292 



GARDEN FARMING 



great, as this section seldom has spring weather suitable for the 

 development of the crop. It is therefore necessary to resort to pits, 

 cellars, caves, and mines for the necessary environment, and even 

 with good manure and a congenial environment the crop is not as 

 certain as other garden crops. The manure for the beds should be 

 carefully handled, fresh manure, which has been piled and carried 

 through the first heat. It should then be transferred to the grow- 

 ing quarters and placed in long beds of convenient width, vary- 

 ing from 3^- to 6 feet. The manure should be well mixed and 



FIG. 108. Mushroom beds in the open 



carefully packed, and the bed, when completed, should be about 

 8 inches deep. Special precautions must be taken to protect the 

 bed from moisture, for imperfect drainage or drip from the ceiling 

 would ruin the undertaking. After the bed has been made it is 

 covered with from I to 2 inches of good garden loam. When the 

 manure has attained its maximum heat, and its temperature has 

 fallen to 75 F., the bed may be spawned. This is accomplished by 

 opening the covering of loam at intervals of 10 or 12 inches in 

 each direction and placing a piece of spawn about as large as a 

 walnut in the manure just beneath the loam and then closing the 

 opening. The spawn should be kept in a warm, moist place for 



