78 EEPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



braneoaa substance encircling the stalk.) Plleus (cap, or edible part) fleshy, dry, con- 

 vex, convcso-plane, "white, changing from yellowish to brownish. Gilis (thin parallel 

 plates underside of the cap) free, veutricose (swelling unequally on one side) pink, 

 changing to (\eep purplish brown. Flesh (internal substance) white. 



There are several species of the Agaricus besides the preceding, and also a few 

 varieties of the ^. campcstris, that are sometimes grown for the table. It is unnecessary 

 to describe them here, as those who purchase spawn need be under little apprehension 

 of receiving a spurious article ; at least so far as my experience goes. I have never 

 been disappointed in this respect. So far from there being any diflficulty in growing 

 them, I venture to say that not one in fifty who make the attempt "\rill tail. Of course 

 some little attention is requisite, as with everything else artificially circumstanced. A 

 knowledge of the condition under which they are most plentifully lound in nature will 

 be cf material assistance to the grower. In very dry seasons, mushrooms are most 

 plentiful in low situations, on ratber strong soils ; on the contrary, should there be 

 much wet, they are more abundant in uplands and drier localities. A continuance of 

 warm, dry weather, followed by slight showers, and a hazy, still atmpsphere, brings 

 them most profusely. These considerations are worthy of being kept in mind in their 

 artificial culture. There is no particular season for making a raushroom-hed. In win- 

 ter it requires to be under cover, and in summer the difficulty lies in keeping it cool 

 and moist. Autumn is perhaps the best season for making a bed out of doors ; and, if 

 a constant supply be an object, a bed should be made up in some spare cellar about the 

 beginning of November. 



Before entering into the details of management, it may be useful to make a few re- 

 marks upon the propagation of spawn. Summer is the best time for performing this 

 oppration. Procure some horse-m.inure ; if there is a sprinkling of short litter with 

 it, so much the better; cow-dung and light loamy sod, or road scrapings, in about 

 equal proportions ; it is not particularly necessary that they should be in exact quan- 

 tities. I mention this in passing, as an idea sometimes gets abroad that, unless every- 

 thing is mathematically adjusted by number or weight, it would be folly to expect a 

 satisfactory result. Wash these ingredients together with water into a thick mortar, 

 and spread it out three inches in thickness in an open shed to dry. As soon as lirm 

 enough, cut it with a spade in squares of seven or eight inches, set them on edge, and 

 turn them occasionally to facilitate their drying. When they will admit of being 

 handled with safety, cut with a knife two or three holes, about two inches in diameter, 

 little more than half through the brick, and till each hole with good spawn, plastering 

 it over with a portion of what was cut out. They should now bo left until quite dry. 

 Have ready a quantity of fermenting manure which has been well sweetened by fre- 

 quent turnings. Snread a layer of this six or eight inches in thickness, and build tho 

 bricks on it with the spawned side uppermost, drawing the pile up to a point; then 

 cover the whole with warm manure. A genial warmth of about sixty degrees will be 

 sufiQcient to cause the spawn to run through the whole of tho brickp. When this takes 

 place the process is ended. Tho brick can be laid aside in a dry place, and the spawn 

 in them will keep good for years. 



Mushroom-beds out doors may bo made of any material capable of producing a mild 

 heat by fermentation. Stable-manure is best, taking long and short as it comes to 

 baud, and tossing it into a heap to ferment. When it becomes sufficiently heated, turn 

 it over, bringing the rougher portions into the center. This should bo repeated until 

 it is well mixed and equally rotted. The object is to bring tho whole into an equal 

 state of fermentation without rottenness, to drive off excessive moisture, and subdue 

 the burning heat with tho least jiossiblo 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 con- 

 sistency that it would not otherwise 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 of a length to correspond with tho quantity of manure. Com- 

 mence 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 firmly beat down, 

 that it may produce a mild, equable heat. Pushing in a few stakes at intervals aU 

 round and drawing these out occasionally, and at the same time feeling them with the 

 hand, wiU afibrd 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 seventy 

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

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

 inches apart ; then cover it over with a layer of strong, loamy soil two inches in thick- 

 ness, beating it firmly and leaving it quite smooth. To prevent accident from over- 

 heating, it should be only partly soiled at first — say, half-way up— covering the whole 

 some days afterward. To prevent tho soil from cracking in dry weather, a thin cover- 

 ing of short straw or hay may be throv.-n over it; very little watering will be neces- 

 sary. When it is found requisite to moisten tho surface, let water pass through a fine 

 rose on tho outside of the covering, which is preferable to applying it directly on the 



