MUSHROOM 



485 



Mushrooms can be grown almost anywhere out of doors, and also 

 indoors where there is a dry bottom in which to set the beds, where a 

 uniform and moderate temperature can be maintained, and where the 

 beds can be protected from wet overhead, and from winds, drought, 

 and direct sunshine. Among the most desirable places in which to 

 grow mushrooms are barns, cellars, closed tunnels, sheds, pits, green- 

 houses, and regular mushroom houses. Total darkness is not impera- 

 tive, for mushrooms grow well in open light if shaded from sunshine. 

 The temperature and moisture are moro apt to be equable in dark places 

 than in open, light ones, and it is largely for this reason that mushroom 

 houses are kept dark. 



The best fertilizer for mushrooms, so far as the writer's experience 

 goes, is fresh horse manure. Get together a lot of this material (short 

 and strawy) that has been well trampled and wetted in the stable. 

 Throw it into a heap, wet it well if it is at all dry, and let it heat. 

 When it begins to steam, turn it over, shake it well so as to mix thor- 

 oughly and evenly, and then tramp it down solid. After this let it stand 

 till it again gets quite warm ; then turn, shake, trample as before, and add 

 water freely if it is getting dry. Repeat this turning, moistening, and 

 trampling as often as it is needful to keep the manure from burning." 

 If it gets intensely hot, spread it out to cool, after which again throw it 

 together. After being turned in this way several times, and the heat 

 in it is not apt to rise above 130° F., it should be ready to make up in 

 the beds. By adding to the manure at the second or third turning one- 

 fourth or one-fifth of its bulk of loam, the tendency to intense heating is 

 lessened and its usefulness not at all impaired. Some growers prefer 

 short manure exclusively, that is, the horse droppings, while others 

 like a good deal of straw mixed in with this. The writer's experience, 

 however, is that, if properly prepared, it matters httle which is used. 



Ordinarily the beds are only 8 to 10 inches deep; that is, they are 

 faced with 10-inch-wide hemlock boards, and are only the depth of this 

 board. In such beds put a layer of fresh, moist, hot manure, and 

 trample it down firm until it constitutes half the depth of the bed; 

 then fill up with the prepared manure, which should be rather cool 

 (100° to 115° F.) when used, and pack all firmly. If desired, the beds 

 can be made up entirely of the prepared manure. Shelf beds are 

 usually 9 inches deep ; that is, the shelf is bottomed with l-i?ich boards 



