202 THE AMATEUR’S KITCHEN GARDEN. 
manure must be beaten firm, and when the heat begins to 
decline and the temperature of the mass is about 80°, spawn 
the ridges by inserting lumps of spawn in the manure in a 
similar manner and at the same distance apart as advised for 
the indoor beds. Then cover with two inches of nice loamy 
soil, and beat it well, and to make it thoroughly firm sprinkle 
it with water and then smooth it with the back of the spade. 
A covering of straw or long stable manure, about nine inches 
in thickness, must be applied ; and to keep this dry lay mats 
or thatched hurdles over it. Outdoor beds require more at- 
tention and labour than those under cover, but the produce 
obtainable from them will afford adequate remuneration for 
all the labour that maybe expended upon them. The manure 
will at the end of the season be available for dressing the 
kitchen garden, but it will not be so rich in nitrogen as 
manure which has simply been brought from the stable and 
thrown into a heap, and its value as a fertilizer will conse- 
quently be less. The outdoor beds may be made up during 
the same period as mentioned when speaking of the beds in 
sheds ; and the last one may be assisted as the cold weather 
comes on by a good covering of warm fermenting materials. 
Frame Culture. — It is not generally known that excellent 
mushrooms may be produced in pits and frames in which 
cucumbers and melons have been grown. There is nothing 
new about this plan of growing mushrooms, for it is well 
described by the late Rev. W. Williamson, in Hort. Trans., 
vol. iii. The frame in which the main crop of melons is 
grown is prepared for the melons in the usual way, but at 
the last earthing up, which is deferred rather later than usual, 
the spawn is inserted about six inches apart in the fermenting 
materials then remaining uncovered, and care is taken to 
insert it rather thickly along the margin of the mound. 
The soil is then put in the frame and in due course the 
spawn finds its way over the bed. The dryness necessary 
during the ripening of the crop of melons prevents the ap- 
pearance of many mushrooms before the melons are carried 
off, but as soon as the vines are removed, the beds moistened, 
and the frame closed, they will spring up in all directions, 
and continue to make their appearance for a considerable 
period ; sometimes through the winter. The proper tempera- 
ture must, of course, be maintained, and this will be a very 
easy matter in the case of beds heated with hot water. The 
