56 MUSHROOMS, HOW TO GROW THEM. 



the summer. It is yery simple. About the end of 

 June, or as soon as dry weather sets in, we remove the 

 old beds from our mushroom house, and if there should 

 be any Jive spawn in the bottom of our beds we put it in 

 a wheelbarrow and take it to the field, where we plant it 

 in the open places, but never under trees. In planting, 

 we lift a sod and put a shovelful of the manure contain- 

 ing the spawn in the hole, then replace the sod and beat 

 it down firm ; this we do at distances of twelve feet 

 apart. If we have no live spawn from our indoor beds 

 we take the common brick spawn, and put about a 

 quarter of a brick into each hole, returning and beating 

 down the sod as already stated. This is all that i^ done. 

 If there comes a dry time after the spawn is put in the 

 pasture we are sure to have a good supply of mushrooms 

 in the fall." 



A few years ago Carter & Co., seedsmen, London, sent 

 this to one of the gardening periodicals : " The follow- 

 ing mode of growing mushrooms in meadows by one of 

 our customers may be interesting to jour readers : In 

 March (May would be soon enough here) he begins to 

 collect droppings from the stables. These, when enough 

 have been gathered together, are taken into the meadow, 

 where holes dug here and there about one foot or eight- 

 een inches square are filled with them, the soil removed 

 being scattered over the surrounding grass. When all 

 the holes have been filled and made solid he then places 

 two or three pieces of spawn about one inch square in 

 each hole, treads all down firmly, replaces the turf and 

 beats it tightly down. Under this system, in August 

 and September mushrooms appear without fail in abun- 

 dance and without any further care. The method is 

 simple and the result certain. Therefore all who happen 

 to have a meadow, paddock, or grass field, and are fond 

 of mushrooms, should try the experiment. ... In 

 the case in question fresh holes were spawned every 

 year." 



