liCSHK003I SPAWN. 93 



A Second Method (by Lachaume). "This is gener- 

 ally adopted by mushroom growers. The formation of 

 the spawn is accelerated by adding pieces of old spawn 

 here and there. ... At the beginning of April we 

 must choose a piece of ground situated at the foot of a 

 wall facing north. . . . The soil ought to be very 

 open and light rather than heavy, so as to avoid damp- 

 ness. Taking advantage of a fine day, we open a trench 

 sixteen inches wide and at about eight inches from the 

 foot of the wall, and of a length adapted to the quantity 

 of spawn we desire to produce. The earth is thrown 

 out on the side opposite the wall. Manure which has 

 been prepared for a mushroom bed, and has just come 

 into condition is then filled into the trench, leaving, 

 liowevei', a space at one end of it about two feet and six 

 inches in length for the formation of a mushroom bed, 

 which is made by tossing the manure about and shaking 

 it up with the hands, after which it is pressed down 

 Avith the hands and -knees. As soon as the layer of 

 manure reaches six inches in thickness we place along 

 the edge a number of lumps of spawn at about one foot 

 apart. These lumps are placed level with the manure 

 on the edge facing the wall. This portion of the surface 

 of the manure ought to be raised vertically, and should 

 lean against the earthen wall of the trench. The other 

 half of the surface ought to slope gently toward the 

 wall, leaving a space of three or four inches between it 

 and the side of the trench, so that it may be trimmed. 

 The lumps of spawn on this surface should be placed a 

 little backward, -so that they may not be broken when 

 the bed is trimmed. The bed is then covered with more 

 manure, until the first lumps of spawn are buried three 

 or four inches deep. A second row of lumps of spawn 

 is then inserted, as described in the directions for mak- 

 ing the first row, and the bed is filled up level with the 

 surface of the soil. It is finished by covering it up with 



