How to Have a Good Garden 237 



Planting was begun at hotbed end of garden and plantings were 

 made a few days apart, to insure a constant supply of vege- 

 tables. 



Planting table on page 266. 



Mushroom culture is an art in itself, and an art un- 

 known to many scientific gardeners. The late Adrian 

 Bussiere was a master of the art, the son and grandson 

 of famous Parisian growers. He once reduced his 

 knowledge and experience to a brief formula as follows : 



Mushroom culture is not as difficult as many people 

 seem to believe; neither is there anything mysterious 

 about it ; but, for good results, the few main points to 

 be given in this article must be strictly observed. 



This culture can be practiced at all seasons of the 

 year, under the conditions that you have (1) a cellar 

 or cave where the temperature is rather low and stable, 

 about 55 to 60 degrees. Below this temperature the 

 growth of the mushroom is too slow, while with a higher 

 temperature no mushrooms will grow. In this cave 

 the humidity, also, must be constantly maintained. (2) 

 The element necessary for their culture is manure from 

 horses that work hard, and whose bedding is not 

 changed too often. Also, for manure used in mushroom 

 culture the bedding should be of wheat straw, or second- 

 best oat straw, while the least desirable for this purpose 

 is barley straw. All manure older than two weeks must 

 be rejected, because in this time it has already started 

 to ferment. When in possession of the amount needed 

 for your cave, the process of fermentation is started. 

 (3) Good spawn from a reliable house. 



In possession of these three conditions, have the 

 manure unloaded at your cave, with the water handy for 



