AND VEGETABLE-GARDEN MANUAL. 125 
flesh, of medium quality, and short thick seed. The rind may be 
taken off like that of an orange. 
MUSHROOM. 
About the end of summer, take some stable manure that is not 
fresh and fiery, and throw it up into a compact heap to ferment. 
Early in autumn, when the manure is sufficiently fermented, and 
has lost all the disagreeable effluvia, mark out a bed three or four 
feet wide, in any dry, warm situation. The length must be regu- 
lated according to the quantity intended to grow. A shed with a 
southern aspect would be a very eligible place for a bed. The 
manure must be well shaken up; and, if long, should be beaten 
well, and drawn in, by degrees, until it assumes the shape of the, 
roof of a house. It must not only be beaten at the top, as it is 
gradually carried up, but should be beaten at the sides; for it is 
there that the bed should be perfectly even and firm. Having, in 
this manner, finished the bed, it must be protected, not only from . 
the rains, but from the sun, by covering it over with long straw, 
thatch, or moss, for it must be neither too wet nor too dry. It 
should remain in this state for about a week, or until the fermen- 
tation has moderated to about blood heat. Then put on a layer 
of strong, rich, fresh mould, about two inches thick, in which 
holes must be made about eight inches apart every way. Into 
each of these holes place some little pieces of the spawn of mush- 
rooms, which must be covered over with a layer of mould about 
an inch in thickness, and beaten down smoothly with a spade. 
The covering of straw, or matting, must still be kept over the bed, 
for it must not be exposed immoderately to either the sun or the 
rain. Success now greatly depends on the proper moisture of the 
bed. In summer, the covering should occasionally be taken off, to 
admit of gentle showers falling upon it. In very dry seasons, it 
should be gently watered with lukewarm water. The spawn must 
be dry, with a pleasant odor, like a fresh Mushroom; not advanced 
into white threads, similar to the spawn which is collected in the 
