eee 
Lyi 1, 1909 
HE OEE OR GROWING. 
A Simple Method. 
Aimost anyone with garden ground 
aud an abundance of manure of the right 
description may grow mushrooms without~ 
much  difiiculty. When 
cultivated the mushroom is a very profit- 
able crop, but it is not everyone who 
successfully 
succeeds in growing this toothsome 
morsel. 
The position of the proposed mush- 
room beds does not matter very materi- 
ally, whether they are in the sun or 
shade, but they should be placed in a 
‘sheltered position as regards protection 
from the cold winds. The best time to 
start forming the beds isin the autumn, 
and for succession afterwards as manure 
is available, any time up to early spring. 
During the heat of summer they never 
do well. , 
As regards manure, no other than 
fresh horse manure, with half the straw 
litter mixed with it. will do. That from 
corn-fed animals is best. Until suffi- 
cient manure is collected, say, to make a 
cartload, it should be spread out thinly, 
and preserved from too much wet, When 
a cartload has been collected, it should be 
made into a heap, and left so, until it is 
well heated, which will be in about nine 
days. It should then be turned over, and 
left to cool for an hour, when it should 
be put in again to heat in the same way, 
for the same time, when it must again be 
turned over, and allowed to cool. 
It will then be ready to form the 
bed. The bed should be made up in the 
form of a row of celery when it is earthed 
up. The. dimensions should be—width 
at the bottom, Z3ft.; height at the top of 
ridge the same. 
In the course of a week or ten days, if 
all has gone on well, the heat of the bed 
will rise, probably to 8ddeg. or 90deg. 
Fahr. When the heat has fallen from 
these figures to from 70deg. to 7ddeg., 
then it will be the time to insert the 
spawn. In making, the bed must be 
pressed firmly down, The spawn, to be 
had from the seedsman, is usually sold in 
cakes of Yin. by 5in. These should be 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
broken by the hand into six equal pieces, 
forced, and pressed hard into the surface 
of the bed (all over), at distances of eight 
inches apart, 
holes being made deep 
enough for their reception to sink into 
the bed half an inch below the surface. 
Cover the spawn over with manure, 
pressing it well down. In the course of 
two or three days the bed must be c sed 
over with soil (half an inch deep when 
well beaten down), damping the surface, 
and making it smooth, as if plastered 
with mortar, in order té prevent the heat 
of the bed from evaporating; ordinary 
garden soil will do. 
‘The next thing will be to cover the 
bed over with dry straw, bracken, or 
other litter in sufiicient quantity to 
maintain the temperature of the bed at 
from 5ddeg. to 60deg. Fahr. The bed 
need not be uncovered for the next five 
weeks, when the litter should be taken 
off, and a slight watering with tepid water 
given to the bed. Let it be covered over 
again, and the same temperature main- 
ia 
tained, and in another fortnight uncover ~ 
again to look for mushrooms, when there 
After- 
wards mushrooms shoula be gathered 
should be no disappointment. 
twice a week for a matter of six or eight 
weeks. The surface of the beds should 
be kept moist by occasional waterings. 
It is not-necessary to expose the whole of 
the bed at each picking, only lifting the 
litter up, and placing it down ayain after 
the picking is done. 
When gathering the crop, do not cut 
the Muehrooms with a knife, but take 
them out by the root; this may be done 
by a twist of the thumb and finger, after- 
wards filling in the space made with a 
little loam, | 
E. BLACKEBY, 
BOOT & SHOE MANUFACTURER, 
226 Rundle Street, Adelaide. 
CUT SOLES A SPECIALITY 
FOR 
Up-to-Date Tailoring 
GIVE 
Jeeok: 
A TRIAL. 
Fit and Finish Guaranteed, 
of Patterns to choose from, including all 
the Latest Designs. 
Self-measurement forms and prices on 
application. 
THOMPSON 
NOTE THE ADDRESS— 
J. & THOMPSON, 
Eashionable Tailor, 
tonite 
vi 
Porter's Buildings, Pulteney Steet 
(Opp. Craven & Armstrong’s). 
