198 
THE AMATEUR’S KITCHEN GARDEN. 
door mushrooms proclaim that it is not. However, darkness 
promotes the kind of atmosphere that suits mushrooms, and 
hence the abundance and tine quality usually of mushrooms 
grown in dark houses. We shall commence the practical part 
of this chapter by describing the 
Mushroom House. — If the cultivation of mushrooms is 
considered of sufficient importance to necessitate the erection 
of a house expressly for that purpose, the question of a few 
pounds should not prevent the erection of one large enough 
to afford an abundant and continuous supply. The site is of 
little consequence, provided it is placed contiguous to the 
frame ground or stable yard. The length of the house should 
be not less than twenty feet ; the width should be twelve 
feet, neither more nor less. There should be two tiers of 
shelves on each side ; these, to be large enough to hold a 
good body of materials, should be not less than four feet in 
width, and, for convenience of making up the beds and 
gathering the produce, this width must not be exceeded. 
These will occupy eight feet, and a space of four feet in width 
will be left down the centre for a pathway. In very many 
instances the pathway is much too narrow, often less than 
three feet, and as the materials have to be carried in and out 
with baskets, it requires two men to do the work of one, and 
the two together will not be able to move a certain bulk of 
stuff so quickly as one man with a barrow. The height must 
be sufficient for the bottom of the top bed to be thirty inches 
from the surface of the lower one, and to have a clear space 
of three feet above its surface. When the upper bed is only 
eighteen inches or two feet above the one on the floor, and 
the roof is close down upon it, it is back-breaking work to do 
anything to them, and their removal takes up much more 
time than is the case when the men can move about freely. 
Bricks set on edge make the best floor, and upon this the 
lower series of beds are formed, with a stout plank fifteen 
inches in width along the front to keep the materials up. 
The upper tier of beds may be supported by stout uprights 
of wood or four-inch cross walls, and the platforms may be 
formed with either wood or slate. A brick platform resting 
on arches is undoubtedly the best of all ; but it is too costly 
to be recommended. The planks referred to for supporting 
the front of the bed should be held in their places by grooves 
formed to receive them, so that they can at any time be 
