Mushrooms: how to grow them

questions of manure and spawn are the most important that we have to deal with. Very few make their own spawn, as it is bought and accepted upon its good looks,-often rather deceptive,-but th

repared in the very best fashion that we can ho

, fed, and bedded, and how the manure is taken care of. But while the manure of all healthy animals is useful for our purpose, there still is a great choice in horse manure. If we are depend

bedded with straw. And if the bedding be pretty well wetted with urine and trampled under the horses' feet, so much the better; indeed, this is one rea

e View of the Dosor

rom June until August, as the manure is taken away from the stable each day, it is piled on the top of this stack. My object is to keep it so dry that it can neither heat nor rot. In August the stack is broken down and the best manure shaken out to one side for mushrooms, a

tly or "burning" while accumulating in the pile. Beds made from very fresh manure respond quickly and generously. The crop comes in heavily to begin with, and continues bearing largely while it lasts, but its duration is us

on a small scale or in small beds. When mushrooms are to be grown in boxes, narrow troughs, half barrels, and other confined quarters, it is well to concentrate the manure as much as possible-u

ed by the urine without reducing, in any way, the strength or fermenting properties of the manure. Shake out all the rank, dry, strawy part of the manure and lay it aside for other purposes. This may be of

d mixed all together and made it into beds with excellent results. Sometimes when the manure under preparation had been rather old and co

dner, at the Rancocas Farm, who has had abundant opportunity to test this matter, tells me that he has given it a fair trial and been unable to find any difference in the quality or quantity of mushrooms raised from beds made from the manure of entire hors

ion. The manure was saved from the stables on the place in November, '88, the materials prepared in December, the beds built Dec. 17, spawned Dec. 24, molded over Dec. 31, and first mushrooms gathered Feb. 7, 1889. These beds bore well until the middle of April. The mushrooms did not average as large as they did on the deeper beds upon the floor of the cellar, but they ran about three-fourths to one ounce apiece, and a good many were more than this. It is most always the case, however, that the crop on thin shelf beds averages less than it does on thick floor beds, a

answer is-decidedly not. While the manure of carrot-fed animals is not the best, at the same time it is good, and any one having plenty of it can also have plenty of mushro

el Henshaw, and that it was from beds made of manure from mule stables. Certainly the heaviest crop of mushrooms I ever did see was at Mr. Wilbur's place at South Bethlehem, Pa., four years ago, and the beds were of clean mule droppings from the coal mines. Mule manu

. Sometimes the manure from the cow-stables, as well as from the horse-stables, is dropped together into the cellar; then I would give less for the manure, especially if the cow manure predominated, because in the working it keeps too cold and wet and pasty; but if there is not cow manure enough to give the mass a pasty character it will make capital mushroom beds. Pigs often have the run of the manure-cellar, as is generally the case in farmyards. I would not use any part of this mixed pig manure. Mycelium evades hog m

quality, delivered near or far, inland or coastwise, at a fairly moderate price. It is the city stable manure that nearly all our large market growers use for their mushroom beds. When they get it at the stables and cart it home themselves they know what they are handling, and should take only fresh horse dung. In ordering it of an agent be particular to arrange for the freshest and cleanest, pure horse manure. They will get it for you. We get several hundreds of loads of this selected manure from them every year for hotbeds, and find it excellent.

res of any sort permitted in them. The railroads allow baled manure to be put off on their platforms, and closer to their stations than they would allow loose manure; and it often happens that an agent will send a carload to a railroad station and dump it off there so that the people around who have only small garden lots can have an opportunity of buying one or more bales, just as they need it, and without, as is generally the case, having to buy a whole load when they need only half a load. T

asons, to bale the stable manure. And perhaps this is the reason why it is so easily procured, to wit: A New York gentleman, desirous of engaging in the mushroom-growing business, writes me: "I get my manure f

are emphatic in advocating its use. But I have tried it time and time again, and in various ways, and am satisfied that it has

y food only, as hay and grain, is fed. This is seldom obtainable except in winter, and is then available for spring beds only. This I have used freely. One-third of it to two-thirds of dry horse manure works up very well, heats moderately, retains its warmth a long time, also its moisture without any tendency to pastiness; the mycelium travels through it beautifully, and it bears fine mushrooms. Still, it

fed with green and other soft food. But my chief objection to the use of cow manure in the mushroom beds is that it is a favorite breeding and feedi

s, Richard Gilbert, of Burghley, who relates his success with it in growing mushrooms in the English garden papers. This peat moss is a comparatively new thing in this country, and is used in place of straw for bedding horses. It is a g

le of Germa

at Mr. Henshaw's place some years ago. He had bought a quantity of fresh stable manure from the Brighton coal yards, where sawdust had been used for bedding for the horses, and this he used for his mushroom beds. I went back again in a few months to see the bed in bearing, but it was not a success. At the same time, some European growers record great success with sawdust stable manure. George Bolas, Hopton, Wirkeworth,

it here for years past; that is to say, after it had done service as a bed for horses, and got intermixed with their droppings. I have ne

leaves must be in a condition to heat readily they should be fresh; such are easily secured before winter sets in, but in spring, after lying out under the winter's snow and rain, their "vitality" is mostly gone. But we can secure a large lot of dry leaves in the fall and pile them where they will keep dry until required for use. As needed we can prepare a part of this

eper than would be necessary were horse manure alone used; for half leaves and half

not get as fine crops from these beds or any modification of them as from the ordinary stable manure beds. And we can not wonder mu

fermenting spent hops, and above this lay a four or five inch layer of horse manure, or this and loam mixed. The hops will keep up the warmth, and the manure affords

our city brewers even pay a premium to