592 



Mushroom Spawn Making. 



[JAN., 



tion from the United States being accompanied by smaller 

 receipts from Canada, France, and Hungary. The average 

 declared value of wheat was 7s. 3d. per cwt.,and of flour 10s. id. 

 per cwt. 



Barley seems to have been received in smaller quantities than 

 in 1904 from all the contributing countries, but the imports of 

 oats, particularly Russian oats, increased. Taking these two 

 grains together, Russia, in the preceding year, contributed 46 

 per cent, of the total supply, a proportion which was increased 

 to 55 per cent, in the year under review. 



Maize, our most important feeding stuff, was received in 

 approximately similar quantities to the preceding year, but 

 although the Argentine Republic sent us in 1905 the largest con- 

 tribution (18,954,600 cwt.) to the total, it was closely followed 

 by the United States (18,310,000 cwt). Owing to the bad 

 harvest of 1904, no maize was received from Roumania in 

 1905 — the exportation being entirely prohibited until Novem- 

 ber last. The receipts from Russia during the year were 

 insignificant. 



The average value of these grains during the past two years 

 have been as follows : — Barley, 5s. yd. per cwt. in 1905 and 5s. 3d. 

 per cwt. in 1904 ; oats, 5s. 6d. per cwt. in 1905 and 5s. 3d. per cwt. 

 in 1904 ; maize, 5s. 3d. per cwt. in 1905 and 4s. 9d. per cwt. in 

 1904. 



The decline in the imports of potatoes is one of the features 

 of Table V. Germany sent practically nothing, while the 

 receipts from France diminished from 4,1.57,700 cwt. in 1904 to 

 1,937,300 cwt. in 1905. 



The imports of all the various kinds of fruit enumerated 

 above were on a smaller scale than in 1904, and the receipts of 

 hops were also much less. Our purchases of wood, both hewn 

 and sawn, were also less important than for several years past. 



Experience has shown mushroom-growers that it is un- 

 profitable to take growing spawn continually from one bed for 

 the propagation of the next crop. Little 



Mushroom j s k nown as to the causes which lead the 

 Spawn Making. , ' . 



spawn to lose its power of vigorous mush_ 



room production in two or three years, but for practical 



