SPAWHIKG THE BEDS# 
99 
straw, and let it remain on until molding time. And 
if the bed is a little sluggish,—that is, cool,—this cover¬ 
ing will help in keeping it warm. Outside beds should 
be molded over in three or four days after spawning; 
inside beds in eight to ten days. 
Steeped Spawn.—As brick spawn is so hard and 
dry I have tried the effect of steeping it in tepid water 
before planting; some pieces were merely dipped in the 
water, and others allowed to soak in the pails one-half, 
one, five, and ten hours. The effect was prejudicial in 
every instance and ruinous in the case of the long-soaked 
pieces. 
Flake Spawn.—“This is produced by breaking up 
the brick spawn into pieces about two inches square and 
mixing them in a heap of manure that is fermenting 
gently. After lying in this heap about three weeks it 
will be found one mass of spawn, and just in the right 
condition for running vigorously all through the bed in 
a very short time. . . . When flake spawn is used 
the appearance of the crop is from two to three weeks 
earlier than when brick spawn is used.Mr. Henshaw, 
in first edition of “Henderson’s Handbook of Plants.” 
I have tried this method and given it careful attention, 
but the results were inferior to those obtained where 
plain, common brick spawn had been used at once. 
In all my practice I have found that any disturbance 
of the spawn when in active growth which would cause 
a breaking, exposing, or arresting of the threads of the 
mycelium has always had a weakening influence upon 
it. I have transplanted pieces of working spawn from 
one bed to another, as the French growers do, but am 
satisfied that I get better crops and larger mushrooms 
from beds spawned with dry spawn than from Jbeds 
planted with working spawn from any other beds. 
