HOW TO GROW MUSHROOMS. 



tossing it into a heap to ferment. Upon its coming into a good heat, turn it over, bring 

 ing the rougher portions into the center; this should be repeated until it is well mixed 

 and equally rotted. The object is to bring the whole into an equal state of fermentation 

 without rottenness; to drive off excessive moisture and subdue the burning heat, with 

 least possible loss of the essential gases. If a third part of old hot-bed manure is mixed 

 with it, it will moderate the heat, and give the bed a consistency that it would not other- 

 wise possess. Having it in readiness, choose a spot for making the bed; if under the 

 shade of a tree so much the better. Mark out the ground four or five feet wide, and 

 length to correspond with the quantity of manure. Commence by throwing in a layer of 

 the least decayed portions of the dung; then build the whole up in a rounded ridge three 

 feet high. It must be equally and firmh^ beat down, that it may produce a mild, equable 

 heat. Push a few stakes at intervals all round; drawing these out occasionally and feel- 

 ing them with the hand, will afford a tolerable estimate of the interior warmth. The heat 

 should never exceed ninety degrees after the bed is put up. If likely to get warmer than 

 this, make holes all over it with a stout stake, and when the heat subsides to between se- 

 venty and eighty degrees, it is ready for planting the spawn. Beat the bed evenly all 

 round, and insert the spawn just below the surface, in pieces the size of a hen's egg, twelve 

 inches apart. Then case it over with a la3^er of strong loamy soil two inches in thick- 

 ness, beating it firmly and left quite smooth. To prevent accident from over heating, it 

 should only be partly soiled at first — say half way up — covering the whole some days af- 

 terwards. To prevent the soil from cracking in dry weather, a thin covering of short 

 straw or hay may be thrown over it; very little watering will be necessary. When it is 

 found requisite to moisten the surface, let water pass through a fine rose on the outside of 

 tne covering, which is preferable to applying it directly on the bed. Should it be made 

 up about the middle of August, mushrooms may be expected towards the end of Septem- 

 ber, from six weeks to two months after spawning. When the nights become cold the 

 covering should be increased, and to guard against damp, choose a clear day occasionally, 

 turn off the covering, remove all deca3nng matter, and when all is dry, cover as before. 

 It will keep in bearing for two months or more, if the interior heat is preserved by addi- 

 tional covering. 



A'^arious schemes may be resorted to for obtaining mushrooms in winter. Those who 

 have a green-house may make a bed in the furnace room, if there is convenience, taking ad- 

 vantage of the heat that escapes from the furnace. A good supply may be had from a bed 

 formed underneath the plant stage, provided the drippings of water from the pots above 

 be guarded against by boards or water proof cloth. Portable boxes three or four feet 

 long, two feet wide, and one in depth, filled with horse droppings and spawned in autumn, 

 set in a dry place, will, when soiled over in rotation, and placed in the warm end of a 

 green-house, afford a moderate supply. Even good sized flower pots may be thus prepar- 

 ed, and a few introduced at intervals. The equal temperature of an underground cellar, 

 or root-room, is very suitable for the growth of this esculent; in such a place they may 

 be had the whole year from successional beds, without much trouble or expense. The 

 best crop I ever saw was in beds on each side of a close shed, with a row of fermenting 

 manure between them. The frequent turning over of the manure filled the place with an 

 agreeable moisture, and obviated the necessity of watering. The ammonia disengnged by 

 this process was also decidedly beneficial. Shelves, four feet wide and one in depth, ris- 

 ing one above another, M'ill be found economical where space is limited. Where an am- 

 d constant supplj-- is wished, it is better to erect a structure on purpose. Thisncei; 

 a costly affair. A house thirty feet long, ten wide, and ten feet high to the 



