i6o Diseases of Greenhouse Crops 



is over. At this stage, the manure loses its rank 

 odor and is ready to be put in the bed. 



Preparation of the Beds. The beds should be lo- 

 cated preferably under the center benches, and in- 

 closed in rough boards eight inches wide and one 

 inch thick. The boards are set on edge and raised 

 slightly above the floor so that with a bed ten inches 

 thick the top of the bed would not extend much 

 above the upper edge of the board. A layer of pre- 

 pared manure is then spread evenly over the bot- 

 tom of the bed, to the depth of three inches, and 

 firmly pressed down by pounding with a brick. Two 

 other layers of manure, each three inches thick and 

 firmly pressed down are laid on the first, making 

 the bottom about eight inches thick. A thermometer 

 is placed in the manure and the temperature watched 

 until it registers about 90 degrees F. 



Spawning the Bed. When the temperature of 

 the manure in the bed ceases to rise above 90 degrees, 

 it is ready to be planted with the spawn. The lat- 

 ter is usually bought in bricks, sixteen of which make 

 a bushel. Each brick is broken into twelve equal 

 parts, which are inserted about an inch deep in 

 the manure bed with intervals of nine inches. The 

 manure is then packed firmly over the pieces, leav- 

 ing the surface of the bed smooth again. Two 

 weeks after planting the spawn, the beds are coated 

 with two inches of the mellow loam prepared as 

 stated above. The loam should be neither dry nor 

 wet, but simply moist. It should not be applied 

 until it is certain that the spawn has commenced 



