Chap. XXX.] MUSHROOM-CULTURE IN CAVES UNDER PARIS. 523 



great moderation, for any excess of moisture would rot tlie spawn. 

 At the end of about six weeks the Mushrooms ought to begin to 

 make their appearance. By following this inexpensive process, 

 and by renewing the bed from time to time in a different part of 

 the cellar, we may, according to this writer, obtain a plentiful 

 supply of Mushrooms all the year round. 



Mushrooms are subject to the attacks of mice, rats, snails, 

 woodlice, beetles, flies, and mites. The remedies used for these 

 are as follows:— For rats and mice, ordinary traps; for the grey 

 snail, placing here and there little heaps of damp bran or bits of 

 Cabbage-leaf, and examining these at night ; for woodlice, placing 

 hollowed halves of Potato, and in the morning plunging these 

 into boiling water ; for beetles, perseveringly hunting them out, 

 taking care, however, not to damage the spawned portions of the 

 bed ; for flies, by placing a number of pans of water with a few 

 drops of oil of turpentine or soapy water added, or by a floating 

 light ; for mites (a parasite of the beetles, found in crowds upon 

 the scraps of straw litter), by watering the spot with water in 

 which fresh lime is held in suspension. 



In old times the market-gardeners of Paris used to grow the 

 Mushroom in the open air to a large extent, but not so much so 

 since it has been grown in the caves. Nevertheless there may 

 still be seen a good deal of space in the open air covered with 

 beds, especially in winter. They begin with the preparation of 

 the manure, and collect that of the horse for a month or six weeks 

 before they make the beds ; this they prepare in some firm spot 

 of the market-garden, and take from it all rubbish, particles of 

 wood, and miscellaneous matters. After sorting it, they place 

 it in beds two feet thick, or a little more, pressing it with 

 the fork. When this is done the mass or bed is well stamped, 

 then thoroughly watered, and finally again pressed down by 

 stamping. It is left in this state for eight or ten days, by which 

 time it has begun to ferment, after which the bed ought to be 

 well turned over and re-made on the same place, care being 

 taken to place the manure that was near the sides of the first- 

 made bed towards the centre in the turning and re-making. The 

 mass is now left for another ten days or so, at the end of which 

 time the manure is about in proper condition for making the 

 beds. Eidge-shaped beds— about twenty-six inches wide and the 



