424 VEGETABLE FORCING 



is used for the forcing of vegetables or the growing of 

 flowers. A fair idea of its fertilizing value is given by a 

 number of analyses of such manures made at the Penn- 

 sylvania Experiment Station, under the direction of 

 Frear. For comparison the average of a number of 

 analyses of fresh horse manure, with litter, is added. 



ANALYSES OF MUSHROOM MANURES (Per cent) 



Frear says of these analyses : 



"No detailed information accompanied the first four samples. 

 No. 5 represented many different beds, filled with manure that had 

 been watered and turned three to five times before benching; No. 6, 

 six beds filled with manure that was well rotted, extremely short 

 and very wet when benched, and that became so pasty and sticky 

 that it had to be turned up to dry before spawning was attempted; 

 No. 7, manure benched directly from the car, in a very wet state, and 

 watered heavily two or three times before spawning. 



"It is not known, in any instance, whether the casing earth was 

 at all separated from these samples. The high mineral content, at 

 least of all but No. 6, indicates the presence of such earthy admixture. 



"The mushroom manures are much drier than the fresh stable 

 manure. This accounts in part for their comparative concentration, 

 but only in part. The relative composition of the dry matter of the 

 fresh horse manure and of the average for the seven mushroom 

 manures shows : 



Horse manure Mushroom manure 

 per cent per cent 



Organic matter 84.60 40.37 



Mineral matter 15.40 59.63 



Nitrogen 2.20 1.67 



Potash 2.04 1.15 



Phosphoric acid 1.34 1.51 



