92 
MUSHROOMS, HOW TO GROW THEM. 
tendency to deteriorate after a time; new spawn must 
therefore be obtained as soon as any signs of deteriora¬ 
tion begin to manifest themselves.” 
Making French Virgin Spawn. —Condensed from 
Lachaume’s book on mushrooms. Take five or six bar- 
row loads of horse droppings that have lain in a heap for 
some time, and lost their heat, and mix them with one- 
fourth of their bulk of short stable litter. Then, in 
April, open a trench two feet wide, twenty inches deep, 
and length to suit, at the foot of, but eight inches dis¬ 
tant from, a wall facing north. In the bottom of the 
trench spread a layer three to four inches deep of chopped 
straw, then an equally thick layer of the prepared ma¬ 
nure, all pressed firmly by treading it down. The two 
layers must now be gently watered, and then another 
double layer of chopped straw and droppings must be 
laid, trodden down and watered, and so on until the top 
of the trench is reached. The bed ought to rise above 
the level of the ground and be rounded off like the top 
of a trunk. To prevent excessive dampness from heavy 
rain cover the mound with a thick layer of stable litter. 
Three months after filling the trench it should be opened 
at the side or end. If the pieces of manure are well cov¬ 
ered with masses of bluish-white filaments, giving off 
the odor of mushrooms, the operation has succeeded, and 
the spawn is fit for use or for drying to preserve for 
future use. But if the threads are only sparingly scat¬ 
tered through the mass, the trench should be covered up 
again and left for another month. In saving the spawn 
the flakes of manure containing the largest amount of 
spawn filaments should be retained, and those showing 
a brown appearance rejected. In order to facilitate the 
drying of the spawn the flakes should be broken into 
pieces, weighing from one to two pounds; they are then 
placed in a well ventilated shed, but they must nob be 
piled upon each other. Properly prepared and dried 
this spawn keeps good for ten years. 
