THE GROWING PERIOD 



one which especially commends itself when 

 the unfavorable condition is temporary, is to 

 spread newspapers over the bed. When the 

 condition is likely to be permanent, a 

 framework may be made to extend 6 or 12 

 inches above the bed, with cheese cloth or 

 unbleached cotton over the frame. This 

 may be arranged to be readily removed for 

 harvesting. In this connection it is neces- 

 sary to call attention again to the fact that 

 such coverings are never to be employed 

 where they retain so much moisture that the 

 effect is to induce a " stemmy " development 

 of the mushrooms at the expense of caps. 

 In open air culture matting is often em- 

 ployed over the frames — performing the 

 double duty of retaining moisture and pre- 

 serving a more uniform temperature. 



Between crops. Directly after the beds 

 in any house or cellar have ceased to be pro- 

 ductive or remunerative, they should be re- 

 moved and the house thoroughly cleaned 

 and ultimately fumigated or sprayed, as 

 mentioned later. Beds which come into 



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