THE CAVE CULTURE OF MUSHROOMS. 71 



stone by powder and simple machinery continually goes 

 on. The arches follow the veining of the stone, so to 

 speak ; their lower parts are of hard stone, the upper 

 ones of soft, except the very top, which is again hard. 

 There is but a slight crust of stone above the apex of 

 each arch, and above that the earth and trees. 



It may be supposed that the profits from such an ex- 

 tensive culture are great ; and so they are, but the expense 

 is great also. The proprietor informed me that culture 

 on a more limited scale than he pursued last year at Mery 

 gave the best return in proportion to expense, the care 

 and supervision required by so many miles of beds being 

 too great. 



All the manure employed is brought from Paris by rail, 

 as the place is twenty-five miles from that city by road. 

 In the first place, so much per month is paid in Paris for 

 the manure of each horse ; then it has to be carted to the 

 railway station and loaded in the waggons; next it is 

 brought to the station of Auvers, and afterwards carted a 

 couple of miles to the quarries, paying a toll for a bridge 

 over the Oise on the way. That surely is difficulty enough 

 for a cultivator to begin with ! Then it is placed in great 

 flat heaps a yard deep by about thirty long and ten wide, 

 not far removed from the mouth of the cave, and here it is 

 prepared, turned over and well mixed three times, and as 

 a rule watered twice. About five or six weeks are occupied 

 in the preparation, long manure requiring more time than 



