so 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[April ], 1870. 



dance of humidity will in all probability have spoiled 

 it, and it will be better to recommence. 



One frequent cause of failure in the attempt to 

 cultivate mushrooms arises from the very small 

 quantity of manure used for the experiment. It 

 may easily be imagined how much more difficult it 

 is to obtain an equal fermentation in a very small 

 bed, which -is influenced on all sides by the atmo- 

 sphere, than when a bed of considerable size is 

 formed ; it is therefore recommended that a larger 

 quantity be prepared than would be required for the 

 formation of the mushroom-bed. The portion not 

 used may be employed for ordinary purposes without 

 having undergone a perceptible deterioration in its 

 fertilizing quality. 



THE FORMATION AND MANAGEMENT OF MUSHROOM 

 BEDS. 



The manure having reached a proper condition, 

 the spawn should be introduced. In spring and 

 summer the bed should be situated in the shade, in 

 autumn and the beginning of winter a southern 

 aspect; but in all seasons it is best in a cellar 

 or other sheltered place, well closed in and 

 darkened. 



The size of the bed should be from 21 inches to 

 20 inches at the base, and the same measurement in 

 height, finishing off span-shape. The sides must be 

 gently beaten with a spade to make them even and 

 solid ; afterwards, the bed should be combed with a 

 fork over the surface and on both sides, from top to 

 bottom, so as to draw out any straw which might be 

 too near the surface. Finally, spread over it some 

 litter, which must always be kept dry, and in this 

 condition the bed is left for several days ; in sum- 

 mer, watering it from time to time with tepid 

 water. 



Littering down is only necessary for beds placed out 

 of doors or in sheltered positions where light pe?ietrates. 

 Those made in perfect shade and darkness do not 

 require it. 



After a few days the bed will have reached a 

 moderate degree of heat (70° to 80°), which can be 

 ascertained by the insertion of the probe generally 

 used for hotbeds. 



The next process is dibbling or planting the 

 spawn. That manufactured in England is made into 

 the form of oblong square cakes or bricks, but that 

 imported from France is in thin layers. The latter 

 is the variety used by the market gardeners around 

 Paris. Both kinds are impregnated with a whitish 

 filament or felt-like substance, consisting of mush- 

 room plant, and possessing the property of reviving 

 after having been kept dry in a granary for several 

 years. 



The process of dibbling is performed with the 

 hand, by making little oblique openings about 2£ 

 inches in diameter, and of the same depth. Into 

 each opening is introduced a piece of spawn. 



If English spawn is used, each piece is about the- 

 size of a small hen's egg ; but if French, a flake of 

 about the same diameter as the opening into which 

 it is inserted is the proper quantity. The manure 

 removed in making the hole is then restored and 

 well pressed down. Mushroom spawn should always 

 be in a dry condition for conveyance, to insure its 

 preservation ; but so used, it often happens that it 

 takes root too slowly, allowing the bed in the mean 

 time to become cool. To obviate this inconvenience, 

 the spawn should be deposited four or five days be- 

 fore planting in some damp situation (in a cellar, for 

 example), which will make it soft, and facilitate the 

 vegetation ; but care must be taken that it does not 

 become mouldy. The openings are made equidistant, 

 nine inches apart, on two lines, the first commencing 

 three inches from the base, and the second five to 

 six inches above the first, the holes on the first line 

 alternating with those on the second in a triangular 

 pattern. This being done, the bed is again littered 

 over, and at the end of a few days it must be ex- 

 amined to ascertain if the spawn has taken root, 

 which will be known by the increase of white fila- 

 ment in the dibbling-hole spreading itself in the bed. 

 If not, the spawn, which has become black, is care- 

 fully withdrawn; and, in holes skilfully made by the 

 side of the old ones, a new supply is immediately 

 introduced ; unless the bed may have become over- 

 heated, in which case it is allowed to repose until it 

 has returned to a suitable temperature, which should 

 not decline below 75°, nor rise above 80°. 



If the spawn has taken well, it is allowed to re- 

 main six or eight days, to permit of its penetrating 

 to the top of the hotbed, when the latter is pressed 

 firmly with the hands before earthing it. This 

 operation consists in covering the entire bed with, a 

 layer of fineiy-sifted earth, about one-third of an 

 inch thick, which is properly adjusted by lightly 

 pressing it down with the back of a spade. The 

 litter is then replaced and lightly watered, if the 

 season requires it. The litter should never be taken 

 off in any season, as its presence tends to keep the 

 bed for a longer time in bearing. The most suitable 

 temperature for beds in bearing is 50° to 55°, and 

 as a high temperature causes the mushrooms to come 

 small, this should be avoided. 



In gathering mushrooms, only a small space should 

 be uncovered at a time. The gathering being 

 finished, a little sifted earth must be placed over 

 the spots from whence the mushrooms were removed, 

 and the litter immediately restored. In dry seasons, 

 after gathering, it is often useful to water moderate- 

 ly under the litter ; but in wet seasons it is fre- 

 quently needful to renew the litter, which may have 

 become too much saturated with rain. The produce- 

 from one bed usually lasts from two to three months ; 

 but if in a cellar, it might last from four to five 

 months.— -By Sutton & Sons, in The Gardener's 

 Magazine. 



