GROWING MUSHROOMS IK CELLARS. 31 



beds. No. 2, begins in August, the beds are made up in 

 September, and the mushrooms gathered in November ; 

 preparing for the two beds. No. 3, begins in September, 

 the beds are made up in October, gathering commences 

 in December ; for the two beds. No. 4, work begins in 

 October, the beds are made up in Noyember, and the 

 crop is gathered in January ; for tlie two beds. No. 5 

 (No. 1 renewed), work begins in November, the beds 

 are made up in Decembei*, and the crop is gathered in 

 February ; for the two beds, No. 6 (No. 2 renewed), 

 work begins in December, the beds are made up in Jan- 

 uary, and the crop is gathered in March ; for the two 

 beds. No. 7 (No. 3 renewed), work begins in January, 

 the beds are made up in February, and the crop is gath- 

 ered in April ; for the two beds, No. 8 (No. 4 renewed), 

 work begins in February, the beds are made up in 

 March, and the mushrooms gathered in May. After 

 this time of year the summer heat renders mushroom- 

 growing uncertain, and the maggots destroy the mush- 

 rooms. This system allows each bed a beaiing period 

 of two months. After yielding a crop for some seven 

 to nine weeks the beds are pretty well exhausted and 

 hardly worth retaining longer. They might drag along 

 in a desultory way for weeks, but as soon as they stop 

 yielding a paying crop we clear them out and start 

 afresh. 



And when the mushroom season is closed we lift out 

 and remove the manure, clean the boards used in shelv- 

 ing, and give the cellar a thorough cleaning, — whitewash 

 its walls and paint its woodwork with kerosene to destroy 

 noxious insects and fungi. 



The heating apparatus consists of one of Hitchings' 

 base-burner boilers with a four-inch hot-water pipe that 

 passes around inside the cellar, and it deserves special 

 mention because of its economy, eflSciency, and the sat- 

 isfaction it gives generally. This boiler needs no deep or 



