600 



PRACTICE OF GARDENING. 



Part II L 



341^. Oldacre^s mode of propagation is as follows : " Take any quantity of fresh horse-droppings mixed 

 with short litter (as recommended for the beds), add one third of cows' dung, and a small portion of 

 earth to cement it together ; mash the whole into a thin compost, and then spread it on the floor of an 

 open shed, and let it remain till it becomes firm enough to be formed into flat, square bricks, which being 

 done, set them on edge, and frequently turn them until half dry ; then, with a dibble make one or two 

 holes in each brick, and insert in each hole a piece of good old spawn, the size of a common walnut ; the 

 bricks should then remain until they are dry. This being completed, level the surface of a piece of ground 

 three feet wide, and of length sufficient to receive the bricks, on which lay a bottom of dry horse-dung 

 six inches high ; then form a pile, by placing the bricks in rows one upon another (the spawn-side upper- 

 most) till the pile is three feet high ; next cover it with a small portion of warm horse-dung, sufficient in 

 quantity to diffuse a gentle glow through the whole. When the spawn has spread itself through every 

 part of the bricks, the process is ended, and they must be laid up in any dry place for use. Mushroom- 

 spawn, made according to this receipt, will preserve i:s vegetative power many years, if well dried before 

 it is laid up ; if moist, it will grow, and soon exhaust itself." 



3419. Neill mentions an original method of propagating spawn, practised by Hay, in Scotland. 

 " A quantity of cow-droppings is to be gathered from the pastures ; some rotten wood, or spray from the 

 bottom of a hedge, is to be collected, with a little strong loam. These are mixed, and formed into a moist 

 ductile sort of mortar or paste, of such consistence that it can be cut into pieces like bricks. When these 

 are so far dried that they can conveniently be lifted, a row is laid in some dry place under cover, perhaps 

 in a shade at the back of a hot-house ; a little spawn is placed upon the layer ; then another layer of the 

 spawn-bricks, and so on. In a few weeks the whole mass is penetrated by the spawn. The spawn-bricks 

 may then be laid aside for use; they will keep many months; and the drier they are kept the more 

 certainly do they afford a crop of mushrooms when placed in favorable circumstances for doing so." 



3420. Roger's mode of preparing spawn is as follows : — I collect pure cow-dung, not fresh, but such 

 as I happen to find in the park, the fields, or the farm-yard ; with this I mix the scrapings of roads, in the 

 proportion of one half to one, adding to it about one third or a fourth of vcgetalile mould, obtained from 

 leaves or decayed stacks. These ingredients being well worked up together, the compost is formed into 

 bricks about nine inches long, three and a half broad, and two thick. The bricks are exposed to the air 

 and sun, and suffered to attain such a degree of solidity, as to bear a considerable pressure, but not to dry 

 hard. They are then removed to a shed for the purpose of being laid up in strata. Three or four rows are 

 first placed on the ground with interstices of about one inch in width between the rows and the bricks ; 

 into these interstices, or spaces, loose spawn, such as is found in the litter of old mushroom-beds, is scat- 

 tered ; and over the whole surface of the layer such spawny litter is likewise spread. Should there be no 

 old mushroom-beds at hand to furnish the scatterings, some spawn-bricks must be broken to pieces in 

 order to supply them. The first layer having been thus treated, another is put upon it, and likewise in- 

 terspersed and covered with spawn and litter from old beds. A third and fourth stratum may be laid on, 

 or more, and regulated in the same manner. The whole pile being completed according to the quantity 

 that is required, it is covered over with hot stable-dung and litter ; and in two, three, or more weeks, ac- 

 cording to the state of the weather, the bricks are filled with spawn, and may be laid by for use. I will 

 not hazard an opinion, whether the cow-dung itself contains the elements of spawn, or only acts the part 

 of a matrix, or receptacle ; but this I can state, that mushroom-spawn is generated in oth^ dung besides 

 horse-dung; for I once found it plentifully in pigeon's dung. As I have used this preparation of spawn 

 for a length of time, the essence of cow-dung must entirely preponderate in my composition ; though the 

 origin of the spawn should at first have been derived from horse-dung. I may add, that, when managed 

 in the manner I have described, it yields spawn as productive as any that can be obtained. I was formerly 

 taught to believe that it was essential to mix a portion of horse-dung in the bricks, but my experience 

 has since convinced me, that cow-dung alone answers the purpose. The spawn is generated in it plenti- 

 fully, and of good quality. 



3421. Care of the bricks. It is of importance that the bricks alluded to should not be left in a situation 

 which would cause the spawn to work, an effect which would be produced by moisture, combined with 

 warmth. Therefore, when the spawn is bred, the bricks must be laid in a dry place to prevent the process 

 of germination. The spawn must not be suffered to advance towards the rudiments of the mushroom, 

 which consist in little threads or fibres, for in this state it ceases to be useful in spawning a bed. As soon 

 as those rudiments are formed, they must be left undisturbed, or they perish. They will grow into a 

 mushroom on the spot where they are developed ; but when removed or torn up, they are destroyed. A 

 piece of spawn which appears in filaments or fibres is no longer applicable to a mushroom-bed ; it may 

 produce a mushroom in itself, but can serve no other purpose. The spawn that is to be inserted in a bed, 

 and to receive its developement there, must not be gone so far, but should only have the appearance of 

 indistinct white mould. {Hort. Trans, vol. iv. 472.) 



3422. The importance of keeping spawn diy is attested by Miller, who found, that 

 spawn which had lain for four months near the furnace of a stove, yielded a crop in less 

 time, and in greater profusion, than any other. 



. 3423. The methods of rearing mushroonis are still more various than those of propa- 

 gating the spawn. They are most commonly grown in ridges in the open air, covered 

 with litter and mats ; and next in frequency in ridges of the same sort under cover, as 

 in the open sheds of hot-houses. They are also grown in close sheds behind hot- 

 houses ; in flued sheds built on purpose, or mushroom -houses ; on shelves in flued mush- 

 room-houses ; in pots, boxes, hampers, baskets, placed in any warm situation ; in 

 cucumber, or melon beds ; in old hot-beds of any sort ; in pits with glass frames ; and 

 in dark frames or pits. 



3424. Ridges in the ojien air. M'Phail says, ** Some think that mushrooms do better 

 in the open air than in covered sheds, which I have frequently experienced to be the 

 case. In sheds, mushroom-beds ai-e apt to become too dry ; in the open ground, the 

 humidity of the air, and a little wet sinking through the covering, keeps them in a damp 

 state." {G. Rem. p. 110.) 



3425. Preparing the dung. Provide good horse-dung, purged of its fiery heat by the 

 usual preparation ; with which some old linings from a melon-bed may be mixed, if it is 

 not winter. {^Abercrombie.^ M'Phail says, " Take two cart-loads of fresh stable-dung, 

 to which add an equal quantity of old dry linings from melon or cucumber beds, mixing 

 them well together in a heap ; and after letting it lie about a fortnight, it will be in a fit 

 state to make into beds. To make a mushroom-bed of new dung, let the same be well 

 prepared, by laying it together in a heap to ferment, and by turning and mixing it 

 well, shaking the outside of the heap, which is cold, and the inside, which is hot, to- 



