18 
get along with as few turnings as possible; at the same time never 
allow any part of the manure to burn, even if we have to turn the 
heap every day. These turnings should be continued until the manure 
has lost its tendency to heat violently, and its hot rank smell is gone— 
usually in about three weeks’ time. If the manure, or any part of it ? 
is too dry at the turning, the dry part should be sprinkled with water 
and kept in the middle of the heap. Plain water is generally used for 
moistening the manure, but I sometimes use liquid from the stable 
tanks, which not only answers the purpose of wetting the dry materi. 
als, but it is also a powerful stimulant and welcome addition to the 
manure. But the greatest vigilance should be observed to guard 
against overmoistening the manure; far better fail on the side of dry. 
ness than on that of wetness. 
If the manure is too wet to begin with it should be spread out thinly 
and loosely and exposed to sun and wind, if practicable, to dry. Dry¬ 
ing by exposure in this way is not as enervating as u burning” in a 
hot pile; and better have recourse to any method of drying the manure 
than use it wet. If, on account of the weather or lack of convenience for 
drying, the manure can not be dried enough, add dry loam, dry sand, 
dry half-rotted leaves, dry peat moss, dry chaff, or dry finely-cut hay 
or straw, and mix together. 
The proper condition of the manure as regards dryness or moistness 
can be readily known by handling it. Take a handful of the manure 
and squeeze it tight 5 it should be unctous enough to hold together in 
a lump and so dry that you can not squeeze a drop of water out of it. 
Some private gardeners iii England lay particular stress upon collect¬ 
ing the fresh droppings at the stable everyday and spreading them out 
upon a shed or barn floor to dry, and in this way keeping them dry and 
from heating until enough has accumulated for abed, when the bed is made 
up entirely of this material or of part of this and part of loam. But mar¬ 
ket gardeners, the ones whose bread and butter depend upon the crops 
they raise, never practice this method, and that patriarch in the busi¬ 
ness, Bichard Gilbert, denounces the practice unstintedly. Different 
growers have different ideas of preparing manure for mushroom beds, 
but the aim of all is to get it into the best possible condition with 
the least labor and expense, and to guard against depriving it of any 
more ammonia than can be helped. 
SPAWNING THE BEDS. 
After the mushroom bed is made up it should, within a few days, 
warm to a temperature of 110° to 120° F. Carefully observe this, and 
never spawn a bed when the heat is rising or when it is warmer than 
100°, but always when it is on the decline and under 90°. In this there 
is perfect safety. Have a ground thermometer and keep it plunged into 
the bed ; by pulling it out and looking at it one can easily know exactly 
