248 Mushroom Culture. 



flakes, sods, or cakes, and to gradually dry it for spawning newly- 

 made beds. It must be gradually dried, but not in the full sun, 

 or in a quick draught ; for, if so, it will surely perish. Instead of 

 submitting it to this drying process, however, were we to place it at 

 once on the floor of a cave, cellar, mushroom-house, or in any other 

 suitable situation, quantities of mushrooms would be the result in 

 a few days. It is by simply watching and assisting nature in her 

 interesting ways that such useful results occur. For instance, im- 

 mense quantities of natural spawn are allowed to perish and ex- 

 haust themselves for lack of observation or the simple knowledge 

 of how to utilize it. Twenty tons may be hidden in a dunghill, 

 and through the unsuitableness of the atmosphere not a. hatful of 

 mushrooms may ever be produced therefrom ; but had this spawn 

 been discovered, and placed in situations in which a suitable 

 atmosphere could have been commanded, sufficient mushrooms 

 might have been produced to feast the inhabitants of a large 

 town, and that at a ver)' reasonable rate. Even supposing we were 

 in a locality in which natural spawn could not be readily dis- 

 covered, a suitable dung or muck heap could be spawned, and 

 when in good condition turned to valuable account, as previously 

 described. From what has been said it will be clear that we 

 are yet very blind to nature's ways, and that we have, moreover, 

 much to learn. 



" I am aware that it has been considered difficult to produce fine 

 crops of mushrooms of the best quality throughout the year, on 

 account of our sudden atmospheric changes; for example, during 

 the past season few natural mushrooms have been produced. 

 Mushrooms will not stand either heat, cold, wind, wet, or drought. 

 A dry summer, succeeded by fine early autumn rains, not exces- 

 sive ; these followed by quiet, warm days and humid, foggy nights 

 when the warmth of the atmosphere by day is from 60° to 6?° 

 and then only for a short time at noon, and when that of the nights 

 ranges from ^0° to _5_5°— these are the conditions under which the 

 greatest abundance of good mushrooms is sure to be produced natu- 

 rally. Taking, therefore, the year through, the cave, cellar, and 



