THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 



should be lukewarm and not applied to the bed 

 direct, but to the litter covering same. The 

 mushrooms should appear above the surface in 

 about six to eight weeks after spawning, unless 

 there Is some defect In the materials, tempera- 

 ture, or moisture, in which case they sometimes 

 remain barren for two or three months and then 

 turn out excellent crops. The crop will depend 

 largely upon the management of the bed; the 

 average result being a half-pound to each square 

 foot of bed. In gathering the crop, do not cut 

 with a knife, but detach from the stem by a 

 quick twisting motion. By this means the 

 threads of the mycelium are broken ; small tuber- 

 cles will form on the ends of the broken threads 

 and will eventually become mushrooms. 



In order to start a small game preserve It will 

 be best to join with a neighbor; one to raise the 

 birds on a small ten-acre tract, and the other 

 to keep a large enclosure to hunt over, stocked 

 with birds every year from the nursery. One 

 hundred and ten rods of four-foot fencing 

 will be sufficient to enclose ten acres and will 

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