Vi PREFACE. 



gardening public should have a broad and clear idea of 

 the several ways in which they may procure abundance 

 of excellent Mushrooms with very trifling expense. Even 

 many of the best private growers never think of it except 

 as illustrated on thir comparatively small beds in small 

 houses. I believe that if the knowledge of how easily 

 and in how many ways they may be grown, apart from 

 the usual mode, were sufficiently spread, it would lead to 

 the production of many times our present supply. 

 Fourthly, a desire to introduce to this and other 

 countries the system of Mushroom Culture on a very 

 large scale carried on in caverns beneath the environs of 

 Paris, which caverns I visited in 1868. 



To these reasons I might add a wish to call attention to 

 the waste of money for Mushroom-spawn that now occurs 

 in nearly every garden. There is not the slightest ne- 

 cessity for this. In every garden where Mushrooms are 

 grown abundance of spawn may be made. Mr. W. P. 

 AYRES writes lately to tell me that in a great midland 

 garden where the spawn bill used to amount to 18/. 

 or 19/. a year, by saving the spawn as the Parisian 

 growers do, all expense for this article is abolished. 



I do not attempt to praise or even duly weigh the 

 merits of the Mushroom that could only be adequately 

 done by the immortal BRILLAT-SAVARIN. He, however, 

 seems to have somewhat neglected this most precious of 

 legumes. None but his serious soul could have ap- 



