HOW TO GBOW MUSEB00M8. 101 



Chapter 19— musbrooms. 



The Mushroom (Agaricus eampestris) is an elusive fungus. It will 

 flourish amazingly in some places, and in others will absolutely refuse 

 to respond to the coaxing of the cultivator. 



I once knew a man whose place — it was in a suburb of London — 

 was so alive with spawn that Mushrooms seemed to fly up every- 

 where, whether they were wanted or not. On the other hand, I 

 have known plenty of people take no end of trouble to get a crop, 

 and fail. 



To take pains is, of course, a capital trait in any person's character, 

 but it is not enough in itself, for the unhappy grower may be working 

 in the wrong direction. No trouble will compensate for unsuitable 

 manure, or bad spawn bricks. So important, however, are these 

 two factors, that if they are right the rest of the business is easy. 



•Mushrooms will not grow in rank manure, and it is useless to try 

 and make them. They will, however, grow in sweet manure if it is 

 at the proper temperature. Let us ponder these things. 



To make anything of a bed, two loads of manure will be wanted ; 

 half a dozen would be better. This manure should not be wet, slimy 

 stuff out of a stockyard, but straw and horse droppings from a stable. 

 It does not matter if it is secured in instalments, so long as they are 

 not so small, and so far apart, as to lose all their heat as fast as they 

 are got in. The heap should be turned five or six times to drive off 

 noxious gases, and if it does not heat it should be sprinkled with 

 water. 



When the bed is built up, sticks should be driven into the ground 

 2i feet apart, and inclined at an angle which will bring them to 

 within 6 inches of each other at the top. Build to their outline, 

 shaking the manure well out, and treading it firmly. 



Now for the spawn. I have had to handle many tons of " bricks," 

 and those which I like the best are the ones that are delicately 

 webbed over with a whitish film. If uniformly dark in colour I do 

 not care for them. 



The bed is ready for the spa^vn when the trial stick which has 

 been driven into the bed has cooled down from a temperature at 

 which it cannot be grasped without pain to one at which it is 

 pleasantly warm, say SO"". Never spawn when the heat is on the up 

 grade, or your spawn may be baked. Each brick will give eight 

 pieces, and each piece should be wrapped in a bit of litter and thrust 

 into the bed until it is well hidden. 



Watch the bed after the spawning, and in a few days look for 

 white threads running from the pieces of spawn. Directly they are 

 seen, cover the bed with 1 inch thickness of good loamy soil, damp 



