fpring of the year, in moitt weather, you mould, 
v/ith an iron instrument made a little hollow, the bet- 
ter to furrounc the branches of the trees, fcrape off 
the Mofs, carrying it off the place ; and by two or 
three times thus cleanfmg them, together with care- 
fully ftirring the ground, it may be entirely deftroyed 
from the /trees ; but if you do not cut down part of 
the trees, and ftir the ground well, the rubbing off 
the Mofs will fignify little ; for the caufe not being 
removed, the effeCt will not ceafe, but the Mofs will 
in a fhort time be as troublefome as ever. 
MUSHROOMS are, by many perfons, fuppofed 
to be produced from the putrefaction of the dung, 
earth, &c. in which they are found •, but notwith- 
ftanding this notion is pretty generally received 
amongft: the unthinking part of mankind, yet by the 
curious naturalifts, they are efteemed perfeCt plants, 
though their flowers and feeds have not as yet been 
perfectly difcovered. But fince they may, and are 
annually propagated by the gardeners near London, 
and are (the efculent fort of them) greatly efteemed 
by moft curious palates, I fh all briefly fet down the 
method pradtifed by the gardeners who cultivate them 
for fale. 
But firft, it will not be improper to give a fhort de- 
fcription of the true eatable kind, fince there are fe- 
veral unwholfome forts, which have been by unfkilful 
perfons gathered for the table. 
The true Champignon, or Mufhroom, appears at firft 
of a roundilh form, like a button ; the upper part of 
which, as alfo the ftalk, is very white ; but being 
opened, the under part is of a livid fleih colour, but 
the flefliy part when broken is very white •, when 
thefe are fuffered to remain undiiturbed, they will 
grow to a large fize, and explicate theml'elves almoft 
to a flatnefs, and the red part underneath will change 
to a dark colour. 
In order to cultivate them, if you have no beds in 
your own, or in neighbouring gardens, which pro- 
duce them, you fhould look abroad in rich paftures, 
during the months of Auguft and September, until 
you find them (that being the feafon when they are 
naturally produced ;) then you fhould open the 
Aground about the roots of the Mufhrooms, where 
you will find the earth, very often, full of ftnall white 
knobs, which are the offsets, or young Mufhrooms ; 
thefe fhould be carefully gathered, preferving them in 
lumps with the earth about them : but as this fpawn 
cannot be found in the pafture, except at the feafon 
when the Mufhrooms are naturally produced, you 
may probably find fome in old dunghills, efpecially 
where there has been much litter amongft it, and the 
wet hath not penetrated it to rot it ; as like wife, by 
fearching old hot-beds, it may be often found ; for 
this fpawn has the appearance of a white mould, fhoot- 
ing out in long firings, by which it may be eafily 
known wherever it is met with : or this may be pro- 
cured by mixing fome long dung from the liable, 
which has not been thrown on a heap to ferment ; 
which being mixed with ftrong earth, and put under 
cover to prevent wet getting to it, the more the air 
is excluded from it, the fooner the fpawn will appear ; 
but this muft not be laid fo clofe together as to heat, 
for that will deftroy the fpawn : in about two months 
after the fpawn will appear, efpecially if the heap is 
clofeiy covered with old thatch, or fuch litter as hath 
lain long abroad, fo as not to ferment, then the beds 
may be prepared to receive the fpawn : thele beds 
fhould be made of dung, in which there is good ftore 
of litter, but this fhould not be thrown on a heap to 
ferment ; that dung which hath lain fpread abroad 
for a month or longer, is beft. Thefe beds fhould be 
made on dry ground, and the dung laid upon the 
furface ; the width of thefe beds at bottom fhould be 
about two feet and a half or three feet, the length in 
proportion to the quantity of Mufhrooms deflred ; 
then lay the dung about a foot thick, covering it 
about four inches with ftrong earth. Upon this lay 
more dung, about ten inches thick ; then another 
layer of earth, flill drawling in the Tides of the bed, fo 
as to rorm it like die ridge. of a houfe, which may Be* 
done by three layers of dung and as many of earth; 
When the bed is flnifhed k fhould - be covered with 
litter or old thatch, 
to keep out wet, as alfo to pre- 
vent its drying ; in this fituation it may remain eight 
or ten days, by which time the bed will be in a pro- 
per temperature of warmth to receive the ipawn ; for 
there fhould be only a moderate warmth in it, great 
heat deflroying the ffav/n, as will alfo wet'; therefore 
when the ipawn is found, it fhould always be kept- 
dry until it is uled, for the drier it is, the better it 
will take in ■ he bed ; for I had a parcel of. this fpawn, 
which had Jain near the oven of a ftove upward of 
four months, and was become fo dry, that I de* 
fpaired of its fuccefs ; but I never have yet feen 
any which produced fo foon, nor in fo great quantity 
as this. 
The bed being in a proper temperature for the fpawn, 
the covering of litter fhould be taken off, and the 
fides of the bed fmoothed ; then a covering of light 
rich earth about an inch thick fhould be kid all over 
the bed, but this fhould not be wet ; upon this the 
fpawn fhould be thrilfl, laying the lumps four or five 
inches afunder ; then gently cover this with the fame 
light earth above half an inch thick, and put the 
covering of litter over the bed, laying it fo thick as 
to keep out wet, and prevent the bed from drying : 
when thefe beds are made in the fpring or autumn, 
as the weather is in thofe feafons temperate, fo the 
fpawn will then take much fooner, and the Mufhrooms 
will appear perhaps in a month after making •, but 
thofe beds which are made in fummer, when the fea- 
fon is hot, or in winter, when the weather is cold, are 
much longer before they produce. 
The great fkill in managing of thefe beds is* that of 
keeping them in a proper temperature of rrioiflure, 
never fuffering them to receive too much wet : during 
the fummer feafon the beds may be uncovered, to re- 
ceive gentle fhowers of rain at proper times ; and in 
long dry feafons the beds fhould be now and then 
gently .watered, but by no means fuffer much wet to 
come to them ; during the winter feafon they muft be 
kept as dry as poffible, and fo clofeiy covered as to 
keep out cold. In frofty or very cold weather, if 
fome warm fitter fhaken out of a dung heap is laid 
on, it will promote the growth of the Mufhrooms ; 
but this muft not be laid next the bed, but a covering 
of dry litter between the bed and this warm litter 5 
and as often as the litter is found to decay, it fhould 
be renewed with frefh ; and as the cold increafes, the 
covering fhould be laid fo much thicker. If thefe 
tilings are obferved, there may be plenty of Mufti- 
rooms produced all the year ; and thefe produced 
in beds* are much' better for the table than any of 
thofe which are gathered in the fields. 
A bed thus managed, if the fpawn takes kindly, will 
continue good for feveral months, and produce great 
quantities of Mufhrooms ; from thefe beds when they 
are deftroyed, you fhould take the fpawn for ' a frefh 
fupply, which may be laic! up in a dry place until the 
proper feafon of u'fing it, which fhould not be fooner 
than five or fix weeks, that the fpawn may have time 
to dry before it is put into the bed, otherwife it will 
not fucceed well. 
Sometimes it happens, that beds thus made do not 
produce any Muffrooms till they have lain five or fix 
months, fo that thefe beds fhould not be deftroyed, 
though they fhould not at firft anfwer expectation ; 
for I have frequently known thefe to have produced 
great quantities of Mufhrooms afterward, and have 
continued a long time in perfection. 
MUSTARD. See Sinapi. 
MYAGRUM. Tourn. Inft. R. H, 2 1 1. tab. 99, 
Lin. Gen. Plant. 713. Gold of jPleafure. 
The Characters are, 
I The empalement of the flower is compofed of four oblongs 
oval, coloured leaves , which fall off. The flower hath 
four roundifh obtufe petals , placed in form of 'a crofs . 
It hath fix Jlamina the length of the petals, four of which 
are a little longer than the other , terminated bp Jingle fern- 
