138 MCSHEOOMS, HOW TO GEOW THEM. 



winds. Although a great many mushroom ridges are 

 made under the j)artial shade of apple and pear trees, I 

 always preferred making them in the open ground. 

 The laud should be dry and of a slightly elevated or 

 sloping nature, so that no pools of water can possibly 

 collect on the surface. Having the ground cleared, lev- 

 eled, and ready, mark it ofE into strips two feet wide 

 and six feet wide alternately. The two feet wide space 

 is for the mushroom bed, the six feet wide one for the 

 space between the beds ; but after the ridges are built, 

 earthed over and covered with straw, they are almost 

 six feet wide at the base. The common sizes of ridges 

 are two feet wide by two feet high, and two and one-half 

 feet wide by two and one-half feet high, and taper to 

 six or eight inches wide at top. 



The manure being ready and the site for the beds 

 iiued off, the manure is carted to the place and wheeled 

 upon the beds. In making the bed shake out the 

 manure well and evenly to cause it to hold together, 

 tamp it with the back of the fork as you go along, and 

 two or three times before the ridges are completed walk 

 upon and tread the manure down solidly with the feet, 

 and trim down the sides to turn the rain water. Two 

 days after the bed is made up some holes should be 

 bored from the top to nearly the bottom with a small 

 iron bar to let the heat off and prevent the inside of the 

 bed from becoming too dry. Make them about nine 

 inches apart all along the center of the bed. The old 

 gardeners did not use the crowbar. They were very par- 

 ticular not to build their ridges before the chances of 

 overheating were considered past ; but notwithstanding 

 all their care some of their beds would get overwarm, 

 when, without a moment's hesitation, they tossed them 

 over, part to the right and part to the left, and left 

 the manure thus exposed for a day or two to cool, and 

 then make up the beds again on the same site. 



