1380 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



should be made from eiglit to ten inclies 



deep. 



Ridge beds enable one to get a some- 

 what greater surface space in a given 

 area, but tbey are also more expensive so 

 far as the labor of construction is con- 

 cerned. Nevertheless, under many cir- 

 cumstances they are obviously desirable. 

 They should be about two feet wide at 

 the base, tapering gradually to the apex, 

 and not more than about 18 to 20 inches 

 high when compressed and cased. The 

 custom is to make two such beds in con- 

 tact, and then to leave a walk way of 

 eight or ten inches between the next two, 

 and so on till the space is occupied. Next 

 to the walls slanting beds may be pre- 

 pared. 



In any case, the manure is made up 

 in the form of the bed desired, and should 

 be firmed or compressed to some extent 

 immediately in order to prevent drying 

 out and burning when the secondary fer- 

 mentation takes place. At this time the 

 manure should be neither wet nor dry, 

 but merely moist. The only practical 

 test of the proper moisture content of 

 the manure which can be relied upon is 

 when upon compression water can not 

 readily be squeezed out of it 



Spawning 



After the beds are prepared the tem- 

 perature should be, and it usually will be, 

 two high for spawning. After a sudden 

 rise the temperature should gradually 

 fall during the course of a week or more 

 to about 70 degrees or 75 degrees F. At 

 this temperature spawning may take 

 place, but under absolutely no circum- 

 stances should a bed be spawned at a 

 temperature greater than 80 degrees F. 

 If brick spawn is used, the bricks are 

 broken into pieces about two inches 

 square, or into from 10 to 12 pieces per 

 brick. These pieces are inserted from 

 one to two inches below the surface, 

 about ten inches to one foot apart, and 

 the bed is then compressed into final 

 shape. Under the most favorable circum- 

 stances it is unnecessary and undesirable 

 to water the beds for several weeks after 

 spawning, or until they are loamed and 

 cased. If they dry out rapidly and some 



water is necessary, it should be given as 

 a surface spraying, for water in quan- 

 tity applied to the young spawn will al- 

 most invariably cause the latter to damp 

 off. 



Casing the Beds 



An examination of the bed about two 

 weeks after spawning is desirable, and 

 if it is found that the spawn is "run- 

 ning" the beds may be cased with loam. 

 Casing consists in applying a layer of 

 loam from one to one and one-half inches 

 deep to the surface of the bed. This 

 loam should have been secured some time 

 in advance and carefully worked over or 

 screened to get rid of the largest peb- 

 bles, lumps and trash. When applied it 

 should be barely moist. Subsequently, if 

 watered at all, it should be merely sprin- 

 kled in order to prevent any drying out 

 of the bed. Neither a heavy clay nor a 

 sandy loam should be used for casing pur- 

 poses, but almost any other soil is good. 



Watering 



As previously indicated, the spreading 

 spawn should receive no water, or, at 

 least, as little as possible. When, how- 

 ever, the mushrooms begin to appear, 

 more water will be required, and a light 

 sprinkling may be given once or twice 

 each week or as often as the conditions 

 demand. Beds which come into bearing 

 in proper condition should never be 

 drenched. It has been found by experi- 

 ence that under the most favorable condi- 

 tions a bed will require occasional sprink- 

 ling, since, owing to continual evapora- 

 tion, there will be a gradual loss of water, 

 at least after the mushrooms begin to 

 appear. Sprinklings should be made 

 after the mushrooms have been gathered, 

 and the loam disturbed by the removal 

 of mushrooms should always receive a 

 light sprinkling. 



Picking and Preparing for Harket 



When a bed is in full bearing, the 

 mushrooms should be gathered at least 

 once in two days, and it is well to pick 

 them every day, particularly if the tem- 

 perature is up to 60 degrees F. or more. 

 Picking is itself an art, and the intelli- 

 gent groweir will soon find that the yield 

 of a bed may be greatly lessened by lack 



