CHAPTER IX. 



MUSHROOM CULTURE IN PASTURES, ETC. 



NOTWITHSTANDING the extreme abundance of the com- 

 mon mushroom in the meadows and pastures of the 

 British islands, and probably in similar positions all the 

 world over, it is scarce in many situations, and, it may 

 be, not a few persons would be willing to make it of more 

 frequent occurrence in thei* fields. There is an opinion 

 not uncommon that this cannot be done ; that the mush- 

 room is, to a great extent, a creature of chance, and that 

 it cannot be cultivated. This is not a philosophical j 

 notion : there can be no doubt that the mushroom has 

 to abide the results of the struggle for life as well as any 

 other species of plant. Considering that we have taken 

 the spawn from the fields and cultivated it with great 

 success in all sorts of positions, none of which it could 

 3ver inhabit naturally, it is absurd to suppose that we 

 cannot induce it to grow in positions exactly similar to 

 its native habitat. Found in open, sunny meadows and 

 pastures, and avoiding the shade of trees, it is grown, as 

 we have seen, in dark and deep mines ; yet people sup- 



