24 MUSRROOJb CULTURE. 



surfaces on which they were born, till the " young mush- 

 room" or inflorescence is vigorously pushing up from 

 the mass of delicate vegetation which they have given 

 rise to in earth or decaying manure, we know nothing. 

 However, the preparation of the spawn, and the sub- 

 sequent management of it in the mushroom-bed, are the 

 matters which really concern us. 



How is spawn obtained in the first instance ? It is 

 found in a natural state in half-decomposed manure- 

 heaps, in places where horse-droppings have accumulated 

 and been kept dry, in riding-schools, sheds to which 

 horses have long had access, in "mill tracks" under cover, 

 in pastures, in partially decayed hotbeds, &c., and rarely 

 or never in very moist or saturated materials. This 

 spawn, sometimes termed " natural" in this country, and 

 called by the French " virgin spawn," is the best that can 

 be obtained, and should be used in preference wherever 

 it can be found. To use it, all that has to be done is to 

 divide the material permeated by the white spawn into 

 pieces a few inches square, and say an inch or more 

 thick. They will of course break up irregularly, but all 

 should be used, whether of the size of a bean, or nearly 

 that of the open hand. Then they are inserted into the 

 surface of the mushroom-beds in the ordinary way. 



In nearly every country place, and in numerous 

 suburban ones, in fact, in most places where horses are 

 kept, opportunities of finding this spawn occur. Its 



