64 VEGETABLE GROWING 15 NEW SOUTH WALES. 



on each side and spread out between a couple of beds. Before use, the brick 

 should be broken up into pieces about 6 or 7 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 

 1 inch thick. Each piece is then inserted lengthwise in the bed and flush 

 with the surface, in openings that have been made with the hands at 

 distances of about a foot apart each way. Usually in beds 20 to 24 inches 

 wide there are two rows, the pieces in one row being opposite the spaces in 

 the other. The manure must be carefully heaped over and pressed round 

 each piece, so that it is covered to a depth of about 1 inch. 



If the conditions are satisfactory, the spawn should commence to grow in 

 about seven or eight days. At the end of that time, any pieces that have not 

 commenced to produce white threads connecting with the surrounding 

 manure should be replaced by fresh ones. In a fortnight or three weeks after 

 spawning, the spawn should have spread throughout the bed, and should begin 

 tb show itself at the surface. At this stage the pieces of spawn should be 

 withdrawn, or they will become mouldy and- soil the mushrooms in their 

 immediate vicinity. The empty openings should be carefully closed by 

 pressing down the surrounding soil or manure. The top and sides of the bed 

 should then be covered with a layer of about half an inch of light loamy soil 

 which is in a fairly moist condition, and lightly pressed down. When the 

 surface becomes dry, light waterings should be given. 



It may be explained that the white threads are the foraging portions of the 

 fungus, but it does not usually produce mushrooms until it comes into contact 

 'with some medium less favourable for its growth than the manure ; hence the 

 covering of soil. 



Within a few weeks of the last operation the mushrooms should appear, 

 and should continue to yield for two or three months. The watering of the 

 bed is usually done with liquid manure, or water containing some nitrogenous 

 fertiliser, such as nitrate of soda, and the temperature of the liquid should be 

 between 70 and 80 degrees Fah. Do not water the beds too freely ; damage 

 is often done this way. 



Beds made in open places that are exposed to changes of temperature need 

 to be covered with straw. 



MUSTARD. 



This crop grows at an exceedingly fast rate, and although usually grown 

 as a field crop for its seed or as a green manure, it is also used in the early 

 stages of growth as a salad crop, or later, the top growth may be boiled as 

 are other greens. Very little is grown in this State for vegetable purposes. 



The crop is usually grown in conjunction with cress (see page 54). As only 

 small quantities are required at a time, it is better to make continuous 

 sowings at regular intervals. Seed-boxes can be successfully utilised for 

 growing this crop. 



Seed should be sown in shallow drills, and every attention given to an 

 ample supply of moisture. The variety usually grown is known as White, 

 and its leaves are pulled as soon as they are large enough, 



