MUSHROOMS 



443 



depended on, and will keep good from one year to another. For a 



few days before it is used, it should be kept in a moderately warm, 



moist atmosphere, which has the effect of stimulating it into a more 



speedy and certain growth. For that purpose, after having been 



slightly moistened on both sides, it may be spread out on the beds 



themselves or between 



two beds. Just before 



use, the spawn should 



be broken up in pieces 



about the length and 



thickness of the hand 



by half that width, and 



each piece then inserted 



lengthwise into the bed, 



flush With the surface, Movable two-sided Mushroom-bed. 



into openings made with 



the hand, at a distance of from 10 to 12 in. each way, carefully 



pressing the dung around each piece after insertion. 



In beds of the usual height (from 20 in. to 2 ft.), two rows of 

 pieces are generally set, in such a way that those of the upper row 

 may be opposite the intervals between those in the lower row. 

 The pieces should only be buried their own depth in the bed, and 

 they are commonly put in with the right hand, while the left is 

 employed to excavate holes for their reception. If the bed has 

 been made in a place with a sufficiently high and steady tempera- 

 ture, there is nothing further to be done but to wait until the 

 Mushrooms appear. But if it has been made in the open air, or 

 in a* place exposed to a change of temperature, it should be covered 

 with straw, long manure, or hay, which will serve to confine a 

 certain amount of uniformly warm air around the bed. 



If the work has been properly done, and the conditions are 



favourable, the spawn should 

 commence to grow in seven or 

 eight days after it was placed 

 in the bed. At the end of that 

 time the beds should be ex- 

 amined, and any pieces which 

 have not germinated should be 

 replaced by fresh ones. The 

 failure of a piece to germinate 

 is indicated by the absence 

 of white threads from the manure which surrounds it. In a 

 fortnight or three weeks after spawning, the spawn should have 

 permeated the entire bed, and should begin to show itself at 

 the surface. 



When this is accomplished, the pieces of spawn should be with- 



Mushroom Spawn in Clumps. 



