20 



be as liigb as 150° F. After tlie lapse of the time stated, beat the 

 mound more firmly down to prevent rise of temperature. Test again 

 two days after in the same manner. If the temperature has risen several 

 degrees the mound must be again taken down, turned over, and remade. 

 If, on the other hand, the temperature has fallen to 100° F., the perma- 

 nent bed may be made. If indoor growth is desired, such as a cellar, out- 

 building, or cave, the atmosphere must not fall below 50° F., nor be 

 over 80° F. Air drafts cannot be permitted. The floor must be dry and 

 the atmosphere moist. The cellar may be dark, or moderately light. 

 Growers differ in oj^inion in this respect. Growers generally add to the 

 the manure about one-fourth or one-fifth garden soil, but success has 

 been attained without the use of garden soil, except as surface dressing 

 after spawning the bed; an excessive use of loam, in any case, tends to 

 lower the temperature too rapidly. Having prepared a box or frame-work 

 for the bed twelve inches deep, fill it up to within two inches of the top ; 

 beat gently down with a board, or a brick, until it is even and compact. 

 On the following day make holes in the bed, with a dibble, ten inches 

 deep, in which suspend a thermometer half way down for an hour. 

 Should the temperature have fallen to 90° F., cover lightly with straw and 

 test on the following day. Should the temperature prove to be going 

 down, say to 80° F., or 85° F., it is safe to plant the spawn ; but should 

 the temperature be on the rise, wait until it is falling. One grower has 

 stated that his greatest success has been when the spawn was planted at 

 the temperature of 75° F. Should the temperature fall too quickly and 

 the surfare be too dr}^, sprinkle with water at blood heat, using a very 

 fine hose, and cover the bed with straw. 



The spawn brick should be cut into pieces, about the size of an egg, 

 and planted in holes made in the bed, about two inches deep and about 

 six inches apart. The holes are then filled up and about two inches of 

 garden soil sifted over the surface of the bed. Tamp the bed surface 

 gently with the back of a spade. Mushrooms may be exjoected for table 

 use in about six or seven weeks, provided the spawn is good and the tem- 

 perature has not fallen below 50° F. In outdoor culture the beds must 

 be well covered with straw or canvas, and had better be under a shed 

 roof with southern exposure. 



The spawn used by this grower is the " brick " spawn, imported from 

 Carter & Holborn, London, England. 



Cultivation or Mushrooms in Japan. 



The Japanese are very successful in cultivatirg a mushroom which they 

 call " Shiitake " or " Lepiota shiitake." China also produces the same 

 mushroom, but of an inferior quality. The Chinese therefore prefer the 

 mushroom cultivated by the Japanese, which they import from Japan in 

 large quantities. It is cultivated on a variety of trees, b)ut is said to 

 grow best on the "■ Shiinoki," a species of oak (Quercus cuspidata). 



There are three varieties of "Shiitake,'' the spring, summer, and 

 autumn crops differing somewhat in quality. The method of growing 

 the " Shiitake " is given by the Japanese Commissioner of Agriculture as 

 follows : 



" Trees of from twenty to fifty years' growth are cut down at the ap- 

 proach of winter when the sap has ceased to run, and after the lapse of 

 twenty or thirty days, according to the condition of the drying of the 

 wood, are sawed into logs of 4 or 5 feet in length. Into each of these 

 logs incisions are made with a hatchet, at intervals of about 6 inches, and 

 they are piled regularly upon a frame-work erected at a height of about 



