1906.] 



Mushroom Spawn Making. 



595 



tubes to another, this first lot of bricks may be used later in 

 spawning others. No further transfers, however, should be 

 made from these bricks to others under any circumstances. 

 Such a continuous transference is injurious to the vigour of the 

 spawn and diminishes the quantity of mushrooms produced. 



The materials entering into the composition of the brick are 

 fermented stable manure, cow manure, and sometimes a small 

 quantity of well-selected loam. In the horse manure the 

 mycelium grows most readily. The cow manure binds the 

 materials together into a compact form. The loam, which is, 

 perhaps, least essential, is supposed to prevent cracking or 

 hardening of the surface. If fresh manure is used, the necessity 

 of using loam is, perhaps, to be emphasised. 



In experiments made under the auspices of the Department 

 of Agriculture, excellent results have been obtained by using a 

 mixture of from two-thirds to three-fourths stable manure and 

 the remainder cow manure. In this case the compost should 

 be subjected to fermentation previous to use. When loam is 

 employed, it may be used in more or less equal proportion to 

 the cow manure, and the quantity of stable manure should be 

 about equal to the other two ingredients. 



The dry bricks ordinarily measure about 5 J by 8^ by ij in. 

 They should be made of somewhat larger size, say 6 by 9 

 by 2 in., to allow for shrinkage. The mould consists merely of 

 an oak frame of four pieces strongly rivetted together. The 

 compost may be made thoroughly wet ; then, with the mould 

 on a board of suitable width, the manure is compressed into 

 it, and the mould removed from the brick then formed. The 

 bricks must be left to dry for a few days on the board and 

 then turned on edge for further drying. 



A common method in spawning is to insert into the brick 

 near both ends a piece of the virgin spawn. A cut is made 

 with the knife and the spawn inserted, a stroke of the knife 

 effectively closing the surface. This must be done as soon as 

 the brick can be readily handled. The most favourable con- 

 ditions for the growth of the spawn are practically the same 

 as for mushroom growing. A fairly moist atmosphere, main- 

 tained if necessary by spraying, and a more or less uniform 

 temperature (55 deg. to 60 deg. F.) are to be preferred. The size 



B B B 2 



