way. 



Spawning with Flake Spawn, or Natural Spawn. In the use of the 

 tlake or natural spawn, the planting is accomplished in a similar 

 way, but larger pieces of the spawn are used, two or three times the 

 size of the pieces of brick employed. Some use a large handful. In 

 some few cases, the growers use a flake spawn from their own crop. 

 That is, each year a few beds are spawned from material which has 

 been kept over from the previous season. This is often kept in 

 boxes, in cool places, where it does not thoroughly dry out. In this 

 way, the spawn is used over and over again, until it becomes much 

 less vigorous than natural spawn, or a spawn which is only one or 

 only a few generations distant from the natural spawn. This is 

 seen in the less certainty with which the spawn runs through the 

 bed, in the smaller crop of mushrooms, and their gradual deteriora- 

 tion in size. Some few practice the method of breaking down the 

 bed after the crop has been nearly gathered, using this weak spawn 

 to inoculate fresh beds. This practice is objectionable for the same 

 reason that long cultivated spawn is objectionable. 



Soiling the Beds. After the beds have been planted with the 

 spawn, the next thing is to soil them. That is, the manure in the 

 bed is covered with a layer of loam soil, or garden soil, to the depth 

 of two inches, then spread evenly over the bed, leveled off, and 

 tamped down, though not packed too hard, and the surface is 

 smoothed off. The time at which the soiling is done, varies also 

 with different operators. Some soil immediately after planting the 

 spawn. Others believe that the spawn will most certainly fail to 

 run if the beds are soiled immediately after planting. These opera- 

 tors wait two or three weeks after the spawn has been planted to 

 soil it. Others wait until the temperature of the bed has fallen from 

 80 or 85 at the time of spawning, to 70 or 60 F. Soiling at this 

 temperature, that is, at 60 or 70 F., probably prevents the rapid 

 cooling down of the bed, and it is desirable to soil, at least at this 

 temperature, for that purpose. When the beds are soiled, they are 

 then left until the crop is ready to gather. Some operators give no 

 further attention to the beds after soiling, other than to water the 

 beds, if that becomes necessary. It is desirable to avoid watering, 

 if the bed can be kept at the right state of moisture without. In 

 watering the beds while the spawn is running, there is danger of 

 killing the young spawn with the water. Wherever it is necessary, 



