GROWING MUSHROOMS IN GREENHOUSES. 
47 
glass was scarcely apparent; but ventilation is easily 
guided by the appearance of moisture on the glass, the 
more of this the more ventilation should be given. To 
begin with, there was no attempt at shading the frames ; 
but as soon as the mushrooms began to appear the beds 
were shaded, and mostly by the crops of other plants on 
the stages above them. These frame beds were made up 
last October, and began bearing in December, and on 
March 14 Mr. Gardner wrote me : “The mushrooms in 
my frames have done grandly. I cut large basketfuls 
to-day of the finest mushrooms I have ever seen, some 
of them measuring five inches in diameter before being 
fully expanded.” 
And further, in submitting the above notes to him 
for verification, he adds: “There is one vital point we 
should impress upon all who grow mushrooms in frames 
or under greenhouse benches, namely, that sudden 
changes of temperature must be avoided. While light, 
in my opinion, is good for mushrooms, it causes a rise of 
temperature, and this we must guard against. In order 
to maintain a uniform temperature all glass exposed to 
light or heat in any other way should be covered with 
some non-conducting material. Eye straw is the best 
thing for this purpose that I know of. Indeed, neglect 
of this simple matter, in cases where sunlight and heat 
from hot-water pipes come in contact with the young 
mushrooms or mycelium on the surface of the beds, is 
the cause of many failures in growing in frames and 
greenhouses.” 
Under Greenhouse Benches. —Open empty spaces 
under the stages anywhere are good places for mushroom 
beds. However, carefully observe a few points, to wit: A 
dry floor under the beds is imperative, for a wet floor 
soaks and chills the beds, and renders them unhealthy for 
the spawn; but the common earth floor is good enough, 
provided water does not stand upon it at any time ; if 
