FIRST DIVISION OP PLANTS. 



195 



properly prepared beds, produces a plentiful 

 crop. For this purpose, in June or July, to any 

 quantity of fresh horse droppings, mixed with 

 short litter, add one-third of cows' dung, and a 

 small portion of mould to cement it together. 

 Mash the whole into a thin compost, and 

 spread it on the floor of an open shed, and let it 

 remain till it becomes firm enough to be formed 

 into flat square bricks; which being done, set 

 them on edge, and frequ.ently turn them tiU half 

 dry. This being completed, level the surface of 

 a piece of ground three feet wide, and of length 

 sufficient to receive the bricks, on which lay a 

 bottom of dry horse dung six inches tliick ; then 

 form a pile by placing the bricks in rows one 

 upon another, the spawned side uppermost, till 

 the pile is three feet high ; next cover it with a 

 small portion of warm horse dung, suflicient in 

 quantity to diffuse a gentle glow throughout the 

 whole. When the spawn has spread itself 

 through every part of the bricks, the process is 

 ended, and they must be laid up in a dry place 

 for use. Mushroom spawn made according to 

 this process will preserve its vegetative power 

 for many years, if well dried before it is laid up. 

 If moist, it will grow and soon exhaust itself. 



Mushrooms may also be raised in abundance 

 on melon beds, by placing the sporules or spawn 

 on the surface of the beds. This must be done 

 when the bed is earthed up for the last time. 

 The strong loamy soil used for melons is much 

 more congenial to the mushroom than the light 

 soil used for cucumbers; and if it is made still 

 more firm by treading, it will be of very great 

 advantage. Nothing more is required than to 

 manage the bed and the melons as if no spawn 

 had been used. The warmth of the bed will 

 soon cause the spawn to run, and extend itself 

 through the surface of the ground. In Septem- 

 ber or October following, when the melon plant 

 is decaying, the bed mxist be carefully cleaned, 

 the glass put on and kept close, and when the 

 mould becomes dry it must be frequently watered, 

 but not immediately, as too much wet would 

 destroy the spawn; advantage should also be 

 taken of every gentle shower, for the same pur- 

 pose. The moisture coming up on the dry 

 earth produces a moderate heat, which soon 

 causes the mushrooms to appear in every part 

 of the bed in such abundance as even to prevent 

 each other's growth. Two bushels at a time 

 have frequently been gathered from a bed ten 

 feet by six, and have produced individual mush- 

 rooms of nearly 2 lbs. weight. This mould 

 being kept warm by the glasses, and properly 

 watered, the mushrooms will .continue to spring 

 till the frosts of winter prevent their further 

 growth. 



Besides the cultivated mushroom, there are 

 about a dozen other species common to Britain, 

 which are described as eatable. 



The agaricus pratensis has a solid stem like 

 the common mushroom, with the cap of a pale 

 brown at the upper surface, and the gills yellow- 

 ish. It grows on a moister soil than the common 

 mushroom, and therefore is in itself to be looked 

 upon with some suspicion. There is, however, 

 another circumstance which renders the eating 

 of this mushroom unsafe. On the upper surface 

 it very much resembles the agaricus virosus, 

 the most poisonous of all the ti-ibe, and they 

 both grow in similar situations. The gills of 

 the poisonous fungus are, however, broader in 

 proportion to the size of the plant than in the 

 pratensis, and they are very dark coloured, or 

 black. The fleshy part of the cap is also thin- 

 ner, and there is a collar on the stem of the 

 poisonous one; while that of the pratensis is 

 naked. Many of the different species of agaric, 

 are, however, so similar to each other, some being 

 wholesome, while others are highly noxious, 

 that persons who are not perfectly familiar with 

 all their respective characteristics, should hesi- 

 tate before they venture to gather the mushroom 

 for use. In judging of the qualities of a mush- 

 room, the smell is not a perfect or safe criterion. 

 If the smell be nauseous, that is a good ground 

 for rejection; but the opposite odour is no de- 

 cided proof of innoxious qualities. 



In other countries, many species of fungi are 

 not only considered eatable, but are also made 

 the objects of cultivation. A species of boletus 

 is raised by the Italians, and for its production 

 two kinds of stones are employed. The one is 

 of calcareous formation, containing vegetable 

 fibre, and is found on the chalk hills near Naples. 

 The other is an indurated turf from the volcanic 

 mountains near Florence. Both of these have 

 the quality of imbibing moisture, and if either 

 of them be kept in a cellar and constantly 

 watered, it will produce this fungus; but the 

 water with which they are moistened, must oc- 

 casionally be that in which the boletus has been 

 washed, and in which, of course, its seeds are 

 contained. This proves that, under particular 

 circumstances, some fungi have the power of 

 elaborating their own substance out of moisture 

 and the atmosphere. At Brescia, one species of 

 fungus, mnanita incarnata, is produced from the 

 bruised fragments of the mushroom . The agari- 

 cus ostreatus, another eatable species, is obtained 

 from the husks of the berries of the sweet bay, 

 (Jau/rus nolilis.) After the oil has been ex- 

 tracted by boiling, the husks are burned in a 

 trench, and are then submitted to considerable 

 pressure, and covered with a layer of earth about 

 half a foot thick, and the whole is protected 

 from excessive rain. From this trench mush- 

 rooms will spring up in October, and afford a 

 supply dui'ing that and the two following months, 

 for three successive years. At Genoa, mush- 

 rooms are produced in a similar manner, by 



