252 GARDENING FOE THE SOUTH. 



to diffuse a gentle heat through the whole. The heat 

 should not be over 70, and the pile should be examined 

 the second day to see that it does not overheat. When 

 the spawn is diffused entirely through the bricks the proc- 

 ess is finished. The bricks should then be laid separately 

 in a dry place, and if kept perfectly dry, retain their 

 vegetative power for many years. One bushel of spawn 

 will plant a bed four feet by twelve. 



Beds for mushrooms may be made anywhere in a dry 

 situation under cover. Make them four feet wide and from 

 ten to fifteen feet long, according to the wants of the fam- 

 ily. A small shed might be erected for the purpose, but 

 the back of a green-house is a very good situation, as they 

 do not need much light. Space must be left for an alley, 

 and if the shed be ten feet wide, it will admit of a bed on 

 each side. 



Mushrooms, like other fungi, abound in nitrogen ; hence 

 this substance is necessary to their nourishment, and unless 

 substances, like horse dung, rich in nitrogen, are supplied, 

 it is useless to attempt their culture. Earthy materials 

 are added to prevent the escape of ammonia, which would 

 pass off in fermentation, and the substances used are beat- 

 en and trodden to render the mass compact, that fermenta- 

 tion may be slower and more lasting. The process of 

 making the beds is as follows. 



A sufficient quantity of the droppings of hard-fed hors- 

 es, pretty free from litter, must be obtained, which, while 

 collecting, must be kept dry, and spread out thinly and 

 turned frequently to prevent violent heating. When the 

 rank steam has escaped, the bed may be built. The site 

 should be dry. Dig out the earth six inches deep, the size 

 of the bed, and if good lay it aside for use. Fill this 

 trench with good fresh dung for the bottom, and lay on 

 this the prepared dung, until the whole is six inches thick 

 above the surface ; beat it down firmly with the back of 



