i8 Commercial Gardening 



5 or 6 ft. high on this occasion, reducing it a little at each subsequent 

 turning. A brisk heat is required at first to fix the ammonia, but the same 

 temperature is not necessary afterwards. The first turning- over always 

 takes half as long again as the later ones, because the heap is consolidated 

 and the rubbish and litter have to be rejected. After an interval of two or 

 three days from damping, the heap must be turned again, starting from the 

 same end as before, provided there is room; if not, it must simply be turned 

 back again. The outside 6 in. at the end should be pulled off and 

 thrown to the top of the heap, then pull down the heap and shake out 

 as at first, throwing the sides into the middle and vice versa. It should be 

 the workman's aim to thoroughly separate and break every portion of the 

 heap. The manure must be tested for moisture as the turning goes on, any 

 spots that show white being damped. If the heap is very dry it is better to 

 soak the top 6 in. with the hose and then turn. 



Turnings should afterwards take place on alternate days, arranging so 

 that the last one takes place about the middle of the week, to allow time 

 for the bed to be laid down in the same week. After the manure is ready, 

 no time must be wasted. 



Fresh-drawn-in manure will require five or six turns after the damping- 

 out, but manure that has been stacked for any length of time may do with 

 one or two turns less. To be ready for laying down it should have the 

 straw broken into lengths of 3 or 4 in., be free from any offensive smell 

 and give off an odour similar to that of a Mushroom. A further satis- 

 factory test is that when rubbed between the fingers it has a greasy 

 feeling, but is not wet. No moisture should ooze out if a handful of 

 manure is twisted in the hands. A minimum amount of water should 

 be used; only practice will determine exactly how much is necessary, but 

 it is fatal to get the idea that the same amount of water will do for 

 all seasons of the year. The test given above is for the winter and spring 

 crops. For early autumn the manure must be wetter, to compensate for 

 quicker evaporation, and in order that the temperature of the bed may 

 be kept down after it is laid. It will be found, as a rule, that manure that 

 is on the dry side gives a higher temperature in the bed, and moister 

 manure keeps a lower and more even temperature. If it were as easy 

 to grow Mushrooms in the autumn as it is in the winter and spring, 

 prices would certainly not be as high as they are in October and November. 



Indoor Mushroom Beds. The next step is the laying down of the 

 beds. Taking flat ones first, it may be stated that whether prepared in 

 Mushroom houses, pits, or glass-houses, the method of laying down is the 

 same, the only difference being in the depth. 



It may be taken for granted that it is more economical to put down 

 a bed of 6 to 7 in. in depth, using hot- water pipes to maintain the necessary 

 temperature, than it is to make a bed 12 to 14 in. deep in a cold house, and 

 having to cover heavily with litter for the same purpose. The latter 

 method entails the shifting of the litter at each picking, and one is re- 

 warded by an inferior quality of Mushrooms. The maker of the bed 



