MUS 



[ C21 ] 



MUS 



cavity, /, on each side betwixt the flues, 

 two inches wide, to admit the heat 

 from their sides into the house. The 

 middle cavity, x y, should be covered 

 with tiles, leaving a space of one inch 

 betwixt each. The top of the flue, in- 

 cluding the covering, should not be 

 higher than the walls that form the 

 fronts of the floor beds. The wall itself 

 is covered with three rows of tiles, the 

 centre one covering the cavity, x y, as 

 before mentioned ; the outside cavities, 

 t /, are left uncovered. 



As the compost, the formation of the 

 beds, &c., are very different from the 

 common practice, we will give Mr. 

 Oldaker's directions. The compost 

 employed is fresh horse-dung, which 

 has been subject neither to wet nor 

 fermentation, cleared of the long straw, 

 but one-fourth of the short litter allowed 

 to remain, with one-fourth of dry turf- 

 mould, or other fresh earth. 



The beds are to be made by placing 

 a layer of the above compost, three 

 inches thick, on the shelves and floor, 

 which must be beaten as close as possible 

 with a flat mallet, fresh layers being 

 added and consolidated until the bed 

 is seven inches thick, and its surface as 

 level as possible. If the beds are 

 thicker, the fermentation caused will be 

 too poAverful ; or if much less, the heat 

 will be insufficient for the nourishment 

 of the spawn. As soon as the beds 

 intimate a warmth of 80 or 00, they 

 are to be beaten a second time, to render 

 them still more solid, and holes made 

 with a dibble, three inches in diameter 

 and nine apart, through the compost, 

 in every part of the beds ; these prevent 

 too great a degree of heat arising and 

 causing rottenness. 



If the beds do not attain a proper 

 heat in four or five days after being 

 put together, another layer, two inches 

 thick, must be added. If this does 

 not increase the heat, part of the beds 

 must be removed, and fresh horse- 

 droppings mixed with the remainder. 

 The spawn is to be inserted in three or 

 four days after making the holes, when 

 the thermometer indicates the desired 

 degree of beat, tbe insides of the holes 

 are dry ; and while the heat is on the 

 decline, every hole is to be filled, either 



with lumps or fragments of spawn, well 

 beaten in, and the surface made level. 



In a fortnight, if the spawn is vege- 

 tating freely, and the beds are required 

 for immediate production, they may be 

 earthed over ; but those for succession 

 left unearthed, three or four weeks in 

 summer, and four or five in winter. If 

 the spawn is introduced in hot weather, 

 air must be admitted as freely as 

 possible until the spawn has spread 

 itself through the beds. 



The soil employed should be maiden 

 earth, with turf well reduced ; neither 

 too dry nor too wet, otherwise it will 

 not be capable of being beaten solid. It 

 must be laid regularly over the beds 

 two inches thick. From the time of 

 earthing, the room is to be kept at a 

 temperature of 50 or 55. If higher, 

 it will weaken or destroy the spawn ; 

 if lower it will vegetate slowly, and if 

 watered in that state, numbers of mush- 

 rooms will be prevented attaining per- 

 fection. Water must be applied with 

 extreme caution, being nearly as warm 

 as new milk, and sprinkled over the 

 beds with a syringe or small watering- 

 pot. Cold water destroys both the crop 

 ' and the beds. If suffered to become 

 dry, it is better to give several light 

 than one heavy watering. 



Beds thus managed will bear for 

 several months ; and a constant supply 

 kept up by earthing one bed or more 

 every two or three months. 



If, when in full production, the 

 mushrooms become long-stemmed and 

 weak, the temperature is certainly too 

 high, and air must be proportionately 

 admitted. As the beds decline, to re- 

 novate them, the earth must be taken 

 off clean, and if the dung is decayed 

 they must be re-formed, any good spawn 

 being preserved that may appear; but 

 if the beds are dry, solid, and full of 

 good spawn, a fresh layer of compost, 

 three or four inches thick, must be 

 added, mixed a little with the old, and 

 beaten solid as before. 



Mushrooms may be grown in a 



cellar, or other vaulted place, with 



equal success, and not unfrequently 



j with a greater advantage, the same 



I rules being adopted ; but no fire is 



I necessary, and less water. 



