leil. a Mepth of from 9 to 12 inch 

 TliP iiuumrc is placed iu layers : 

 ; ]Mw-ihl.' with a wooden mallet < 



quality. English Milltrack spawn usually gives the best 

 results. The spawn is broken into pieces as large as a 

 walnut and inserted 2 or 3 inches deep, some 4 or 5 in. 

 apart each way, pressing the surface firm after the in- 

 sertion. Ten days later 2 inches of good loam is spread 

 over the surface and pounded in hard. The beds are 

 then covered with mr-ndow hay or straw, and, given 



proper atmos].lM-fi' ti'lirioiis, should require no further 



attention until nfi. r .M:i-lii ms have appeared, which 



maybe in fmir \v.-.k~ ••r ri.t until four months later. 

 The time whi-ii the lirst buttons will appear is very un- 

 certain. It does not do to be of a highly strung nervous 

 temperament in Mushroom culture. We have spawned 

 beds and despaired of success, when we have been grati- 

 fied by ijettitii; a first-class crop thirteen to sixteen 



A ii I' Mi'MfM I-'- is inimical to tlit' well b.inL' "f 

 Jlii-ii, .. iti^, .i.iii -iii-ci.-ss is uncertain whrn- surh r.,iMli- 

 tiun^ iM^i. ii 1^ L^puerally conceded that watriiii:.' tin- 

 beds ..Ul-u dot-, more harm than good, but it uni-t li.; 



remembered that the fact of the bed bi i-iniLr .Irx mily 



retards the production of the crop, ami ibn ■ in-i I, --ni 

 the chance of Mushrooms appearing utiii liu u,t\ luis 

 become sufficiently moist. If the beds un- nunb' v. ry 

 compact there is less probability of them drying out and 

 less likelihood of their injury by any sudden excess of 

 either drought or moisture. When water has to be 

 given we prefer to use it of a temperature of 85° to 90" 

 and to water only the dry portions of the bed, which are 

 wetted as evenly as possible. 



When the first crop is exhausted and the bed has be- 

 come somewhat dry, we use warm water and add a little 

 nitrate of soda to it, covering the surface with hay after 

 watering. This usually induces a good second crop to 

 come. 



We start to collect manure for the beds early in Sep- 

 tember, and continue to do so until early November. 

 Usually the beds are made under the ))enrbi ^ .,t ^■■lur 

 of the houses, where a temperature of .".:i t.i i,u i an be 

 maintained, but any cellars or caves wluia -ihb a liiu- 

 perature can be kept up are even better tluiu -ic ti- 

 houses for Mushroom culture. The beds are always 

 kept as dark as possible. Cockroaches, wood-lice and 

 other pests must be poisoned or trapped, else they soon 

 ruin a crop. W. N. Craig. 



MttsJiroom-growing is interesting work, and it is the 

 uncertainty that is the cause of it. Most Mushroom- 

 growers are in doubt when spawning their beds as to 

 whether Mushrooms will appear, or the work be a fail- 

 ure. The writer has had e.vcellent success with Mush- 

 room culture and remarkable failures. Failures in a 

 Mushroom crop are not easy to explain. The fault may 

 be in making up the bed, or it may be in the spawn. A 

 few years ago a bed was spawned with three lots of 

 spawn; two beds were a success, while the other was a 

 complete failure, — a proof that the bed is not always 

 the cause of failure. Mushrooms may be grown suc- 

 cessfully under the greenhouse benches, providing the 

 drip can be kept off the beds; also in cellars; but the 

 preference is for a Mushroom house built for that pur- 

 pose. The house of which the writer has charge is 

 built into a bank in such a position as to require very 

 little fire heat to keep up the temperature. Of course 

 air-sp.aees must be provided in the walls, according to 

 the size of the house. 



Two methods of making the beds may be described: 

 (1) Collect fresh horse manure until there is enough to 

 make a bed. The manure should be kept where it can 

 be protected from rains, an open shed preferred. Turn 

 the manure every other morning for a week, or until 

 danger of burning is over. In making the beds, from 

 9 in. to a foot of manure is used. Beds should be thor- 

 oughly firmed, putting in a layer of manure, then firm- 

 ing, then another layer, until the desired depth is 

 secured. Assuming that the bed goes up after making 



MUSHROOM 



.lav^ at't.f -].:i\- ,,'■ , . .; 'h _' ill. of good loam. 

 ii..Mcl l.^aiu fiami ■, ■ ^ -.'I I r.au the garden, and 

 als,, ,,bl ruse ^,,il ba. Im.'i ii-i.l w itli good results. It 

 is customary to mix a little soil through the manure 

 before making the bed. After the soil is on the bed 

 and firmed down, a covering of straw will be beneficial, 

 as it prevents the beds from drying,' out. .Should they 

 dry out, water must be a]i|.li^il. wiiili -b.mld be at a 

 temperature of 75° or Sii". M : i -bould be gath- 

 ered from six to eight ■ i ikiug the bed. 

 Keep the house at a teni]i. ! o i;o'>. (2) The 

 second method, which s. . a - t.i-tter, is for 

 every load of fresh hors' I M , ,: :.| :i load of old 

 thoroughly rotted manuia : oM Mushroom 

 manure. The aim is to a _ manure to pre- 

 vent the other from bunun,-,. I h. i ... are mixed, and 

 the following day the bed is made. This method does 

 away with a great amount of labor turning the manure; 

 the bed also has a tendency to hold the moisture a 

 greater length of time. The details of making the bed 

 are the same as in the other method. This is a simple 

 way to make the beds, but the results will follow with 

 as much certainty as with any other method. 



WiLLiAJi Turner. 

 TJie writer^s first trial with Mushrooms was made in 

 a soap box under a bed, and the Mushrooms did well. 

 That was i5 years ago. The next year he went into the 

 business on a larger scale, growing them in the cellar, 

 and a good crop was the result. He received $1.50 a 

 pound, or $220 for the lot. A cellar under the parlor was 

 devoted to the crop, and $.'850 worth was sold. Then a 

 place was built under the ground with good ventilation, 

 but it was not a success. The drip was too much. A 

 cellar under the carriage house, which had no drip, 

 made a good place, leading to the belief that a place with 

 a Mushro:)m house under a building is the best place in 

 which to growtbeni. Thcvm-eil a tlrv pbiee. If we have 

 a dry summer ate I lialii laia- in ^. ni. mber, or heavy 

 dews, we will pi. ! ; -: i, i n m the fall out- 



doors. In growiii M I I ■ imitate nature. 



The money tlitit i . i in one year 



would make a |. i. |..i...ii~. I'e.iple get 



wild to grow ."\lu-i! -- i . . . ma. a .roi., but others 



get nothing. Tli. .: _ a. i - 1 ir\ a liii b- at a time. 



He should learn ilim i h. . . ;. i i. n.a-^ of (iirinaiit men. 



Mushroom spawn runs best in anything that is dry. 

 It is difficult to find out what moisture is wanted, and 

 to get the material in the right state. The writer pre- 

 fers to secure his manure on the cars fresh from the 

 stable. Turn it over eight or nine times, once every day, 

 so it will not burn, and put in dirt. To twenty tons add 

 five cart-loads of earth. This earth is secured from sod 

 from the hedges around the farm, taken the first of .June 

 and piled up to rot, .so it will be ready for mixing in the 

 manure. When the manure is in the right state, put it 

 in beds 8 inches deep. The beds (made in houses) are 

 made up like bunks on a ship and are 100 feet long, 4 

 feet wide and 3 feet between the beds to allow a man to 

 go through with a wheelbarrow. One house is 20 feet 

 wide. It contains 13 beds 100 feet long. It is heated by 

 hot water and the temperature is kept at 00°. There are 

 three large houses, and all of them with greenhouses on 

 top, where lettuce, cauliflower, parsley, rhubarb and 

 radishes are grown with the same heat that grows the 

 Mushrooms. English spawn is used. It should be fresh 

 and new. The spawn is placed 6 inches apart in the 

 beds, in pieces the size of a black walnut. When the 

 heat goes down to 90° the spawn is put in, and in six 

 weeks the Mushrooms are ready for picking. The beds 

 last from three to four months. The Mushrooms are 

 packed in boxes and shipped to New York. 



S. W. WORTMAN. 



The Trade in Mushrooms.— The tT&Ae in Mushrooms 

 has grown from a supply of 30 to 50 pounds a day to 

 the enormous quantity of one-half to three-quarters of a 

 ton. In fact, the trade has increased in proportion with 



