54 MUSHROOM CULTURE. 



floors of all houses in which a genial temperature is kept 

 up for forcing or other purposes, offer excellent positions 

 for producing mushrooms quickly and abundantly. 

 Small ridge-like beds might be made on the floor of 

 these, and, with the genial temperature usually kept up in 

 such places, would probably come into bearing a month 

 or so after being spawned. How often, for example, do 

 we notice the floors of large vineries, in mid-winter or 

 very early spring, quite bare, especially after the vines 

 are started. Now just at that season the genial heat that 

 would be given off from the slightly fermenting materials 

 used for the mushroom-bed is that which would be most 

 congenial to the tender breaking vines, and with a little 

 attention in this way a first-rate crop of mushrooms 

 could always be gathered from the early vinery, and in 

 houses where no artificial heat was applied they could 

 also be grown abundantly. A covering of hay would, 

 however, be necessary in cold houses in mid-winter, to 

 prevent excessive variation of the temperature, and also 

 in spring and summer to prevent excessive drying or 

 scorching of the beds by a hot sun. I have even seen 

 excellent crops grown on the floor in an old lean-to 

 house, the beds covered with a foot or so of hay, occa- 

 sionally sprinkled with water to prevent excessive heat 

 on the surface of the bed. In small places where every 

 foot of space in the glass-house is likely to be occupied 

 with plants, it is not easy to x?arry out the foregoing 



