FORCING DEPARTMENT. 415 



CULTURE OF THE MUSHROOM. 



The Mushroom being in great demand throughout 

 the greater part of the year, for various culinary 

 purposes, it is necessary to have recourse to artifi- 

 cial means for prolonging its season, and to bring 

 it to perfection in every month of the year. 



Various methods are adopted for the cultivation of 

 this vegetable, such as growing it on shelves, 

 boxes,, and ridges, &c. of well prepared and fer- 

 mented dung out of doors, which most unquestion- 

 ably produces Mushrooms of a superior quality 

 to those grown in the German method. When 

 Mushrooms are to be grown on ridges out of doors, 

 it is necessary to have the beds of a sufficient thick- 

 ness, say, four feet in the centre, if formed sloping 

 to both sides ; but if made against a wall, four feet at 

 the back and gradually sloped to the ground level, 

 will contain a considerable body of materials for 

 retaining the heat, and affording nourishment to the 

 Mushrooms. As soon as the heat of the bed is 

 ascertained to be of a moderate temperature, the 

 surface should be levelled, and about two inches of 

 dry light loam put over it, and the spawn inserted 

 through the mould, or placed on the dung previ- 

 ously. It will be advisable not to spawn and mould 

 the entire surface at once, in case of the bed heating 

 and injuring the spawn; the space of two or three 

 feet from the top may be left for a few days, to allow 



