ut the success has hitherto been somewhat doubtful. For the
growth of the common mushroom, very little trouble and care is
required, and moderate success is certain. A friend of ours some years
since was fortunate enough to have one or two specimens of the large
puff-ball, _Lycoperdon giganteum_, growing in his garden. Knowing its
value, and being particularly fond of it when fried for breakfast, he
was anxious to secure its permanence. The spot on which the specimens
appeared was marked off and guarded, so that it was never desecrated
by the spade, and the soil remained consequently undisturbed. Year
after year, so long as he resided on the premises, he counted upon and
gathered several specimens of the puff-ball, the mycelium continuing
to produce them year after year. All parings, fragments, &c., not
utilized of the specimens eaten were cast on this spot to rot, so that
some of the elements might be returned to the soil. This was not true
cultivation perhaps, as the fungus had first established itself, but
it was preservation, and had its reward. It must be admitted, however,
that the size and number of specimens diminished gradually, probably
from exhaustion of the soil. This fungus, though strong, is much
approved by many palates, and its cultivation might be attempted.
Burying a ripe specimen in similar soil, and watering ground with the
spores, has been tried without success.[A]

As to the methods adopted for cultivation of the common mushroom,
it is unnecessary to detail them here, as there are several special
treatises devoted to the subject, in which the particulars are
more fully given than the limits of this chapter will permit.[B]
Recently, M. Chevreul exhibited at the French Academy some splendid
mushrooms, said to have been produced by the following method: he
first develops the mushrooms by sowing spores on a pane of glass,
covered with wet sand; then he selects the most vigorous individuals
from among them, and sows, or plants their mycelium in a cellar in
a damp soil, consisting of gardener's mould, covered with a layer
of sand and gravel two inches thick, and another layer of rubbish from
demolitions, about an inch deep. The bed is watered with a diluted
solution of nitrate of potash, and in about six days the mushrooms
grow to an enormous size.[C] The cultivation of mushrooms for the
market, even in this country, is so profitable, that curious
revelations sometimes crop up, as at a recent trial at th