MUSHROOM SPAWN. 83 



dry and preserve and use it as you would French spawn, 

 for it is the best kind of flake spawn. In using virgin 

 spawn for spawning beds I have obtained larger and 

 heavier raushrooms than from "made" spawn, and the 

 beds lasted longer in good bearing, but the weight of 

 the whole crop has not been more than from artificial 

 spawn. 



How to Keep Spawn — Spawn should be kept in a 

 diy, airy place, somewhat dark, if convenient, and in a 

 temperature between 35° and 65°. Wherever things 

 will "must," as in a cellar, cupboard against a wall, or 

 in a close, damp building, is a very poor place for keep- 

 ing spawn. If the spawn is perfectly dry and kept in a 

 dry, airy place, and not in large bulk, and covered, it 

 will bear a high temperature with apparent impunity, 

 but whenever dampness, even of the atmosphere, is 

 coupled with heat, the mycelium begins to grow, and 

 this, in the storeroom, is ruinous to the spawn. Judg- 

 ing from our natural . mushroom crops, the spawn for 

 which must be alive in the ground in winter, one con- 

 cludes that frost should not be injurious to the artificial 

 spawn, still my experience is that hard frost destroys 

 the vitality of both brick and flake spawn. And this is 

 one reason why I get our full supply of spawn in the 

 fall and keep it myself rather than submit it to the 

 mercy of the seed store. 



New Versus* Old Spawrn.— How long spawn may 

 be kept without its vitality becoming impaired is an 

 unsettled question, but there is no doubt, if properly 

 kept, it will remain good for several years. But I can 

 not impress too strongly upon the reader the importance 

 of using fresh spawn. Do not use any old spawn at any 

 price ; do not accept it gratis and ruin your prospect of 

 success by using it. It takes three months from the 

 time when the manure is gathered for the beds until the 

 mushrooms are harvested. Can you, therefore, afford 



