spawn is killed. Tlic experience of ;i niiinbcr of growers has shown that 

 a bed s])awned at (10" to 80'^ and kept at 55° after the inubhrooms appear 

 gives better results than one spawned at *.)0°. 



The (piality of the manure makes some difference in its temperature. 

 That obtained from stables where horses are grass fed will be of lower 

 normal tempeiature and will chill quicker than that obtained from corn 

 or oat fed stock. 



A solution of saltpeter in proportion of about fifteen grains to a c|uart 

 of water, occasionally spread over the bed Avith a line hose, helps to accel- 

 erate the growth of the mushrooms. 



The proper condition of the manure as regards dryness or moistness 

 can be readily ascertained by squeezing it in the hand ; it should be unct- 

 uous enough to hold together in a lump, and so dry that you cannot 

 squeeze a elrop of water out of it. Excessive moisture in the manure has 

 been often a cause of failure. It should be remembered also that when 

 the heat of the manure is on the decline it falls rapidly, five, often ten de- 

 grees a day, till it reaches about 75°, and between that and 65° it may 

 rest for weeks. 



One of the principal causes of the failure of mushroom culture in this 

 country is the use of old or poor spawn. Good spawn should have a 

 fresh, mushroomy odor, and a bluish-white appearance on the surface. In 

 buying spawn one should always go to reliable seedsmen. 



Compost foe Mushroom Beds. 



Sawdust has been used in England for mushroom beds, after having 

 been used for stable bedding, with very good results. It has also been 

 used successfully in the District of Columbia. In fact, the very large 

 models of cultivated mushrooms exhibited by the Division of Microscopy 

 of the Department of Agriculture at the World's Fair in Chicago were 

 moulded from mushrooms which were grown on the writer's premises, in 

 a composition of sawdust stable bedding, combined with about one-fourth 

 garden mould, but I am confident, at the same time, that much depends 

 on the kind of timber the sawdust is made from. In this case the saw- 

 dust came from spruce. 



Mushroom Culture in Canada. 



A Canadian correspondent informs me that he, with others, has been 

 very successful in growing mushrooms in the open air during the summer 

 months in Canada, and gives the following directions for preparing the 

 beds in the colder latitudes : 



Place under a shed such amovmt of clean stable manure as may be re- 

 quired for the beds, turning it over and over until all free ammonia has 

 escaped and the tendency of undue fermentation and evolution of high 

 temperature has greatly modified. To effect this, it is necessary to heap 

 up the manure each time in a mound, say three feet high after turning, 

 and beat it firmly down (the exclusion of free air prevents overheating). 

 To put the manure in proper condition for use in the beds, from two to 

 four weeks' treatment may be required, but much depends on the (quality 

 of the manure and temperature of the atmosphere. Before making the 

 beds, and several daj'S after the last turning, test the internal tempera- 

 ture of the mound in the following manner : Make a hole with a broom- 

 stick through the mound from top to bottom, and suspend a thermom- 

 eter half way down in the hole for, say, an hour. The temperature may 



