232 The Profitable Culture of Vegetables. 



temperature can be maintained artificially, such as a heated 

 greenhouse, they may be made flat. The advantage of the 

 ridge-shaped bed over a flat one for a cold situation is that by 

 having a greater and more compact mass of fermenting manure 

 in a given space it maintains its heat longer, and when in the 

 open it throws off the rains and is not liable to become satur- 

 ated and spoiled by wet. The advantage of a flat bed for a 

 warm structure is that it is much more easy to make and 

 attend to, although as it loses its heat quickly the crop is 

 sooner over Whatever may be the situation selected for the 

 beds, it is essential that the ground b6 dry; if it is wet the 

 damp will rise in the bed and destroy all prospect of a crop. 



Manure. A supply of suitable manure is the most important 

 preliminary step in Mushroom growing. It should come from 

 the stables of horses fed on hard corn and hay and littered 

 with straw ; manure containing peat, sawdust, or shavings is 

 quite unsuitable and should never be used. When the culture 

 is to be undertaken systematically it is best to arrange for a 

 regular supply in large or small quantities either from one of 

 the manure contractors who attend to this business in most 

 large towns, or from a local stable. By such an arrangement 

 there is always the certainty of having the manure ready to 

 hand at the time when it is wanted, and irritating delays and 

 loss of valuable time are thus avoided. When it cannot be 

 immediately used it should be put in high narrow stacks with 

 the tops sharply pitched to throw off rain, and with "chimneys" 

 or ventilating shafts at intervals to prevent it from overheating. 

 Stored in this manner the manure remains dry and retains 

 most of its virtues. When the beds are to be made, the longest 

 stored of this dry manure is mixed with an equal quantity of 

 fresh, and although the resulting heat is not so great as when 

 it is all fresh, it needs less turning and the bed keeps a gentle 

 warmth for a longer period. 



Mushroom Spawn. The cultivated Mushroom is the same 

 kind as that which grows in the open fields in the autumn. The 

 Mushroom itself is really only the flower or bloom, the real 

 plant being the fine network of whitish threads which run in 

 the fibrous soil below. Those threads form the spawn or 

 " mycelium " of the mushroom. The growth of this spawn is 



