CULTURE IN THE OPEN AIR. 81 



well stamped, then thoroughly watered, and finally again 

 pressed down by stamping. It is left in this state for 

 eight or ten days, by which time it has begun to ferment, 

 after which the bed ought to be well turned over and 

 re-made on the same place, care being taken to place 

 the manure that was near the sides of the first-made 

 bed towards the centre in the turning and re-making. 

 The mass is now left for another ten days or so, at the 

 end of which time the manure is about in proper con- 

 dition for making the beds that are to bear the mush- 

 rooms. Little ridge-shaped beds about twenty-six inches 

 wide and the same in height are then formed in parallel 

 lines at a distance of twenty inches one from the other. 

 In a market-garden they may stretch over a consider- 

 able extent, their length being determined by the wants 

 of the grower. The beds once made of a firm, close- 

 fitting texture, the manure soon begins to warm again, 

 but does not become unwholesomely hot for the spread 

 of the spawn. When the beds have been made some 

 days, the cultivator spawns them, having of course as- 

 certained beforehand that the heat is genial and suitable. 

 Generally the spawn is inserted within a few inches of 

 the base, and at about thirteen inches apart in the line. 

 Some cultivators insert two lines, the second about seven 

 inches above the first. In doing so, it would of course 

 be well to make the holes for the spawn in an alternate 

 manner. The spawn is inserted in flakes about the size 



