128 FORCING MUSHROOMS. 



pose in the winter season, as no fire is necessary, and but 

 little water, tlie application of wliicli frequently proves inju- 

 rious, when not judiciously managed. Mushrooms may also 

 be raised in pots, boxes, hampers, &c., placed in warm situa- 

 tions ; in old-beds, in pits with glazed frames, and in dark 

 frames or pits. 



The general way of making Mushroom beds, is to prepare 

 a body of stable dung, moderately fermented, about a yard 

 in thickness, more or less, according to the size and situa- 

 tion in which the bed is to be formed ; when the strong heat 

 has subsided, an inch of good mould may be laid over it, 

 and the spawn planted therein in rows five or six inches 

 apart ; after this is done, another layer of mould, an inch 

 thick, may be added, and then a coat of straw. Beds well 

 constructed will produce Mushrooms in five or six weeks, 

 and will continue to produce for several months, if care be 

 taken in gathering, not to destroy the young ones. As 

 Mushrooms are gathered, from time to time, the straw should 

 be spread carefully over the bed. 



Beds made in a convenient place, where there is space all 

 around, may be formed so as to make four sloping surfaces, 

 similar to the roof of a house ; this, by being spawned on 

 the four sides, will yield abundantly. The celebrated Mr.* 

 Nichol makes his beds without spawn. The following are 

 his directions, taken from Loudon's Encyclopoedia of Gar- 

 dening : 



" After having laid a floor of ashes, stones> chips, gravel, 

 or brick-bats, so as to keep the bed quite dry and free from . 

 under damp, lay a course of horse-droppings six inches thick. 

 These should be new from the stables, and must not be 

 broken, and the drier the better. They may be collected 

 every day until the whole floor or sole be covered to the 

 above thickness ; but they must not be allowed to ferment 

 or heat. In the whole process of making up, the bed should 

 be as much exposed to the air as possible ; and it should be 

 carefully defended from wet, if out of doors. "WTien this 



