572 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
August 28 
Do You Want a Bicycle? 
If you want a bicycle, we want you to know how to get it. We told all about 
it in The R. N.-Y., of August 7 and 14. but we want to remind you again that you 
can take subscriptions for The Rural New Yorker among your neighbors at 25 
cents each, and make cash enough in commissions and premiums to pay for your 
time, and have the bicycle besides. Here is a cut of the wheel, man’s style. We 
furnish lady’s style if you want it. Remember that we will send you the wheel 
when you send 250 names and your promise to go ahead and use the wheel to try 
for the cash premiums. Crops are good, prices of farm products are going up, 
and are sure to go higher, so that every farmer will want a good farm paper 
Few farmers will refuse to subscribe for The R. N.-Y., for the remainder of the 
year for 25 cents. Now is your chance for a wheel. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, New York. 
HOW TO GROW MUSHROOMS. 
A detailed account of mushroom cul¬ 
ture is given in Farmers’ Bulletin No. 
53, issued by the United States Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture, and written by W. 
Falconer. As stated in the introduction 
to this bulletin, the mushroom in com¬ 
merce is practically the fruit of the mush¬ 
room plant, and not the plant itself. 
The plant itself is a white or bluish- 
white mold, called mycelium or spawn, 
that grows in fields or manure piles. In 
its younger stage, it is a network of 
white threads, and it is from the joints 
in these threads that the mushrooms 
grow. Mushrooms are a winter crop, 
requiring attention from September to 
April or May. The work of preparing 
the manure begins in September and 
ends in February, while gathering the 
crop begins in October or November and 
ends in May. Under proper conditions, 
however, a crop may be obtained all 
summer. 
The spores of the mushroom, equiva¬ 
lent to seed, consist of a dark powder, 
diffused from the gills. Mushrooms, 
however, are not raised from spores, but 
propagated by division of the mycelium 
or spawn. All the spawn in general use 
is imported, and comes in two forms, 
English brick and French flake. The 
English spawn is put up in bricks of dry 
dust manure. These are broken in from 
12 to 15 pieces for planting. The French 
spawn is in flakes of strawy manure, 
which are broken into pieces two or 
three inches square, and planted like 
the brick spawn. Brick spawn costs 
about 10 to 12 cents a pound in small 
lots ; flake spawn 35 to 40 cents. About 
320,000 pounds of brick spawn are now 
annually imported, while six years ago 
the importation only amounted to 64,000 
pounds. 
Mushrooms can be grown almost any¬ 
where out of doors or indoors, where 
there is a dry bottom on which to set 
the beds, where a uniform and moderate 
temperature can be maintained, and 
where the beds can be protected from 
wet overhead, and from wind, drought, 
and direct sunshine. Among the most 
desirable places are barns, cellars, closed 
tunnels, sheds, pits, greenhouses, and 
regular mushroom houses. Total dark¬ 
ness is not imperative, for mushrooms 
will grow well in the light if shaded 
from hot sunshine. The chief reason 
for growing mushrooms in dark places 
is that the temperature and moisture are 
more likely to be equable than in the 
light. 
A cellar is an excellent place to grow 
mushrooms. The windows and doors 
should be closed up and, if only a part 
of the cellar be devoted to the beds, this 
should be partitioned off with boards, 
or the beds either covered with mats or 
boarded up. If the cellar is not heated, 
beds 14 inches deep should be built on 
tunnel is practically the same as a cel¬ 
lar, except that these are seldom arti¬ 
ficially heated. In such places, the beds 
are rarely built on raised shelves. A 
mushroom shed, built entirely above 
ground or partly sunken, is a tight, 
warm structure, usually built of boards ; 
another place for beds is under the 
benches in a greenhouse. 
The best material for mushroom beds 
is fresh horse manure. This should be 
thrown into a heap, wetted if at all dry, 
and allowed to heat. When it begins 
to steam it is turned, shaken up, and 
tramped solid again. If it get very dry, 
it must be well wetted. This process of 
turning, shaking up, moistening, and 
tramping solid again is repeated until 
the heat does not rise above 130 degrees 
F., when it is ready to make into beds. 
It must never be allowed to “ burn” ; 
one-fourth its bulk of loam is sometimes 
added at the second or third turning, to 
prevent the liability of this. 
If the beds be made on the floor, the 
latter should be dry. The beds are 
usually from 8 to 14 inches deep, either 
made entirely of the prepared manure, 
or one-half the depth of fresh, hot 
manure, tramped down firmly, with the 
(Continued on next page.) 
Death’s face is not a pleasant thing to 
look upon, yet thousands of men and wo¬ 
men go about daily with the reflection of 
death in their faces. The dull eyes, the 
sallow complexion, the sunken cheeks, the 
emaciated form, all tell the story of the in¬ 
sidious advances of that implacable foe— 
consumption. Doctors have declared that 
consumption is incurable. It is not. Thou¬ 
sands of consumptives have testified to 
their complete recovery after they were 
given up by the doctors and all hope was 
gone. It is simply a matter of going to the 
seat of the trouble which is imperfect 
and improper nutrition. 
Dr. Pierce’s Golden Medical Discovery 
does this. It corrects all disorders of the 
digestion. It invigorates the liver. It 
makes assimilation perfect. It fills the 
blood with the elements that build new 
healthy tissue in every organ of the body. 
It is the great blood-maker and flesh-builder. 
It cures 98 per cent, of all cases of consump¬ 
tion. All good druggists sell it. 
H. Gaddis, Bsq., of No. 313 S. J. Street, Tacoma, 
Washington, writes: “I was takes ill in 1882 
with headache and pain in my back. I called ia 
a doctor aad he came three times. He said I was 
bilious, but I kept getting worse. I took a cough 
so that I could not sleep only by being propped 
in bed. My lungs hnrt me, and f got so poor that 
I was skin and none. I thought I was going to 
die. I saw the ‘ Golden Medical Disoorery ’ rec¬ 
ommended for a cough. I tried a bottle of it and 
it did me so much good that I tried another one 
and it made me sound and well, so I recommend 
it to everybody. It saved my Hfe.” 
is one of the three im¬ 
portant ingredients of 
a complete fertilizer; 
the others are phos¬ 
phoric acid and nitro¬ 
gen. Too little Potash is sure to result in a partial crop 
failure. 
An illustrated book which tells what Potash is, how it 
should be used, and how much Potash a well-balanced 
fertilizer should contain, is sent free to all applicants. 
Send your address. 
GERilAN KALI WORKS, 93 Nassau St., New York. 
Save Money ! We Sell Direct to Farmers I 
Why not economize 1 
Pure Raw Bone Meal.® 
Scientific Corn & Grain Port...» 
Scientific Economy Fertilizer . !« 
Scientific Tobacco Fertilizer..^ 
Scientific Potato Fertilizer_ y 
Bone and Meat Fertilizer. 
You save $10 to $12 on every ton of Fertilizer you buy from us. Per ton 
Ammonia, 4 to 5 p.c. Phos.Acid, 22 to 25 p.c. *22 
Ammonia, 2 to 3 p.c. Phos.Acid, 8 to 10 p.c. Potash, to 2LS p.c. 16 
Ammonia, 2!4 to p.c.Phos.Acid, 10 to 12 p.c. Potash, 3 to 4 p.c. 20 
Ammonia, 3 to 4 p.c. Phos.Acid, 10 to 12 p.c. Potash, 3U to 4 U p.c. 22 
Ammonia, 3 to 4 p.c. Phos.Acid, 10 to 12 p.c. Potash, 5 to 6 p.c. 25 
[Ammonia, to p.c.Phos.Acid, 13 to 15 p.c.18 
FOR SAMPLES AND BOOK WHITE 
THE SCIENTIFIC FERTILIZER CO,, P. 0. Box 1017.708 Bingham Street. Pittsburg, Pa. 
RAISE ALL 
THE WHEAT 
YOU CAN. 
You cau get more bushels to the acre of 
better ■wheat and a sure catch of grass 
by the use of our fertilizers 
than in any other way. 
Good Quality, Perfect Condition, 
Scientific Combination, 
And reasonable prices have kept these fer¬ 
tilizers, as now, in the front rank 
for the past 25 years. 
THE CLEVELAND DRYER CO., 
Manufacturers of Commercial Fertilizers, 
CLEVELAND, O. Office, 130 Summit St. 
I |U| p-Farmers wishing to fertilize and im 
» I I wl prove their land, should send at once 
and get a car-load of Pure White Rock Lime. Ana¬ 
lysis 95^ per cent pure Carbonate Lime. Price only 
$1.60 per ten. Shipped to any part of the country in 
good tight box cars. Address WHITE ROCK LIME 
AND CEMENT CO., McAfee Valley. N. J. 
$20 Phosphate for Wheat and Grass 
Sold to farmers direct. We have no agents. Sewp 
for Circular. Low prices for car-load lots. 
YORK CHEMICAL WORKS, York, Pa. 
SHERWOOD STEEL HARNESS 
FORMERLY OF SYRACUSE. 
Tanners, Lumbermen, Orchardists, Vincyardists, ami Hop 
* Growers, regard it as especially adapted to their wants, 
'h-account of the absence of whiflletrees. 
Steel Wheels 
Staggered Oval Spokes. 
BUY A SET TO FIT YOUR NEW OR OLD WAC01 
CHEAPEST AND BEST 
way to get a low wagon. Any size 
wheel, any width tire. Catal. free. 
ELECTRIC WHEEL CO., Quine,. III. 
FOR SALE 
Fruit farm, 36 acres. Write for price and descrip¬ 
tion. W. J. BLACK1STON, Denton. Md. 
FARMERS ATTENTION 
BUY YOUR 
. FERTILIZERS 
and Fertilizing Material direct at wholesale 
prices of 8. G. LION & BRO , AURORA, N. Y„ and 
thereby save money. Correspondence solicited. 
ADAM 
THE FENCE MAN 
Makes Woven Wire 
Fence that “Stands 
Up.” Cannot Sag. 
Get his new catalogue. It 
tells all about the Best 
Farm Fence Made. 
Also Steel Lawn and Cemetery Fences 
s w a ADAM. Joliet. Illinois. 
OUR LOYAL AGENTS. 
One secret of the success of Page Fence is tho 
fidelity of our thousands of Agents. Many ot them 
claim that it is the genuine satisfaction derived 
from handl i ng the very best article, rather than t he 
profit, that keeps them in the business. Customers 
are free to express thanks for having been induced 
to purchase. Enough lo make anybody happy. 
PAGE WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO., Adrian. Mich. 
• HAVE A GOOD FENCE 
m and you will have good neighbors. There are 
m no trespass suits when the KEYSTONE 
^ FENCE is used. Why! It holds stock and 
— turns stock. Any height desired. See all about 
0 it in our free book on fence building. 
: 
• KEYSTONE WOVEN WIRE FENCE CO., 
S No. 19 Rush Street, Peoria, Ill. _ 
« AltttMIMMfIII H 9 9 • • • ||J 
The Thrice-a-Week World 
gives you all the news of the whole world 
every other day. It is the next thing to a 
great daily paper—18 pages a week, 156 papers 
a year. It is independent, fearless and al 
STOCK FARM. 
A large Irrigated Stock Farm in South Dakota for 
sale. Address J. M. GREENE, Chamberlain, 8. D. 
Dairy and Truck Farm for Sale 
Containing 325 acres. Well adapted to dairying 
and all kinds of truck farming. Fine for straw¬ 
berries. Will sell with or without stock, imple¬ 
ments, etc. Price, $30 per acre. Best varieties 
of peaches, apples, plums, grapes, etc., for family 
use. Nicely situated. T. B. Parker, Goldsboro,N.C 
FARMFR WANTED, who understands milk pro- 
rMnlflLn duction, plain market gardening and 
poultry. Wages and a percentage. State experience 
tully. GENERAL FARMER, Newburgh, N. Y. 
PLANT CURRANTS IN OCTOBER. 
Plant President Wilder. 
Prices will be given by the introducer. Address 
S. I>. WILLARD, Geneva, N. Y. 
Strawberry Plants. 
Improved PARKER EARLE. Enormously pro¬ 
ductive; 15,000 quarts per acre. Write for catalogue 
telling you all aoout them, FREE. 
J. L. ARNOUT, Originator, Plainsvllle, Pa. 
MAMMOTH WHITE WINTER RYE, 
noted for its productiveness in grain and straw. 
Grown from Seed awarded us First Prizes at 
New York State Fair 1895 and 1896; American Insti¬ 
tute Fair, 1896; St. Louts, Mo., 189s. Price, $1 per bu. 
Ac dress E L. CLARKSON, Tivoli, N. Y. 
Refer by permission to The Rural New-Yorker. 
NEXT WEEK! 
WE SHALL PRINT 
A Visit to Sir J. B. Lawes. 
By Prof. C. S. Plumb. With some ac¬ 
count of the work done by England’s 
great agricultural scientist. 
The New Black Man! parth. 
Will discuss some of the social and 
religious qualities of the Southern 
Negro. 
OTHER SPECIAL ARTICLES ; 
A New Insecticide for Potato Bugs. 
What is “ Yellows” in the Peach ? 
the floor only. If heated, in addition to 
the beds on the floor, shelf beds, 8 to 10 
inches deep, may be used. A cave or 
A headache is a symptom of constipation. 
Dr. Pierce’s Pleasant Pellets cure constipa¬ 
tion, promptly and permanently. They do 
•ot gripe. Druggists sell them. 
ways with the plain people as against trusts 
and monopolists. We can send it in combina¬ 
tion with The Rural New-Yorker, both one 
year, for only $1.65, 
Starting a Fish Farm. 
Wintering 75 Shropshire Ewes. 
