MUSHROOM 75 



begin the cultivation with seeds or spores, we must resort to the 

 employment of the white films or ' mycelium,' that the growth of the 

 plant may begin in Nature's own way below ground. What is called 

 * Mushroom Spawn ' consists of certain materials from the stable and 

 the field, mixed and prepared in a way to favour the growth of the 

 mycelium of the Mushroom, its appearance being that of an unburnt 

 brick. The preparation of the spawn, though a very simple matter, 

 demands the skill and care of experienced operators ; for if the work 

 is not well done, the spawn will be of poor quality, and will yield a 

 meagre crop, or perhaps fail entirely to produce a single Mushroom. 

 When the spawn is good, it has but to be broken into lumps of a 

 suitable size, and inserted in a bed of earth of the requisite quality, 

 to impregnate the whole body of earth with the necessary white 

 threads. These will take their time to collect from the soil the 

 alkalies and phosphates of which Mushrooms principally consist, 

 and this part of their work being done, the fruits of their labours will 

 be displayed above ground in the elegant and sweet-smelling fungus 

 that few human appetites can resist when it is placed upon the table 

 in the way that it deserves. Experts can readily form an opinion as 

 to whether a cake of Mushroom spawn is or is not in a fit state 

 for planting, and it will be a safe proceeding for the amateur 

 to buy from some House which has a large and constant sale ; 

 otherwise spawn may be purchased which was originally well-made 

 and properly impregnated, but has lost all its vitality through long 

 keeping. 



As to soil, it is well known that in a favourable autumn Mush- 

 rooms abound in old rich pastures, and those who have command of 

 turves cut from a field of this character have only to stack the sods 

 grass side downwards for a year or two, and they will be in possession 

 of first-class material for Mushroom beds either in the open or under 

 cover. But small gardens, particularly in towns, have no such bank 

 to honour their drafts, and for these it becomes a question of buying 

 a load or two of turfy loam, or of making the soil of the garden 

 answer, perhaps with a preliminary enrichment by artificial manure. 

 In the general interests of the garden, the money for a limited 

 quantity of good loam would probably be well spent, independently 

 of the question of Mushrooms. No great bulk is necessary to 

 cover a moderate-sized Mushroom bed, but the quality of it will 

 certainly have an influence on the number and character of the 

 Mushrooms. As a proof of the exhaustive nature of the fungus, 

 it almost invariably happens that when the soil is used a second 



