Sept.] 



THE CULINARY GARDEN. 



spawned part of the bed with it, about two inches thick, be- 

 ginning at the bottom of the bed. The earth should be in a ' 

 phable state: not too wet, nor over dry. When the heat 

 appears to have sufficiently dechned, proceed to spawn, and 

 earth the top of the bed in the same manner. Or, if it be 

 thought that the bed is not sufficiently fermented, spawn it a 

 few days before, or even a week or more before the mould be 

 put on it. 



After all fermentation has stopped, and on the approach of 

 wet or cold weather, the beds should be covered sufficiently 

 with clean straw, and over that, bass or reed mats should be 

 placed ; the latter will have the effect of completely throwing 

 off the rain. Care must be taken that, after this covering is 

 put on, they do not heat a second time, which is very liable 

 to take place, as the remaining heat and steam will be pre- 

 vented from escaping, and were that circumstance to happen 

 to any considerable extent, the spawn would run a great risk 

 of being completely destroyed. This covering must be occa- 

 sionally removed, at least so far as to admit of the beds being 

 examined, at least once a w^ek, for the first few weeks after 

 being covered. Little injury can be apprehended, at any sub- 

 sequent period, from too much heat. Beds constructed in this 

 manner sometimes lose their heat too soon, and when that is 

 the case, the mushrooms will be small, the beds unproductive, 

 and sometimes the mushrooms will not appear at all. On this 

 effect being perceived, the covering should be entirely re- 

 moved, and a coating of well-fermented stable-dung applied 

 over them to the thickness of a foot or more, according to the 

 season, and the quality of the dung ; this will throw a genial 

 warmth into the bed, and will set the spawn in action. This 

 being accomplished, the whole may be removed, and the beds 

 covered up as before. 



The length of time that elapses between making the beds 

 and producing the mushrooms, depends upon a variety of cir- 

 cumstances, such as the state of the weather, the quality of 

 the spawn, and the like. Generally, they begin to produce 

 in a month or six weeks after being put up, and continue to 

 produce for ten or twelve weeks, and often for a considerable 

 time longer. The process of gathering the crop is to uncover 



