236 Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. 



Stack your bricks, and place some of the spawn between every 

 alternate row. Cover it up closely with litter, taking care to 

 look at it in two days' time to see that it does not get too hot ; 

 if it does so, uncover it, or it will quickly destroy the spawn, 

 and injure the bricks so much, that, if spawned again, it never 

 works so kindly and strong. If it goes on kindly it will in 

 about 35 or 40 days be ready to unpack. Sort out what is 

 well worked ; the remainder, that is not worked enough, stack 

 and cover up as before, taking care to put what is ready into a 

 dry place (without a draught) to get steadily firm, or it will perish. 

 If put into a damp place the sjaawn will soon run out of it and 

 perish. This must be all particularly attended to. If you do 

 not have good spawn, how can you expect to get good mush- 

 rooms ? Many people that I have seen use spawn did not know 

 good from bad, and were ignorant of the qualities and properties 

 of it; whether it was perished spawn or not. One observation I 

 must here make, that, when mushroom spawn is once good, if it 

 is taken proper care of, it will be as good after it has been kept 

 seven years as the first day it was ready : the oldest that I ever 

 used was 8^ years made; but I have no doubt it would have 

 been as good if it had been kept 20 years. 



To make a bed of any size or shape, take the dung fresh 

 from the stable, litter and all together ; but, if it is very strawy, 

 shake out some of the long straw. I like to have well-made 

 stable dung. Then have it wheeled into the mushroom shed, 

 or wherever you mean to make the bed, and add a quantity of 

 good heavy loam to it ; enough to keep the dung from heating 

 or fermenting to any extent, and so that it may be altogether 

 of one congenial warmth and moisture, which it will be if made 

 with foresight and judgement ; but, if it is allowed to ferment and 

 steam, the very life and soul of the dung is gone. If it is 

 allowed to lie and get washed with rain, it is like the brewer's 

 grains after the liquid has been extracted ; the grains will not 

 fatten a beast, neither will the dung, when allowed to lose its good 

 qualities, grow good mushrooms ; but they will become of a bad 

 quality, poor and thin : the bed will not continue long in bear- 

 ing, and will probably show large quantities of small mushrooms 

 that will never come to perfection. 



I saw a question that was asked about a fortnight since in 

 the Gardener'' s Chronicle, by a man who ap23eared to be in 

 trouble about his mushrooms, which showed well, but did not 

 come to perfection ; and it was answered, but I believe not 

 exactly as I should have done. 



The bed made on my principle will be quite ready to be 

 spawned in about a fortnight after being made. Put the spawn 

 in the bed shallow, just covered; let the bed lie quiet for a week or 

 ten days before casing it, which must be done with about three 



