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Culture of the Mushroom. 



a piece of spawn about the size of a pigeon's egg in each 

 hole, enclosing it with a little of the original mortar. Then pile 

 the cakes in pairs, with their spawned ends together, resembling 

 a cask; and in this state let them be cased up in brick-shaped 

 batches, and sweated and kept up to about 85°, by placing 

 a layer of sweet dung all round and over the batch, varying 

 it in quantity, to obtain the desired heat. The spawn must be 

 examined as it runs in the cakes, and when one is broken 

 and appears mouldy all 

 through, and smells of 

 mushroom, it is mushroom 

 spawn in the highest state 

 of perfection. To preserve 

 it, however, it must be 

 thoroughly dried in an 

 airy loft, and kept dry for 

 use. It will retain its pro- 

 perties for several years. 



To grow the Mushrooms. 

 — Collect a quantity of 

 horse-droppings, dry them 

 a little in a open shed, 

 then lay a stratum of 

 loamy turf, 2 in. or 3 in. 

 deep, in the bottom of the 

 bed, and over this three 

 layers of droppings, each 

 about 2 in. deep, rendered 

 as compact as possible, by 

 giving each layer a good 

 pummeling with a hand- 

 mallet. When the last layer 

 is made up, thrust a few 

 "watch sticks" into the bed, 

 in order to ascertain when 

 it begins to heat. When 

 the heat is getting pretty 

 strong, let the bed be first 

 beaten all over, then make 

 holes with an iron-shod 

 dibber, 9 in. apart, and 

 deep enough to reach the stratum of loam : these will soon cool 

 the bed ; and when the heat has declined to about 80°., the holes 

 may be bored by a conical block of wood, to about 2 in. in di- 

 ameter, at 2 in. deep, in order to receive the spawn. These holes 

 must be filled up, to about 3 in. from the surface, with loam and 

 horse-droppings mixed ; then insert a bit of spawn, about the 



