MUSHROOM GROWING. 187 
made of close oak or elm boards an inch and a half 
thick, or even two inches will not be too much; my 
reason for this is, that the beds may not get too dry. 
The bottom of the shelves need not be ploughed and 
tongued, but merely fitted moderately close, then there 
will be sufficient drainage to secure the beds from stag- 
nant damp. These shelves should have side boards 
rising from six to nine inches above the bottom. A 
small flow-and-return pipe should run once round the 
house, to keep the temperature at 55° or 60° during the 
winter months. A two-inch pipe will heat a small house 
quite enough; and a three-inch pipe is large enough 
for any house used for Mushroom growing. As will be 
seen in the plan above, I prefer the pipes running round 
the walls, instead of in the middle of the house; one 
flow-and-return pipe will be ample. Too much heat is 
positively detrimental in growing Mushrooms. If we 
consider the conditions under which they flourish best 
naturally, we find that they do not require a great heat, 
but a temperature of considerably less than 50°. Many 
a time have I been out early in the morning in the 
months of September and October, ‘mushrooming’ as 
we used to call it, when I was young; when it has been 
so cold that one would be glad of a great coat, and the 
dew has been quite heavy on the grass, like a hoar frost 
dissolved, so that my boots have been as thoroughly 
soaked as if I had walked in water over the tops, such 
has been the condensing power of the cold through 
the night. ‘Ah!’ thought I, ‘this is the morning for 
Mushrooms,’ and so it used to turn out generally. This 
should teach us two important things: first, a good dry 
heat te spread the spawn; and secondly, a moist and a 
lower temperature to grow the Mushroom. 
