64 
MUSHROOMS* HOW TO GROW THEM. 
loads of the common ]STew York stable manure a yeai 
for our general outdoor crops* and it also is capital 
manure in its way* but not so good as the selected 
manure for mushrooms. It is mixed a little and smells 
very rank* and in mushroom beds usually produces a 
good deal of spurious fungi. Most all of our largest 
mushroom growers* Van Siclen of Jamaica* Denton of 
Woodhaven* Conuard of Hoboken* and others* live within 
easy hauling distance of the city* and are able to select 
and get the very choicest manure at a very cheap rate. 
Baled Manure.—Within a year or two a good deal 
of our city horse manure has been put up in bales and 
thus shipped and sold. Each bale contains from 350 to 
nearly 500 lbs, and is made up* pressed and tied in about 
the same way as baled hay. The principal advantages 
of the bales are these : Only the cleanest horse manure 
is put up in this way; cow manure* offal* spent hops* or 
other short or soft manures are not included in the bales* 
nor* on account of shipping considerations* are malodor¬ 
ous manures of any sort permitted in them. The rail¬ 
roads allow baled manure to be put off on their platforms* 
and closer to their stations than they would allow loose 
manure; and it often happens that an agent will send a 
carload to a railroad station and dump it off there so 
that the people around who have only small garden lots 
can have an opportunity of buying one or more bales* 
just as they need it* and without* as is generally the 
case* having to buy a whole load when they need only 
half a load. These bales are quite a boon to people who 
would like to have a small bed of mushrooms in their 
cellar and who have no other manure. Bring home one 
or more bales* open them* spread out the manure a little* 
and when it heats turn it a few times* and it will soon 
be ready for use. Or if you do not wish to litter up the 
place* roll the bales into the cellar* shed* or wherever 
else you wish to make use of them* and mix about one- 
