VEGETABLES — MUSIIR00AL 175 



dry; then spread about 8 inches of horse dung over the 

 floor of the shed, on which build the bricks in a pile 3 feet 

 wide by 3 feet high, keeping the side in which the spawn 

 has been put uppermost ; then cover them over with suffici- 

 ent stable manure, so as to give a gentle heat through 

 the whole. In two or three weeks the spawn will have 

 spread itself through the whole mass of each brick ; they 

 are then removed to a dry place, and will retain their vital 

 properties for many years. 



There is not the least question that the cultivation of 

 Mushrooms for market, forced in the manner detailed, 

 will give a larger profit for the labor and capital invested 

 than that from any other vegetable. The supply has never 

 yet been half enough, and sellers have had prices almost 

 pretty much as they pleased. I know of no house that 

 has been especially erected for the purpose, and the mar- 

 kets have been supplied from beds formed in out-of-the- 

 way corners, giving only an uncertain and irregular sup- 

 ply, very discouraging to buyers. I have no doubt what- 

 ever that Mushroom houses, roughly built, but exclusively 

 devoted for that purpose, would, in the vicinity of any of 

 our large cities, pay a profit of 50 per cent, per annum on 

 cost of construction. 



