February  10,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
119 
OrEN  AIR  CULTURE  OF  MUSHROOMS. 
As  a  grower  of  Mushrooms  in  the  open  air  with  more  or  less 
success  for  several  years  past,  a  few  notes  on  the  subject  may  be  of 
interest  to  others  who  are  similarly  situated,  and  who,  like  the  writer, 
have  a  difficulty  in  procuring  manure  for  that  purpose.  We  must 
acknowledge  our  indebtedness  on  many  occasions  to  that  admirable 
book,  “  Mushrooms  for  the  Million,”  which  is  as  valuable  to-day  as 
when  first  published,  and  no  one  who  wishes  to  excel  in  the  cultivation 
of  ^Mushrooms,  whether  indoors  or  in  the  open  air,  should  be  without 
a  copy.  There  are,  however,  many  things  both  in  the  preparation  of 
the  manure  and  in  the  management  of  the  beds  that  cannot  be  learned 
from  a  book.  Only  practice  and  close  observation  will  make  the 
cultivator  an  adept  in  the  outdoor  cultivation  of  this  esteemed 
esculent.  This  is  not  at  all  surprising,  as  the  temperature  is  an 
important  factor,  and  when  one  takes  into  consideration  the  rapid 
changes  that  take  place  in  this  country  in  a  few  hours  it  shows  the 
necessity  of  always  being  on  the  alert. 
The  Best  Season  for  Making  the  Beds. 
Spring  and  early  autumn  is  the  most  suitable  time  for  a  beginner 
to  commence.  Beds  made  up  in  September  invariably  answer  well,  as 
the  mean  temperature  is  about  60°.  If  the  beds  are  covered  with  a 
few  inches  of  litter  they  will  remain  a  few  degrees  higher  than  the 
above  for  at  least  a  month  after  being  spawned.  The  mycelium  will 
then  have  fermented  the  whole  mass.  The  nights  will  become  cooler, 
and  the  temperature  of  the  beds  falls  a  few  degrees  lower.  This  will 
be  an  advantage,  as  when  the  ]\Iushrooms  make  their  appearance,  if  a 
thermometer  is  placed  on  the  surface  of  the  bed  and  it  registers  55°, 
the  ^lushrooms  will  be  thick  and  of  good  substance,  but  if  the 
temperature  is  too  high  they  will  be  thin  and  light.  There  is  no 
comparison  between  a  fleshy,  well-grown  Mushroom,  and  one  that  has 
been  imperfectly  matured  either  by  being  grown  in  too  great  a  heat, 
or  when  the  temperature  has  been  too  low. 
^Mistakes  in  Preparing  the  Manure. 
There  are  more  mistakes  made  in  the  preparation  of  the  manure 
than  many  cultivators  are  aware  of.  There  is,  however,  this  conso¬ 
lation,  growers  often  learn  more  from  a  failure  than  they  do  from 
success.  We  must  own  to  some  partial  failures  which  at  the  time 
could  not  be  accounted  for,  and  the  spawn  was  blamed,  whereas  we 
are  now  convinced  the  fault  lay  with  ourselves  in  the  preparation  of 
the  manure. 
Cultivators  should  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  the  beds  made  up 
during  early  autumn  ought  to  be  very  moist;  the  beds,  too,  must  not 
be  spawned  at  too  high  a  temperature  ;  70°  is  quite  high  enough.  At 
midwinter  the  manure  should  be  much  drier,  and  may  be  spawned  at 
10°  higher. 
In  preparing  the  manure  we  only  remove  the  long  litter,  as  this  is 
valuable  for  covering  the  beds,  and  preferred  to  clean  straw.  If  the 
manure  has  been  in  a  heap  for  several  weeks,  it  will  have  heated 
itself  quite  dry.  The  whole  mass  must  then  be  turned  and  well 
shaken  out  and  sprinkled  with  water.  This  must  be  repeated  as  often 
as  necessary.  We  usually  turn  our  manure  every  other  day.  This  is 
done  in  the  open  air,  and  usually  takes  about  three  weeks  before  it  is 
ready  for  use. 
Growing  Mushrooms  in  Leaves. 
Owing  to  a  scarcity  of  manure  we  have  for  some  time  been  on  the 
look  out  for  a  substitute,  and  have  tried  several  experiments.  Leaves 
being  plentiful,  and  vast  quantities  having  to  be  cleared  away  annually, 
an  attempt  was  made  to  utilise  them  in  a  more  profitable  manner  than 
burning  or  rotting  them  down  for  manure  for  the  garden.  They  thus 
came  readily  to  hand,  and  were  used  in  conjunction  with  manure  for 
growing  IMushrooms. 
At  first  only  one  part  leaves  to  three  parts  horse  manure  was 
used ;  these  proportions  proved  a  great  success.  Since  then  we  have 
increased  the  proportion  of  leaves,  so  that  at  the  present  time  we  are 
making  up  our  last  beds  for  the  season  with  only  one  part  manure  to 
three  parts  leaves.  These  beds  Ave  have  little  doubt  will,  in  due 
course,  carry  heavy  crops  of  firm,  weighty  Mushrooms.  As  showing 
the  bulk  of  leaves  that  has  been  used  we  may  state  that  upwards  of 
sixty  cartloads,  the  carts  having  specially  made  deep  boards  for  that 
purpose,  were  used  during  the  past  two  months.  We  prefer  small 
leaves  for  that  purpose,  such  as  Beech  and  Oak,  and  do  not  use  large 
leaves  as  Chestnut  and  Sycamore.  These  are  prepared  in  the  same 
manner  as  manure,  but  do  not  require  turning  so  many  times. 
IIow  THE  Beds  are  Made. 
For  outdoor  cultivation  of  Mushrooms  the  ridge  system  is  the  best, 
and  no  advantage  is  gained  by  making  them  too  large.  They  may  be 
made  any  length,  but  2^  feet  wide  at  the  bottom,  2j  feet  in  height, 
and  6  inches  wide  at  the  top  when  finished  off  are  suitable  dimensions. 
Beds  of  this  size,  if  properly  managed,  will  retain  sufficient  heat  to 
enable  the  mycelium  to  run,  and  eventually  grow  a  heavy  crop  of 
Mushrooms. 
With  a  little  practice  the  men  soon  become  adepts  at  making  the 
beds.  They  commence  by  placing  a  layer  of  manure  on  the  bottom  a 
foot  in  thickness ;  this  being  trodden  firmly,  another  layer  must  be 
added  and  treated  as  before.  The  sides  must  be  well  beaten  with  the 
back  of  a  fork  as  the  work  progresses,  the  man  using  it  standing  on 
the  ridge,  otherwise  the  sides  will  not  be  kept  true,  and  when  the 
whole  is  finished  the  outline  will  be  true  and  regular. 
The  ridges  must  then  be  covered  with  a  few  inches  of  litter,  this 
being  important  at  all  seasons.  It  is  advisable  to  keep  the  litter  clear 
for  a  couple  of  inches  from  the  centre  of  ridge,  as  this  will  allow  the 
steam  to  escape  freely. 
Spawning  the  Beds. 
If  the  manure  has  been  properly  prepared,  and  the  beds  made  in 
good  order,  it  will  be  found  that  the  temperature  has  declined  suffi¬ 
ciently  to  allow  of  the  beds  being  spawned  on  the  fourth  day.  The 
beds  should  never  be  spawned  until  the  maximum  heat  has  been 
reduced  and  the  heat  is  falling.  A  thermometer  inserted  a  couple  of 
inches  in  the  bed  will  probably  rise  in  a  few  days  to  100°  or  more ; 
after  it  has  fallen  to  80°  or  less  it  will  be  safe  to  insert  the  spawn. 
A  cake  of  spawn  is  divided  into  eight  parts,  and  these  inserted 
evenly  over  the  bed  about  9  inches  apart,  slightly  covered  with  the 
manure,  and  not  buried  more  than  from  1  to  2  inches  in  depth. 
After  the  bed  is  spawned  it  is  made  firm  with  the  back  of  a  fork.  It 
is  impossible  to  make  a  ridge  too  firm  ;  but  it  is  a  very  simple  matter 
to  make  it  too  light,  when  the  produce  will  not  be  nearly  so  satisfactory 
as  when  the  bed  has  been  properly  made. 
Casing  the  Beds. 
We  always  case  our  beds  with  soil  directly  they  are  spawned. 
Some  successful  growers  delay  the  casing  of  their  outdoor  beds  until 
the  spawn  has  commenced  running,  but,  after  trying  both  plans,  we  did 
not  derive  any  benefit  by  following  the  latter  precedent,  so  the  beds 
are  now  finished  off  at  once,  and  it  has  the  advantage  of  saving 
labour,  besides  preventing  the  heat  from  escaping  during  a  spell  of 
cold  weather  such  as  is  often  experienced  at  this  season. 
The  beds  are  covered  with  about  2  inches  of  good  soil  placed  evenly 
over  the  surface  of  the  bed,  and  if  dry  moisture  is  added,  otherwise 
there  may  be  a  difficulty  in  placing  it  in  position.  A  little  practice 
will  soon  enable  one  to  do  the  work  well.  The  ridges  are  at  once 
covered  with  litter;  if  the  weather  is  warm,  as  it  often  is  in  the 
autumn,  a  few  inches  will  suffice,  whereas  a  foot  or  more  may  be 
necessary  in  cold  weather.  The  beds  are  examined  occasionally  after 
being  spawned  to  see  that  the  temperature  does  not  rise  too  high,  as 
the  spawn  is  easily  destroyed  in  its  early  stages. 
Manure  for  Future  Use. 
It  is  not  advisable  to  make  up  beds  (unless  in  a  very  cool  place) 
after  the  first  week  in  March,  as  by  the  time  the  beds  come  into 
bearing  warm  weather  may  be  expected ;  the  Mushrooms  will  then  be 
of  little  use,  as  they  will  not  develop  in  a  high  temperature  at  that 
season,  decay  will  set  in  and  they  will  be  useless.  Manure  from  this 
date  onwards  may  be  allowed  to  accumulate  in  a  heap  in  the  open 
air.  It  will  become  dust  dry,  but  will  grow  good  Mushrooms  the 
following  autumn  if  prepared  as  above  directed. — S.,  Yorhs. 
DIGGINU  AND  TRENCHING. 
*  Spring  versus  Winter. 
When  I  penned  the  few  remarks  on  this  subject  it  was  anticipated 
that,  if  noticed  at  all,  it  might  be  exactly  as  Mr.  F.  Dunn  has  treated 
them  on  page  106.  It  is  pleasing  to  have  from  him  so  emphatic 
a  corroboration  of  the  facts  that  I  wanted  to  point  out.  Mr.  Dunn 
writes — “  Strong  soil  such  as  I  have  to  deal  with  worked  when  in  a  wet 
state  will  prove  almost  unworkable  during  the  following  summer.” 
Also,  “  It  is  a  recognised  fact  that  soil  newly  dug  will  retain  more 
moisture  than  ground  which  is  allowed  to  remain  unbroken.”  This 
is  exactly  what  I  wanted  to  convey,  and  a  stronger  argument 
against  winter  digging  or  trenching  tenacious  soils  in  a  wet  locality 
could  not  be  advanced. 
It  has  been  my  experience  of  cropping  soils  from  a  tenacious 
yellow  clay  to  others  that  well  merited  the  description  as  being 
heavy,  and  in  one  instance  where  not  unfrequently  there  has  been  a 
rainfall  of  from  50  inches  to  nearly  6  feet.  Invariably  I  found  that 
seeding  and  planting  could  be  accomplished  far  more  satisfactorily 
when  the  ground  was  left  in  a  compressed  condition  till  spring,  and 
the  cropping  done  immediately  the  ground  was  'turned  over,  and 
before  it  got  rain.  It  will  surprise  me  if  there  are  not  many  gardeners, 
and  farmers  too,  that  will  have  had  this  same  experience.  A  well 
cropped  garden  should  not  have  much  vacant  groimd  in  the  autumn.  , 
In  reference  to  the  law  that  governs  the  relative  depths  to  which 
