MUSHROOM-BEDS 



572 



MUSS^NDA 



may be earthed over ; but those for succession left un- 

 earthed, three or four weeks in summer, and four or 

 five in winter. If the spawn is introduced in hot weather, 

 air must be admitted as freely as possible until the 

 spawn has spread itself through the beds. 



The soil employed should be maiden earth, with turf 

 well reduced ; neither too dry nor too wet, otherwise it 

 will not be capable of being beaten solid. It must be 

 laid regularly over the beds 2 inches thick. From the 

 time of earthing, the room is to be kept at a temperature 

 of 50 or 55. If higher, it will weaken or destroy the 

 spawn ; if lower, it will vegetate slowly ; and if watered 

 in that state, numbers of mushrooms will be prevented 

 attaining perfection. Water must be applied with 

 extreme caution, being nearly as warm as new milk, 

 and sprinkled over the beds with a syringe or small 

 watering-pot. Cold water destroys both the crop and 

 the beds. If suffered to become dry, it is better to give 

 several light than one heavy watering. 



Beds thus managed will bear for several months ; and 

 a constant supply of mushrooms kept up by earthing 

 but one bed or more every two or three months. 



If, when in full production, the mushrooms become 

 long-stemmed and weak, the temperature is certainly 

 too high, and air must be proportionately admitted. As 

 the beds decline, to renovate them the earth must be 

 taken off clean, and if the dung is decayed they must be 

 reformed, any good spawn being preserved that may 

 appear ; but if the beds are dry, solid, and full of good 

 spawn, a fresh layer of compost, 3 or 4 inches thick, 

 must be added, mixed a little with the old, and beaten 

 solid as before. 



Mushrooms may be grown in a cellar, or other vaulted 

 place, with equal success, and not unfrequently with a 

 greater advantage, the same rules being adopted ; but 

 no fire is necessary, and less water. 



Spawn: where to be found. Spawn is constituted of 

 masses of white fibres, arising from the spores of mush- 

 rooms that have fallen into situations suitable for their 

 germination, from which it is to be obtained : such 

 places are stable dung-hills, dungy horse-rides in stable- 

 yards, horse mill-tracks, dry spongy composts: the 

 droppings of hard-fed horses also produce it in greater 

 abundance than the dung of any other animal, and more 

 sparingly under sheds, where horses, oxen, or sheep 

 have been kept. The dung of the two latter affords it 

 in greater perfection than that of grass-fed horses. It 

 has also been found in pigeons' dung ; but the most 

 certain mode of obtaining it is to open the ground about 

 mushrooms growing in pastures, though it is said not 

 to be so productive. 



Time of Collecting. July, August, and September, it 

 being reckoned in the greatest perfection in this last 

 month. It may be found, however, and should be col- 

 lected, when it appears in the spring. It generally occurs 

 spread through the texture of cakes, or lumps of dry, 

 rotted dung. Put it in a heap under a dry shed ; and 

 a current of air, passing through the shed, is of great 

 utility. If kept dry, spawn may be preserved three or 

 four years ; if damp, it will either vegetate before being 

 planted or putrefy. 



Spawn must not be so far advanced in vegetation as 

 to appear in threads or fibres ; for, when in this state, 

 it is no longer applicable to a mushroom-bed ; it may 

 produce a mushroom if left to itself, but otherwise is 

 useless. Spawn proper for inserting in a bed should 

 have the appearance of indistinct white mould. 



May be raised. Spawn is capable of being raised 

 artificially. The following is the manner : Two barrow- 

 loads of cow-dung, not grass-fed, one load of sheep's- 

 dung, and one of horses', well dried and broken so small 

 as to pass through a coarse sieve, are well mixed, and laid 

 in a conical heap during March, in a dry shed, being 

 well trod as it is formed, to check its heating excessively. 

 This heap is covered with hot dung, 4 inches thick, or 

 only with mats if the shed is warm ; for here, as in all the 

 stages of growth, the heat should only range between 

 55 and 60. In about a month the heap is examined ; 

 and if the spawn has not begun to run, which is shown 

 by indistinct white fibres pervading its texture, another 

 covering, of equal thickness to the first, is applied over 

 the old one ; in another month it will indubitably make 

 its appearance. The time varies from three to ten 

 weeks. 



May be increased. If a small quantity of spawn only- 



can be collected, it may be increased in the following 

 methods, the first of which is chiefly recommendable on 

 account of its simplicity and facility of adoption : 



Small pieces of the spawn may be planted a foot 

 asunder, just beneath the surface of the mould of a 

 cucumber- bed constructed in the spring. In about two 

 months the surface of the spawn will assume a mouldy 

 appearance ; it may then be taken up, with the earth 

 adhering to it, and! when dried stored as before directed. 



The second mode is variously practised. In the course 

 of May a heap of the droppings of cows, sheep, and 

 horses, or any one or two of them, without the admixture 

 of any undecomposed straw, is to be collected, and one- 

 fifth of road-scraping with one-twentieth of coal-ashes 

 added, the whole beins mixed together with as much 

 of the drainings from a dunghill as will make it of the 

 consistency of mortar. Being well incorporated, it is 

 then to be spread in a dry, sheltered, airy place, on a 

 smooth surface, and beaten flat with a spade. When 

 become of the consistency of clay, it is to be cut into 

 slabs about 8 inches square, a hole punched half through 

 the middle of each, and piled to dry, an opening being 

 left between every two bricks. When perfectly dry, a 

 fragment of the spawn is to be buried in the hole pre- 

 viously made : it will shortly spread through the whole 

 texture of the slabs, if kept in a warm, dry place, when 

 each may be broken into four pieces, and when quite 

 dry laid on shelves separate, and not in heaps, other- 

 wise a bed will be formed for the spawn to run in. Mr. 

 Wales recommends the composition to consist of three- 

 parts horse-dung without litter, two of rotten tree-leaves, 

 two of cow-duns, one of rotten tanner's bark, and one 

 of sheep's dung, mixed to the consistency of mortar, 

 and moulded in small frames like those used by brick- 

 makers, 6 inches long, 4 broad, and 3 deep. Three 

 holes to be made half through the bricks, an inch apart, 

 with a blunt dibble, for the reception of the spawn. 

 They should be put on boards for the convenience of 

 moving abroad during fine days, as they must be made 

 perfectly dry, which they often appear to be on the 

 outside when they are far otherwise internally. Before 

 they are perfectly dry they require great care in handling 

 and turning, from their aptitude to break ; but in about 

 three weeks, if dry weather, when perfectly dried, they 

 become quite firm. To pervade them with the spawn, 

 a layer of fresh horse-litter, which has laid in a heap to 

 sweeten, as for a hotbed, must be formed, 6 inches thick, 

 in a dry shed. On this a course of the bricks is to be 

 laid, and their holes completely filled with spawn ; and, 

 as the bricks are laid in rows upon each other, the upper 

 side of each is to be scattered over with some of the 

 same. The bricks are not placed so as to touch, so that 

 the heat and steam of the dung may circulate equally 

 and freely. The heap is to terminate with a single 

 brick, and when completed, covered with a layer, 6 inches 

 thick, of hot dung, to be reinforced with an additional 

 3 inches after a lapse of two weeks. The spawn will 

 generally have thoroughly run through the bricks after 

 another fortnight. If, however, upon examination this 

 is not found to be the case, they must remain for ten 

 days longer. The bricks being allowed to dry for a 

 few days before they are stored, will then keep for many 

 years. 



Mr. Oldaker recommends the bricks to be made of 

 fresh horse-droppings, mixed with short litter, to which 

 must be added one-third of cow-dung, and a small 

 portion of earth, to cement them together. The spawn 

 to be inserted when they are half dry. 



Quantity required. One bushel of spawn is required 

 for a bed 5 feet by 10 ; two bushels for one double that 

 length ; and so on in proportion. 



MUSK-AKRO or OCHRO. Hibiscus Abelmo'schus. 

 MUSK-FLOWER. Mi'mulus moschatus. 



MUSS2E NDA. (The Cingalese name of M. frondo'sa, 

 Nat. ord. Rubiads [Rubiaceae]. Linn. $-Pentandria. 

 i-Monogynia. Allied to Gardenia.) 



Stove evergreens. Cuttings in sandy soil, in heat, 

 under a glass, in May ; loam and peat. Winter temp., 

 50 ; summer, 60 to 85. 

 M. capsuli'fera (capsule-bearing). 2. White. Socotra. 



1899. 

 ,, cocci'nea (scarlet). See WARSZEWICZIA COCCINEA. 



