MUS 



388 



MUS 



" The pipes used are about one inch 

 and a half bore, and they are laid in the 

 trench three inches apart; a wooden 

 trellis is placed over them, resting on 

 the brick walls i i, and forms a path. 



" When the mushrooms want steam- 

 ing, it is only necessary to take a fine 

 rose watering-pot, and sprinkle the 

 pipes with it till the steam arises so 

 thick that objects cannot be seen at the 

 further end of the house. Steaming is 

 better than watering over head for 

 mushrooms, as much water is injurious 

 to the spawn. — Gard. Chron. 



Spawn, where to be found. — Spawn is 

 constituted of masses of white fibres 

 arising from the seeds of mushrooms 

 that have fallen into situations suilalile 

 for their germination, from which it is 

 to be obtained : such places are stable 

 dung-hills, dungy horse-rides in stable- 

 yards, horse mill-tracks, dry spongy 

 composts : the droppings of hard-fed 

 horses also produce it in greater abund- 

 ance than the dung of any other ani- 

 mal ; and more sparingly under sheds, 

 where horses, oxen, or sheep have been 

 kept. The dung of the two latter af- 

 fords it in greater perfection than that 

 of grass-fed horses. It has also been 

 found in pigeons' dung ; but the most 

 certain mode of obtaining it is to open 

 the ground about mushrooms growing 

 in pastures, though it is said not to be 

 so productive. 



Time of Collecting. — It must be col- 

 lected in July, August, and September, 

 being reckoned in the greatest perfec- 

 tion in this last month. It may be 

 found, however, and should be collect- 

 ed, when it appears in the spring. It 

 generally occurs spread through the 

 texture of cakes, or lumps of dry rotted 

 dung. Put it in a heap under a dry 

 shed; and a current of air, passing 

 through the shed, is of great utility. If 

 kept dry, spawn may be preserved 

 three or four years: if damp, it will 

 either vegetate before being planted, 

 or putrefy. 



Spawn must not be so far advanced 

 in vegetation as to appear in threads or 

 fibres; for, when in this state, it is no 

 longer applicable to a mushroom-bed ; 

 it may produce a mushroom if left to it- 

 self, but otherwise is useless. Spawn 

 proper for inserting in a bed should 



being raised artificially. The following 

 is the manner: — 



Two barrow-loads of cow-dung, not 

 grass- fed, one load of sheep's-dung, and 

 one of horses', well-dried and broken 

 so small as to pass through a coarse 

 sieve, are well mixed, and laid in a 

 conical heap during March, in a dry 

 shed, being well trod, as it is formed, 

 to check its heating excessively. This 

 heap is covered with hot dung, four 

 inches thick, or only with mats if the 

 shed is warm; for here, as in all the 

 stages of growth, the heat should only 

 range between 55^ and 60^. In about 

 a month the heap is examined ; and if 

 the spawn has not begun to run, which 

 is shown by indistinct white fibres per- 

 vading its texture, another covering of 

 equal thickness to the first is applied 

 over the old one ; in another month it 

 will indubitably make its appearance. 

 The time varies from three to ten weeks. 



May be increased. — If a small quantity 

 of spawn only can be collected, it may 

 be increased by the following methods, 

 the first of which is chiefly recommend- 

 able on account of its simplicity and fa- 

 cility of adoption: — 



Small pieces of the spawn may be 

 planted a foot asunder, just beneath the 

 surface of the mould of a cucumber-bed 

 constructed in the spring. In about 

 two months the surface of the spawn 

 will assume a mouldy appearance; it 

 may then be taken up, with the earth 

 adhering to it, and when dried stored 

 as before directed. 



The second mode is variously prac- 

 tised. In the course of May a heap of 

 the droppings ofcow, sheep, and horses, 

 or any one or two of them, without the 

 admixture of any undecoraposed straw, 

 is to be collected, and one-fifth of road- 

 scrapings with one-twentieth of coal- 

 ashes added, the whole being mixed 

 together with as much of the drainings 

 from a dung-hill as will make it of 

 the consistency of mortar. Being well 

 incorporated, it is then to be spread in 

 a dry, sheltered, airy place, on a smooth 

 surface, and beat flat with a spade. 

 When become of the consistency of 

 clay, it is to be cut into slabs about 

 eight inches square, a hole punched 

 half through the middle of each, and 

 piled to dry, an opening being left be- 



liave the appearance of indistinct white tween every two bricks. When per 

 mould. ] fectly dry, a fragment of the spawn is 



May be raised. — Spawn is capable of; to be buried in the hole previously 



