SOILS CROPS AXD FERTILIZERS. 



39 



caves or ce'llars, one should guard 

 against the possfbility of flooding or 

 of too much seepage water during a 

 rainy season. Perhaps the least sat- 

 isfactory situation among those men- 

 tioned is the greenhouse. Under or- 

 dinary circumstances it heats up too 

 readily during days of -warm sun- 

 shine, and, unless snecial precautions 

 are taken, it is not to be generally re- 

 commended for amateurs. Neverthe- 

 less, during the fall and winter it is 

 possil)le to grow mushrooms under 

 the benches or in any other unused 

 space with but very little outlay of 

 money or labor. Cold frames may 

 also be used to good advantage dur- 

 ing the autumn or spring. The na- 

 tural caves of this country and aban- 

 doned coal mines in some sections 

 should be further investigated with 

 relation to their adaptability for the 

 commercial production of mushrooms. 

 A thorough study should also be made 

 of open air conditions. 



In the construction of special mush- 

 room houses any one of a variety of 

 plans may be followed, and the se- 

 lection of the style will depend, of 

 course, upon its cheapness and effici 

 ency in the particular locality. 



Preparation of the Manure. 



It should be borne in mind that 

 while there are many methods lead- 

 ing to failure there are a number 

 leading to success. In fact, persons 

 succeed in mushroom growing by 

 methods which seem absolutely dif- 

 ferent. It is essential that the physi- 

 ological conditions of growth be un- 

 derstood, and then good judgment 

 must be depended upon. 



In the growing of musihrooms for 

 commercial purposes, the beds should 

 be constructed of horse manure which 

 has been fermented or composted. 

 Many experiments have been made 

 looking toward the substitution of 

 other com.posts or waste products for 

 horse manure, but nothing has yet 

 been found which may be more highly 

 recommended. Fresh manure should 

 be obtained, and this should include 

 the litter used for bedding the horse, 

 unless the latter consists of coarse 

 weeds. It is a great mistake, in a 

 commercial way, to attempt to use 

 manure free from straw. Agair. 

 stable manure which has been well 

 trampled is nearly always well pre- 

 served, and is frequently much richer 

 than any other kind. 



The manure should be piled in 

 heaos about ^ feet deep when well 

 pressed down with the fork, and these 

 piles may be of considerable extent. 

 It should be watered until well mois- 

 tened throughout, but not drenched. 

 In the course of four or five days or 

 a week it will be necessary to fork 

 over or "turn" the manure. A second 

 turning will be required usually in 

 from seven to ten days, and it may 

 be necessary to water again if the ma- 

 terial has suffered considerable dry- 

 ing out. If well pressed down and 

 merely moist, the manure will not 

 bum and, moreover, there will be no 

 tendency for a sour fermentation to 

 become established. In from fifteen 

 to twenty-one days, depending upon 

 the conditions, the temperature will 

 besin to fall, the violence of decompo- 

 sition will begin to show a subsidence, 

 ?nd the compost will be ready for the 

 construction of the' beds. 



Preparing the Beds. 



Mushroom beds are of two general 

 types, (1) the flat bed, frequently 

 referred to as the English, and (2) 

 the ridee bed, known as the French 

 type. In making the former the en- 

 tire floor space may be utilized as 

 a bed, and the beds may be arranged 

 in the form of tiers or shelves, as 

 shown in figure 4. In low cellars or 

 caves, and, indeed, wherever the 

 amount of floor space is not the most 

 important consideration, it would be 

 well to avoid the use of shelves; but 

 where the amount of floor space is an 

 important factor they may be adopted 

 to advantage, although the additional 

 labor involved in the growing of a 

 crop under such conditions is an item 

 to be considered. When shelves are 

 used one should be careful to white- 

 wash these after each crop in order 

 to avoid the increased danger from 

 insect depredations. In any case, flat 

 beds should be made from 8 to 10 

 inches deep. 



Ridge beds enable one to get a 

 somewhat greater surface space in a 

 given area, but they are also more 

 expensive so far as the labor of con- 

 struction is concerned. Nevertheless, 

 under many circumstances they are 

 obviously desirable. They should be 

 about 2 feet wide at the base, taper- 

 ing gradually to the apex, and not 

 mnre than about 18 to 20 inches high 

 when compressed and cased. The 



