“When first collected it is piled up in a large heap, in a perfectly dry state, and when wanted for the bed is thrown out, sprinkled with water, and fermented for about a week; while hot, it is taken to the house, and as it is thrown in is mixed with a small quantity of soil of a loamy character, and a barrow-load of leaf soil. It is then pressed into as compact a mass as possible by a rammer or mallet, building it up until it forms a bed 10 in. thick in front and 20 in. at the back. After a bed formed of this description of materials has been thus put together, rapid fermentation takes place; and when the most violent fermentative action has passed, and a temperature of 80° is found in the bed, spawn is put into it by means of a dibber. I employ brick spawn obtained from good makers, but, to vary and possibly prolong the period of production, I introduce a certain quantity of spawn saved from old beds. This is longer in its development than the made spawn, and appears as a subsidiary crop. After the bed is spawned, a covering of compact loamy soil is spread on the surface, 1½ in. to 2 in. in thickness, and well beaten upon it so as to form a smooth and hard crust. A temperature ranging from 50° to 60° should be maintained in the house. A lower temperature abstracts the heat from the bed more rapidly.
“When the mushrooms begin to exhibit weakness, as after the bed has produced a certain quantity they will do, from the exhaustion of the more stimulating portions of the manure, I find it an excellent practice to administer a sprinkling of water in which a handful of salt has been thrown (that quantity of salt to a three-gallon can). Saltpetre, though in much smaller quantities, is equally valuable given in the same way. The practice I have described relates to the winter cultivation of mushrooms.”
Many instances of perfect success like the preceding could be quoted. Here is one from Mr. W. P. Ayres:—
“You will be glad to hear that we have on the outskirts of this town (Nottingham) a grower of mushrooms (Mr. Cookson, Mansfield Road) who vies with the French growers, especially if the means of growth be taken into consideration. The place he occupies was formerly the pleasure garden of a large hotel, where the proprietor would occasionally, in the summer season, treat his friends and patrons to an al fresco entertainment. For this purpose a range of summer-houses was built, consisting of brick arches, say 12 feet deep, 6 feet wide, and a little more in height. Close adjoining is a small sandstone-rock cellar, which used to serve for drinkables in the summer and potatoes in the winter.
“Some twelve months ago these premises and the house adjoining fell into the occupation of a gardener, who, though he had a licence to the house, fancied he might turn the arches to a better purpose, and hence he devoted them to mushroom beds. As it was necessary that the arches should be closed, a wall about three feet high was built in the rudest manner parallel with their front, but six feet from it, and from that a roof of rough timber was thrown, and covered with asphalted felt. Here, however, was a mistake; for, the building standing due south, when the sun fell upon it the atmosphere became rather ‘tarry’—so much so that the mushrooms refused to grow in it. That wore off after a time, and from a bed not more than thirty yards square the tenant told me he had cut more than 25l. worth of mushrooms. When I saw the beds they might be considered spent, the flush of early youth was over; but still the crop was most wonderful, especially considering the means at command.
“In the rock cellar the small beds were a pavement of splendid mushrooms, many of them as large over as a cheese-plate, and thick in proportion. In the garden is a barn—four walls with a roof over them, the latter so rude that it was only in fair weather that it could be called waterproof. In this place which may be 25 ft. long by 15 ft. wide, two tiers of beds have been put up, the roof has been made waterproof, a common brick flue put through it, and, at the time I saw them, more promising beds could not be desired. Here again, you will perceive expensive appliances are not necessary for the production of mushrooms.”
Stables and like structures offer capital positions in which successful mushroom culture may be carried out with ease.
If it is possible, and we know it is not only possible but easy, to grow mushrooms in boxes a few feet long and a foot or eighteen inches wide, and the same depth, it is clear that there can be no difficulty about growing them in abundance in such a manner as that shown in the accompanying [engraving]. This mode was actually practised with great success by the Baron Joseph d’Hoogvorst, of Limmel.
The culture was carried out in neatly fitted-up wooden boxes, so arranged that they might be shrouded with canvas curtains as shown in the [engraving], so that at first sight one would not suppose that mushroom culture was carried on there. No evil results as regards the creation of an unhealthy atmosphere accompanied the attempt. The beds were formed much in the usual way from the droppings of highly fed horses. Now there can be no doubt that a similar mode of growing mushrooms could be carried out in the stables or some adjacent building in hundreds of places apart from the garden and the gardener altogether. Given the materials and some position, however contracted, in which to carry out the culture, and both these things are surely to be had almost in every place where there is a stable, the rest is so simple that any stableman or boy could carry it out. We know that these individuals, as a class, are not much given to botanical or horticultural studies, but no doubt the prospect of an occasional half-dozen fresh mushrooms on the gridiron would give them most praiseworthy interest in the culture. The only objection to it is, or might be, that once they were at home in the culture, the gardener would be very likely to fall short of materials for his hotbeds. An empty loft, or any other covered structure could be employed as well as the stable or an empty coach-house. Apart altogether from utilizing the walls of the stable, as the Baron did, empty stalls frequently present an opportunity of growing mushrooms in quantity. These remarks apply to stables in cities and towns, as well as in the country; indeed in cities, particularly in London, stable manure is usually so plentiful that it is much easier to obtain and much cheaper than in the country, so that even those in London having suitable places for growing mushrooms, but not keeping horses regularly or at all, could have no difficulty in procuring abundance of materials.