130 
FORCING MUSHROOMS. 
stable or dry cellar, or a flued slied, it will begin to produce 
and often sooner ; but if the situation of the bed be cold, it 
will sometimes be two or three months in producing Mush- 
rooms. 
It may be necessary to state farther, that extremes of heat, 
cold, drought, and moisture, should be avoided in the culti- 
vation of Mushrooms. If the temperature keeps up to 50° in 
the winter, the beds will be safe, and the heat in the beds 
may rise to 60° or even 70° without injury. Air also must 
be admitted in proportion to the heat, and 60° should be 
aimed at as a medium temperature. Water, when given a 
little at a time, is better than too much at once, after the 
spawn has begun to spread ; and the water for this purpose 
should always be made blood warm. A light covering of 
straw may be used to preserve moisture on the surface ; and 
if the beds are made in open frames, or otherwise subject to 
exposure, the straw may be laid thicker than on beds made 
in a cellar. 
Should beds fail in producing Mushrooms after having 
been kept over hot or wet, it may be inferred that the spawn 
is injured or destroyed: but if, on the contrary, a bed that 
has been kept moderately warm and dry, should happen to 
be unproductive, such bed may be well replenished with 
warm water, and a coat of warm dung may be laid over the 
whole. If this does not enliven the bed after having lain a 
month, take off the earth ; and if, on examination, there is 
no appearance of spawn, the whole may be destroyed; but 
if, on the contrary, the bed should contain spawn, it may be 
renovated by covering it again, especially if any small tuber- 
cles be discernible ; if the heat should have declined, the 
spawn may be taken out and used m a fresh bed. If beds 
oe formed in hot-bed frames und^ glass, some mats or straw 
must be laid over the glass to br'.ak off the intense heat of 
the sun. 
Although only one species of dible fungi has yet been 
introduced into the garden, there are several eatable kinds 
