86 MUSHEOOM GROWING AND SPAWN MAKING. 



necessarily very "" short," und therefore the physical condition is not 

 the most favorable for Agarietis cara'pestris. 



In another chapter attention is called to the fact that the value of 

 the manure depends to a considerable extent upon the feed ^iven the 

 animals. It would not be wise to depend upon that obtained from 

 stables in which hay and £>reen foods are used to too great an extent. 

 Moreover, it is not believed that compost made from the manure of 

 cattle barns is in mushroom growino" as desirable as stable manure. 



In some cities the municipal ordinances require that the manury 

 shall be promptly removed from the feeding- stables or that it shall 

 be disinfected. In the latter case crude carbolic acid, or even cori-o- 

 sive sublimate, may be used to secure this end. Manure thus disin- 

 fected is, of course, undesirable for mushroom work. For the same 

 reason the manure of veterinary hospitals is of questionable value. 



It is not wholly improbable that some other aa aste products of the 

 farm, field, and forest may be utilized in mushroom gi'owing: never- 

 theless, no such product has yet been found which, under the condi- 

 tions of the experiment, has yielded sufficiently to make it of special 

 interest in growing Agdricxs (■(iinpesfrh. Among the products which 

 have been tested, either alone or in conjunction with some commer- 

 cial fertilizer, are the following: Leaves of deciduous trees, needles of 

 conifers, sawdust, cotton-seed hulls, cotton seed, corn stover, sorghum 

 stover (or bagasse), rotten hay. sphagnuui. and yeddo fib^r. The 

 Avriter is convinced that greater profit may be anticipated, for the 

 present, at least, if the culture of Agarirus <(tmpeMriH is confined to 

 manure: and if other edible forms which grow in the woods are used 

 in l)eds of leaves, etc., as indicated elsewhere in these pages, it is quite 

 possible that such a fungus as Gopnnua comatus may be grown suc- 

 cessfully in this latter Avay. It may, however, be too much to hope 

 that the morel may also be thus made amenable to culture, although 

 leaf mold is in nature the favorite habitat of this fungus. 



From the prompt and abundant growth of Agarhiix campestris on 

 half-rotted leaf mold in pure cultures, it was thought that mushrooms 

 might be grown to advantage upon this product. The practical 

 experiments made to test this point are distinctly discouraging, as 

 shown by reference to No. IT. Table VIII; Nos. 3 and 4. Table IX, 

 and Xo. 11. Table X. 



For the most part manure may be composted in the open air. It 

 may, however, be prepared with greater uniformity under cover. 

 During midsununer. ]U'otection may be desirable on account of dry- 

 ing out, while in the winter it is more important in case of excessive 

 cold. If it is necessary to compost manure during the winter, more- 

 over, the piles should be of considerable depth. 



