398 
THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
Mushrooms - continued. 
year round. In respect to habitat, Mushrooms may be 
met with in all situations where decaying or dying 
plants occur, or where the soil is full of organic 
matter. Hence, they are most abundant in forests, on 
the soil, and on dead or dying trees; and some species 
prefer woods composed of certain kinds of trees — 
thus, forests of Firs and other conifers are particularly 
rich in Mushrooms. Agaricus affords examples of pre- 
ferences of all kinds, some even growing on dead plants 
of other species of this genus, others in open places, 
but most in woods. The sub-genera usually show a 
preference for some one kind of habitat, e.g., Amanita 
and Collybia prefer woods; Lepiota and Psalliota, open 
places; Omphalia, swamps; and so forth. Cantharellus 
prefers grassy spots in woods; Coprinus, the neighbour- 
hood of mankind; Hygrophorus, open places, such as 
meadows and moorlands, even high on the sides of 
mountains ; Hydnwm, the shade of woods; Rissula, soil 
in open places in woods. Polypori are almost confined 
to woods, or to dead logs. 
Mushrooms preserve badly as fossils; hence, com- 
paratively little is known of them in this state, though 
a few, e.g., Polyporus lucidus, have been found semi- 
fossilised in the later formations. 
CULTIVATION. The cultivation of the common Mush- 
room (Agaricus campestris) is invariably work of great 
importance in gardens, a supply being generally expected 
from those wherein the means of cultivation are at 
command. Conditions requisite for securing good crops 
seem, in many instances, to be of an exact descrip- 
tion, while, in others, excellent results are attained 
when only ordinary attention is bestowed in prepara- 
tion. This may partly be attributable to the seasons, 
natural temperatures, and other matters being favour- 
able or otherwise to Fungus growth. Gardeners expe- 
rienced in Mushroom culture, know with tolerable 
certainty, how a bed is likely to succeed from the time 
it is made up and spawned; but there are many cul- 
tivators, noted, maybe, for their success in other depart- 
ments, who, from one reason or another, frequently fail 
to secure satisfactory results from their efforts devoted 
to Mushroom culture. There are various causes to which 
failure may be attributed, if any of the numerous details 
in cultivation are improperly executed. Attention from 
the first in the preparation of manure, is one of the 
most essential points; then, its condition when made 
into a bed, respecting the temperature likely to be 
reached by fermentation ; 
least—to omit a special reference to minor matters—the 
quality of the spawn. Mushrooms are far more exten- 
sively grown, for various reasons, in winter and spring, 
than they are in summer time, the produce being then in 
great demand, and no supply obtainable from the open air, 
as in the latter part of summer and in autumn, A cool 
temperature, also, is more suitable to their growth, in 
the later stages, at least, and this is only with difficulty 
obtained in summer, except by those fortunate enough 
to possess a house or cellar below the ground level for 
devoting to Mushroom culture. The spawn requires a 
somewhat high temperature at first to cause its dif- 
fusion to all parts of the bed, and then a much cooler 
One throughout the later stages of development into the 
Mushroom as it is used. This is well shown by the ap- 
pearance of the crop naturally in greater abundance 
outside when the temperature of both the earth and 
air are on the decline, and the ground is well moistened 
by early autumn rains. 
Preparation of Manure. Manure from stables in which 
carriage horses are kept, is usually procurable for Mush- 
room culture, and, as a rule, none could be better 
suited for the purpose. It should be collected each 
ee. if possible, and laid separate from the litter in 
P Here it must be 
afterwards, and last, but not 
Mushrooms continued. 
frequently turned, to prevent overheating, and to allow 
of the escape of rank steam. When enough is accumu- 
lated to make a bed of the desired size, it should be 
kept separate from any that is freshly obtained, the latter 
being put into another heap, and, in turn, similarly 
treated. Each or every alternate morning, the heap 
first referred to must be turned and well shaken apart, 
until rank steam is no longer present, and the manure 
is just sufficiently moist to hold together when squeezed. 
The time thus taken in preparation varies considerably, 
according to the prevalence of a dry or moisture-laden 
atmosphere. Some cultivators of Mushrooms prefer a 
portion of litter mixed with the manure, while others 
do not. ‘The chief difference is the effect it has when 
the beds are being made, in preventing the mass from 
being rammed too firmly. The degree of firmness 
often affects the period over which the crop is pro- 
duced, by shortening or lengthening it in proportion. 
This will be further referred to; and as good results 
have been obtained both with and without litter inter- 
mixed, the matter is not one of material importance. 
Formation of Beds, Spawning, §c. The manure, having 
been thoroughly prepared, as above described, should be 
made up at once into a bed, a suitable depth for this 
being Qin. in front and about 12in. at the back, if 
against a wall. The size in other directions must be 
regulated by the amount of manure available and other 
circumstances. When a supply of Mushrooms is required 
in the shortest possible time, the manure should be 
merely well trodden, to render it firm, but otherwise it 
should be rammed hard throughout with a brick or hand- 
rammer. It is not advisable to introduce the spawn at 
once, as its vitality may be destroyed if the bed should 
become over-heated. The highest temperature here recom- 
mended at which spawning may be practised with safety, 
is 90deg., and it should be known for certain that the 
heat is, at the time, gradually receding below that point. 
Small pieces of spawn should be inserted in holes made 
with a trowel, about Ain. apart, the manure so removed 
being used for covering it over. In about a week after- 
wards, or sometimes earlier, lin. to 2in. of moist, rather 
heavy loam, free, if possible, from sand, which is very 
injurious, should be laid all over the surface, and beaten 
hard with the back of a spade. The tiny Mushrooms 
seldom appear in less than four or five weeks from 
spawning, and the time during which the beds remain 
productive afterwards varies very considerably. Mush- 
rooms are often more in demand for various dishes when 
about half than when fully developed. In this stage, 
Fic. 614. MUSHROOMS (AGARICUS CAMPESTRIS), in the 
Button“ stage of development, and one older. 
represented in Fig. 614, they are called “buttons,” the 
single specimen shown being, however, that of an older 
one. No more should be cut when at this size than is 
really necessary, as it is obvious that the crop would be 
enlarged considerably by allowing a few days’ more growth. 
A successional bed should be ready for spawning by the 
time the previous one begins bearing. Opinions differ re- 
specting the watering of Mushroom beds. It is tolerably 
certain that watering frequently proves very injurious, 
