1884.] 
THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 
123 
mushroom oulture. 
^ Mushrooms, the co.umon 
Meadow Mushroom (Affar/ox, odxlis) is Ue 
only one adapted for culture, and, wii! 
proper care and management, it can ho 
grown almost anywhere and at all seasons 
Nowhere has the cultivation of this dZ ^ 
reached so high a state of perfection as in 
he vicinity of Paris, in Prance, and the fol- 
lomiig description of the methods practiced 
there, given by Messrs. Vilniorin-Aiidrieiix 
will, therefore, be of interest to those who 
contemplate Mushroom culture: 
The chief conditions to obtain a satisfac¬ 
tory result consist in growing Mushrooms in 
a very rich soil and under a genial, as nearly 
as possible oven, temperature. To seeiu-o 
this latter coudition, the culture is often 
carried on in cellars; but any other locality, 
such as sheds, outhouses, stables, railway 
arches, etc., will suit as well, provided that 
either naturally or by artificial means the 
temperature does not exceed 86*^, nor fall 
lower than 50° Fahr. 
The first thing to be considered after 
the choice of a convenient locality is the 
preparation of the Mushroom bed. The 
most essential material being liorse-droj)- 
pijigs, preference to be given to those of 
well-uoimshed animals, collected as dry 
and as free from straw as possible. This 
fermenting material would be too liot to be 
used by itself at onee; to reduce the strength 
it should be well mixed with one-foimth or 
one-fifth of its bulk of good garden soil, 
when the bed may be prepared immediately, 
the fermentation being slow and the heat 
produced only moderate and even. Care 
should be taken to construct the bed in a 
dry place, and to make the sides firm 
and tidy. 
If it is intended to use the horse-dung 
by itself, as the Mushroom-growers around 
Paris do, it is necessary to allow the first 
heat to evaporate, which is done by piling 
the droppings as they come from the stable 
in successive layers to the height of about 
three feet, in a dry spot, removing all foreign 
matter from it and pressing it into a compact 
mass, sprinlding with water such portions as 
are very dry. In this state it is to bo left till 
the most violent fermentation has passed, 
which is generally the case in six to ten 
days, when the heap is to be re-made, 
taking care that those portions which were 
outside, and consequently less fermented, 
are placed inside, to insure an equal tem- 
peratm'e. It should be well mixed and firmly 
placed, so that the whole may be of a similar 
texture. 
Grenerally, a few days after being le- 
made, the fermentation is so strong as to 
render it necessary to be made np a third 
time. 
Sometimes, after the second operation, 
it is ready for the beds being made, which 
may be seen when the heating materia as 
become brown, the straw which is mixe 
ivith it has lost almost entirely its eonsist- 
smell 18 not longer the same as when frosli. It 
18 dilfioult to obtain a good material without 
preparing a heap of at least three feet each loose and (by litter. 
wn.v: aiif i 'f.linf i-.i. • . .1 
bricks or solid lumps, as in England, but in 
light masses of scarcely half-decomposed 
way; and if that quantity is not required for 
malaiig the bods, the surplus may with ad¬ 
vantage bo used in the kitchen-garden. 
The material is now brought to the place 
where the beds are to bo made, wliieh may 
lie of any form and siso; but experience has 
shown that the best way to make 
use of 
I 
MOVABLE BEDS AGAINST A WALL. 
space and material is to raise the beds to a 
height of twenty to twenty-fom- inches, with 
a width of about the same at the foundation. 
An excessive rise of the temperature, in 
consequence of renewed fermentation, is to 
be less feared than when the beds are of 
larger dimensions. When a large place is at 
disiiosal, preference is given to beds with 
two slanting sides; when the beds are rest¬ 
ing against a wall, and consequently present 
but one available side, the width ought to 
be less than the height. 
Barrels sawn in two, so that each part 
forms a tub, are well adapted to form beds, 
as well as simple shelves on which sugar- 
loaf-shaped beds may be raised, which, al¬ 
ready formed, may be carried into cellars, 
etc., where the introduction of the raw 
materials would be objectionable. 
The beds thus established should be left 
for a few days before spawning, to see 
whether the fermentation will not be re¬ 
newed with excessive vigor, which may be 
ascertained by the touch of the hand, but it 
A few days before spawning, it is ad¬ 
visable to expose the.spawn to a moderately 
warm moisture, which will insure a safer 
and more rapid gimwth; it should be broken 
up in pieces about the length and thickness 
of the hand by half that ividth, and inserted 
into the bed at a distance of ten to twelve 
inches each way; on beds twenty to twenty- 
four inches in height, which are mostly in 
use, it should be inserted in two roivs, dove¬ 
tail fa.shiou. 
Wliere the bed is situated in a place under 
cover and of an even temperature, nothing 
else is to be done but to wait for the growth; 
if, however, the bed is placed in the open air 
and exposed to change of the weather, it 
must be covered with long litter or hay to 
keep a uniform temperatm'e all around the 
bed. 
Under favorable circumstances, and if the 
work has been done well, the spawn ought 
to show activity in seven or eight days; it is 
advisable to look to it, and to replace such 
spawn as might not thrive, ivhich can be 
seen by the absence of white filaments in the 
surrounding material. 
Fifteen to twenty days later the spawn 
ought to have taken possession of the whole 
bed and should come to the surface; the top 
and sides of the bed should then be covered 
ence, when it has become greasy. 
and the 
_ 
BED WITH TWO SIDES PARTIALLY UNCOVERED. 
is safer to use the thei'mometer; as long as 
the temperatm'e exceeds 86° Pahr. the bed is 
too hot, and it should be allowed to cool by 
itself, or by making openings with a stick to 
allow the heat to escape. 
When the temperature remains at 76°, 
it is time for spawning. Prepared spawn is 
found in the seed stores at all times, which 
may be kept without trouble from year to 
year. The spawn sold in Prance is not in 
movable shelf. 
with soil, for which a Ught mold in preference 
to a heavy one should be used, slightly mois¬ 
tening it, without making it too wet. If it does 
not naturally contain saltpeter, it would be 
good to administer a small quantity of salt 
or saltpeter, or to give it a watering of liquid 
manm'e. 
The covering vdth soil should not exceed 
more than an inch in depth, and be pressed 
strongly so as to adhere firmly; watering 
should only be done when the soil becomes 
very dry. Where a covering has been re¬ 
moved for some purpose it must be replaced 
at once. 
A few weeks after, according to the state 
of temperature, more or less, the Mushi'ooms 
will appear. In gathering them care should 
be taken to fill the empty spaces with the 
same soil as used for the covering. Leaving 
the bed to itself, it will produce from two to 
three months ; but its fertility may be pro¬ 
longed by careful waterings at a tempera¬ 
ture of 68° to 86° Pahi'., with an admixture 
of guano or saltpeter. 
By establishing under cover three or four 
beds annually in succession, a continued 
supply may be reckoned upon; besides, dur¬ 
ing the summer months, beds may be raised 
out-of-doors at very little expense, securing 
an abundant supply. Prames in which 
vegetables are forced may in the intervals 
be used for Mushroom culture with very 
good results, providing the temperature be 
congenial, and that the young Mushrooms 
are slightly protected with soil as soon as 
they appear. 
