MUSHROOM CULTURE IN A RAILWAY TUNNEL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1773, 22 February 1888, Page 2

MUSHROOM CULTURE IN A RAILWAY TUNNEL.

There is m Edinburgh an unused railway unael, whioh has been taken over by a Scottish company for the cultivation of mushrooms. The mode of cnltnre ia bu« described by E. Molyneaux m the .'• Giroen "•—,•• The tunnel is 1100 yards long by 24 feet wide. On one side of tbe tunnel ia laid a double line of rails, upon which the engine and trucks travel when taking the manure and soil In. This is dona m truoki containing cix tons each, and conveyed to a dlatanoe of 500 yards, where the first part of preparing manure ii pc firmed — that of fermenting. To prevent nuiaanoe to the inhabitants m the ■ocility, the manure m a half prepared state is deposited m heaps to be again made ready for the beds At tbe time of my visit 1400 tons of manure and soil were iv ÜBe, and it was estimated that quite 2000 tons would be required to complete the preparation of beds m the whole tunnel. The first 200 yards are divided from the remainder by a wood partition, as the tunnel was f< und to be too draughty/ To thia part were arranged flat beds some 8 feet wide, whil» others were _ feet These be<'B are not considered the moat suitable, as they are inconvenient In workig operations, and require more space than ridge shaped beds. Inside the partition the beds are ridge-/, and run crosswise m the tunnel They are 16 feet long 3 feet wide at the base, 2£ fe*t high j and 1 foot wide at the top. Boxes of this shape and size are used to facilitate tha

formation of tbe bedu m a firm manner.' At the time of my visit there were over liOO yardri of ridgeshap?d beds. I counted 210 m various stages, m king a .otal of 1_ mile. The company commenced m May last. Tbe beds were m all stages of development, from the pro* paration of the manure to the formation and epawui gof the beds Some were juat soiled, and others were showing tha mushrooms iv a young state but those infull bearing were a grand sight, as many as 82 mushrooms being counted, m a square foot ; m tact mushrooms could be seen by the thousand when the beds were uncovered. The spawn is specially pre* pared for the company, as much as six tons having been used since the oommenoement."