MUS 



[ 818 ] 



MUS 



M. cilia'tum (hair-fringed). 1. Brown, purple. 

 May. Crimea. 1822. 



commuta'tum (dark - purple). . Blue. 



Italy. 1836. 



como'sum (tufted). \. Blue. April. South 



Europe. 1596. 



monstro'sum (monstrous). . Pale 

 blue. April. South Europe. 1596. 



glau'cum (milky-green), f. Purple, green. 



May. Persia. 1825. 



macroca'rpum (large-fruited). 3. Green, 



yellow. April. Levant. 1596. 



moscha'tum (musky). f . Blue, yellow. 



April. Levant. 1596. 



pa'llens (pallid). 4. Pale blue. May. 



Crimea. 1822. 



parviflo'rum (small-flowered). Blue. April. 



Sicily. 1827- 



peduncula're (long - flower - stalked). . 



Blue. April. 



racemo'sum (racemed). $. Blue. April. 



Europe. 1780. 



mi'nus (smaller). $. Blue. 



April. Europe. 1780. 



MUSHROOM (Aya'ricus campe'stris}. 



Mushroom beds, for winter produc- 

 tion, should be formed in August, and 

 once in two months after, of dry mate- 

 rials, such as four or five barrowsful of 

 horse droppings, which have been 

 saved for the purpose, four or five bar- 

 rowsful of road sweepings, and four or 

 five barrowsful of dry husky dung from 

 the stable dung-heap. Let these be 

 all well turned over three or four times 

 to sweeten in some dry place. If the 

 mixture should be found too dry to fer- 

 ment sufficiently, then sprinkle it with 

 a little water at the time of its being 

 turned over. Shake it and mix it well 

 together. The quantity of materials 

 depends on the size of the beds re- 

 quired. The place where the beds are 

 to be made should be dry at bottom. 

 The materials being in good condition 

 proceed to make up your bed as solid 

 and firm as it can be beat together 

 with the fork, whether in ridges or half 

 ridges, or whatever shape may be 

 thought most convenient. Let the 

 outside be beaten smooth and well with 

 a shovel or spade. Then insert a stick 

 to prove the temperature of the bed by. 

 In about ten days after the bed has 

 been made it will be fit for spawning, if 

 all has gone on well, and the heat be 

 found about that of cows' milk, but if 

 the heat be too great defer it for an- 

 other week, and shake open the bed a 

 little to let off the rank heat. If too , 

 cold, add a little fresh materials, and 



work it up well together. Before put- 

 ting in the spawn make the beds firm, 

 smooth, and even; then open holes 

 with the hand about an inch below the 

 surface, and eight inches apart every 

 way. Place in each hole a moderate 

 sized lump or handful of bits of spawn, 

 and cover it over again with the same 

 dry materials of the bed. If there is 

 no fear of the bed being too hot, it may 

 be covered over at the same time about 

 aninch-and-a-half thick, with good turfy 

 loam, rather dry and run through a 

 sieve first. When all is regularly co- 

 vered over, sprinkle the whole with 

 water from a fine rose waterpot, and 

 pat the whole surface down level, leav- 

 ing it as smooth as a fresh plastered 

 wall. Let it remain to dry oft*, giving 

 plenty of air to dry it off the quicker. 

 After this, the bed should have a cover- 

 ing of anything like mouldy hay, such 

 as tops and bottoms from the hay-rick, 

 or hay-bands untwisted, or the like. 

 Cover up according to the heat of the 

 beds. If you have any doubt whether 

 it is too hot, let the covering be light ; 

 and at all times the short mulch, when 

 gathering the mushrooms, should be 

 cleared off from the bed's surface, or it 

 will exhaust the bed, by the encourage- 

 ment it gives to the spawn to run out. 

 A little additional litter may be added 

 as required, so as to keep the beds in 

 regular and uniform bearing, and gen- 

 tle applications of tepid liquid manure 

 will be found of great benefit to those 

 beds that have been well gathered 

 from. Where the convenience of hot 

 water-pipes, or other artificial means, 

 can be commanded for mushroom cul- 

 ture, so that the right temperature can 

 be at all times maintained, no kind of 

 litter-covering need be applied. Mush- 

 room beds are always best made under 

 cover, and even a cart-shed can be very 

 easily converted into an excellent 

 mushroom house. Warm and gentle 

 moisture have much to do with the 

 growth of the mushrooms ; therefore, 

 if the shed is covered in witli slate or 

 tiles, the space between the rafters 

 inside should be well stuffed with straw 

 of any kind, which can be fastened up 

 by nailing cross strips of boards from 

 rafter to rafter. Then, after the bed 



