Mushroom Culture: Its Extension and Improvement

with which gardeners are not by any means sufficiently conversant. In fact, mushroom-culture i

es very rarely. It is in winter that their cultivation is carried on in full vigour in the open air. Abundant crops are grown in the open air by the market-gardeners of London and Paris. From their beds mushrooms are gathered in quantities in mid-winter as well as in a

me in width at the base, are covered with the long straw or litter taken from the stable manure. Over that is placed old bast mats, or any like materials, to keep the litter i

rket-gardens at Earl's Court

used, and the bed covered to a thickness of a couple of inches. The success attained by the market-gardeners of both London and Paris, with the ordinary soil of the place in which the beds may be made, well proves the absurdity of seeking for any particular kind of soil for covering mushroom-beds. Beds made in this way in the autumn and winter months, and covered with a thick layer of litter and mats, seldom require any watering. The culture is not usually attempted in summer; the heat acting upon the littery covering giving rise to insects wh

mushroom-bed in Paris ma

pare in some firm spot of the market-garden, and take from it all rubbish, particles of wood, and miscellaneous matters; for, say they, the spawn is not fond of these bodies. After sorting it thus, they place it in beds two feet thick, or a little more, pressing it with the fork. When this is done the mass or bed is well stamped, then thoroughly watered, and finally again pressed down by stamping. It is left in this state for eight or ten days, by which time it has begun to ferment, after which the bed ought

rted in flakes about the size of three fingers, and then the manure is closed in over, and pressed firmly around it. This done, the beds are covered with about six inches of clean litter. Ten or twelve days afterwards the growers visit the beds, to see if the spawn has taken well. When they see the white filaments spreading in the bed they know that the spawn has taken; if not, they take away the spawn they suppose to be bad and replace it with better. But, using good spawn, and being practised hands at the work, they rarely fail in this particular; and when the spawn is seen spreading well through the bed, then, and not before, they cover the beds with fresh sweet soil to the depth of about an inch or so. For cover, the lit

, there would be less occasion to pursue it, but there are many places in which no such conveniences exist. In any case it is desirable that gardeners generally should know to what a large extent this phase o