MELON—MUSHROOM SPAWN. 61 
growers are located in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa, Kan- 
sas, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey and Delaware. 
In favorable seasons a seed-yield is from 200 to 300 
pounds per acre, although exceptional crops have been 
known of 600 pounds per acre. 
Prices paid to growers range from ten to fourteen 
cents per pound for watermelon; twenty to twenty-two 
cents for muskmelon or cantaloupe. 
MUSHROOM SPAWN. 
This is sold by seed-dealers in the form of bricks. 
It is imported mostly from England and France, being 
laid down in New York at about five cents per pound. 
The manner of preparing mushroom spawn is to mix 
thoroughly, fresh horse droppings, cow dung, a little 
loam and stable drainings, and make a mortar-like 
composition. This mixture is then spread on boards, 
or on the floor of an open shed, and allowed to become 
dry enough to be cut into the shape and size of bricks. 
These are stood on edge in a dry, airy place, and per- 
mitted to get about half dry, turning them frequently 
to do it properly. They are now given a planting of 
good, old spawn, which is performed by making two or 
three holes in each brick, sufficiently deep to plant in 
each hole, just below the surface, about one cubic inch 
of spawn. When the planting is done the holes are 
closed with the same moist material of which the bricks 
are composed. 
The bricks are now allowed to become nearly dry. 
Then they are piled openly, with the spawn-planted 
side downward on a layer of warm horse droppings, 
about ten inches thick, which has been prepared on a 
dry bottom, as fora hot-bed. A covering of straw or 
hay is put. over the bricks so that the steam and 
