MUSHROOM-SPAWN. 25 



white, filamentous, and downy threads have the odour of 

 mushrooms, and the spawn is, therefore, vgry easily re- 

 cognised. It should be generally known that it neet*. 

 not be used when found, but may be dried, and kept for 

 use in a dry place for years, and has been known to keep 

 as long as fourteen years. It must not be supposed that 

 it is only the hard bricks described further on that keep 

 thus. The French spawn is in much looser and lighter 

 material than that in which we usually find mycelium in a 

 natural state, and it keeps quite as long as ours. To 

 preserve spawn found in a natural state, nothing more is 

 required than to take up carefully the parts of the 

 manure in which it is found, not breaking them up more 

 than may be necessary, and placing both large and small 

 pieces loosely in rough shallow hampers. These should be 

 placed in some dry airy loft or shed till thoroughly dry, 

 and afterwards kept in some perfectly dry place, packed 

 in rough boxes till wanted for use. 



But inasmuch as in this country, at present, but little 

 mushroom-spawn is required in any one place, the rule 

 is to obtain artificial spawn in the form of hard bricks. 

 This spawn is made from horse-droppings and some cow- 

 dung and road scrapings beaten up into a mortar- like con- 

 sistency in a shed, and then formed into bricks, slightly 

 differing in shape with different makers, but usually 

 thinner and wider than common building bricks. Various 

 recipes are given for mixing the materials for the bricks, 



