MUSHROOM. 



205 



teur to find that he has succeeded with a crop of this cu- 

 rious vegetable in mid-winter, when everything outside 

 is frost-locked and snow-bound. I have said that the 

 novelty is attractive, for in growing all other plants the 

 cultivator sees something tangible to start with, either 

 seeds, plants, or roots, but with the mushroom it may be 

 said he sees neither, for no seeds can be discovered either 

 with the naked eye or with a magnifier, and it requires 

 some faith to believe the minute thread-like substance 

 we call " spawn/ 5 to be either plants or roots. 



Mushrooms are always raised in the dark, and any 

 cellar, stable, or an out-house of any sort, wherein a 

 temperature of 45° to G5° can be commanded, will grow 

 them. There are various methods followed by mushroom 

 growers, but I will only give one, premising that if the 

 directions given are strictly followed, success is just as 

 certain as in growing a crop of peas or potatoes. Let 

 horse droppings be procured from the stables each clay, 

 in quantities not less than a barrow load ; to every bar- 

 row load of droppings, add half the quantity of fresh 

 loam, from a pasture or sod land, or soil of any kind 

 that has not been manured, (the objection to old ma- 

 nured soil being that it may contain the spores of spuri- 

 ous fungi.) Let the droppings and soil be mixed to- 

 gether day by day, as the manure can be procured ; or 

 if they can be had all at once in sufficient quantity, so 

 much the better. Let the heap, (which should be under 

 cover), be turned every day, so that it is not allowed to 

 heat violently until you have got together a sufficient 

 quantity to form a bed of the desired size. From the 

 prepared droppings and soil, begin to form the bed. A 

 convenient width is four feet, and the length may be as 

 great as desired. First spread a thin layer of the com- 

 post, pounding it down firmly with a brick or mallet, 

 layer after layer, until it reaches a depth of eight inches. 

 Be careful that the thickness is just about eight inches, 



