HINTS ON THE GROWTH OF MUSHROOMS.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2213, 30 March 1881, Page 3

HINTS ON THE GROWTH OF MUSHROOMS.

We give the following excellent hints on mushroom culture from Mr Yates’s catalogue, just issued in England : “ Mushrooms may he grown in any dark place whore the temperature ranges from BOdog to 60deg. Eresh manure, almost free from litter, from stables where the horses are fed on dry food (hay and corn) is the principal material re quired. Expose the manure in an open shed for a few days before using it, turning it occasionally to prevent its heating, the great secret in growing fine mushrooms being to have the manure neither too wet nor too dry, and to avoid its becoming hot either before or after it has been mado into the bed. When making the bed, shake the manure well out and beat it firmly down, adding more and 1 more till you have a depth of from 12in. to 15in., and as solid as possible. Thrust two or three pointed sticks in the bed, so that you may afterwards ascertain its temperature, and leave for a few days to heat. When cooling, and you find from the sticks there is a steady temperature of between 70deg. and 80deg., break the spawn into pieces the size of a walnut, and press them firmly, 9in apart, into the surface of the bod—six bricks will bo about sufficient to spawn a bed of four square yards (3ft by 12ft). After spawning cover the bed lin or 2in deep with stiff loamy soil, and beat it firmly down, finishing with a smooth flat surface, and cover with a little hay. Mushrooms may be expected in six or eight weeks from the time of spawning, and the bed should continue productive for a couple of month?. An occasional sprinkling with tepid water will hasten their growth, but care must be used not to give it in excess, as, if the bod becomes saturated, it will be spoiled. If, when one bed begins to yield, another for succession is prepared, a continuous supply of mushrooms may be had throughout the year, 11