MUSHROOM GROWING 79 



situated at the back of vineries, etc., or of a garden 

 wall, and no better position could be found. If it 

 is sunk below the ground level so much the better, 

 as it is less subject to fluctuations of temperature 

 and more easily kept in a humid state. The beds 

 should be formed on either side with a path in the 

 middle, and three and a half feet wide is the most 

 convenient width for the bed. The depth should be 

 nine inches. The best material to form the beds 

 with is stone, brick or slate, but not wood or any- 

 thing perishable. It is then well- under the grower's 

 control in respect to gathering the Mushrooms. 



Watering and General Notes. Usually the season 

 for forming Mushroom beds in houses begins towards 

 the end of August. They cannot be satisfactorily 

 grown in these structures in summer (the mode of 

 culture suitable to this period will be treated of later 

 on). The first essential to success is that the grower 

 must be satisfied that the house is perfectly clean and 

 sweet and free from insect pests such as woodlice, 

 cockroaches, etc. If he is not satisfied, now is his 

 time to make sure, in the first instance, by clearing 

 the house of every scrap of old soil or manure there 

 may have been left from previous crops, and thoroughly 

 scald all the walls and other surfaces of the house 

 with boiling water several times to make sure that 

 nothing alive can escape. Sometimes these pests lodge 

 in the roof, and the best way to destroy them is by 

 burning sulphur in the house. All that will be left 

 to do now to make the house ready is to have it care- 



