MANURE EOR MUSHROOM BEDS. 
65 
fourth of their bulk of loam with the manure and make 
up the bed at once. 
The Board of Health of New York city is very em- 
phatic in its endeavors to rid the city of any accumula¬ 
tion of manure and, a year ago, had under consideration 
a plan to compel the manure agents, for sanitary reasons, 
to bale the stable manure. And perhaps this is the rea¬ 
son why it is so easily procured, to wit: A New York 
gentleman, desirous of engaging in the mushroom-grow¬ 
ing business, writes me: “I get my manure from the 
city in bales. All it costs me is the freight to my place 
at White Plains.” Lucky gentleman! With any 
amount of the best kind of stable manure gratis, no 
wonder he wishes to embark in the mushroom ship. 
Cow Manure.—This is sometimes used with horse 
manure in forming the materials for a mushroom bed, 
and several European writers are emphatic in advocating 
its use. But I have tried it time and time again, and in 
various ways, and am satisfied that it has no advantage 
whatever over plain horse manure, if, indeed, it is as 
good. It is not used by the market growers in this 
country. 
The best kind of cow manure is said to be the dry 
chips gathered from the open pastures ; these are brought 
home, chopped up fine and mixed with horse manure. 
The time and expense incurred in collecting and chop¬ 
ping these “chips” completely overreach any advantages 
that might be derived from them, no matter how desira¬ 
ble they may be. The next best kind of cow manure is 
that of stall-fed cattle, to which dry food only, as hay 
and grain, is fed. This is seldom obtainable except in 
winter, and is then available for spring beds only. This 
I have used freely. One-third of it to two-thirds of dry 
horse manure works up very well, heats moderately, 
retains its warmth a long time, also its moisture without 
any tendency to pastiness; the mycelium travels through 
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