Tnr. (rAEPKy. 



85 



BED WITH TWO EWKB PABTIAIXT UKOOVKKID. 



•lade, wliich may be seen wlien tiic heating material has become brown, the 

 straw which is mixed with it has lost almost entirely its consistence, when it 

 has become greasy, and the smell is not longer the same as when fi-e-sh. It 

 is diflBcult toobtain a good material without preparing a heap of at least three 

 feet each way; and if that quantity is not required lor making the beds, the 

 surplus may with advantage be used in the kitchen-garden. 



The material is now brought to the plAce where the beds are t»be made, 

 which may be of any 

 form and size; but 

 experience has 

 shown that the best 

 way to make use of 

 apace and material 

 is to raise the beds 

 to a height of from 

 twenty to twenty- 

 four inches, with a 

 width of about the 

 same at the founda- 

 tion. An excessive 

 rise of the tempera- 

 ture, in consequence 

 of renewed fermen- 

 tation, is to be less feared than when the beds are of larger dimensions. 

 When a large place is at disposal, preference is given to beds with two slant- 

 ing sides; when the beds are resting against a wall, and consequently pre- 

 sent but one available side, the width ought to be less than the height. 



Barrels sawn in two, so that each part forms a tub, are well adapted to 

 form beds, as well as simple shelves on which sugar-loaf-shaped beds may 

 ")e raised, which, already formed, may be carried into cellars, etc., where 

 .be introduction of the raw materials would be objectionable. 



The beds thus established 

 should be left for a few days 

 before spawning, to see 

 whether the fermentation 

 will not be renewed ^ith ex- 

 cessive vigor, which may b^ 

 ascertained by the touch ol 

 the hand, but it is safer to 

 use the thermometer; as long 

 as the temperature exceeds 

 86 degrees Fahr. the bed is 

 too hot, and it should be al- 

 lowed to cool by itself, or by making openings with a stick to allow the heat 

 ;o escape. 



When the temperature remains at 76 degrees, it is time for spawning. 

 Prepared spawn is foimd in the seed stores at all times, which may be kept 

 without trouble from year to year. The spawn sold in France is not in 

 bricks or sohd lumps, as in England, but in Ught masses of scarcely half- 

 decomposed loose and dry htter. 



A few days before spawning, it is advisable to expose the spawn to a 

 moderately warru moisture, which will insure a safer and more rapid growth; 

 U should be broken up in pieces about the length and thidmess of the hand 



JIOV.'LBLE SHSUr. 



