ridge beds
out of doors than beds in the cellar or mushroom house. And it is odd,
but true, that the flake spawn does not produce as good results in
outdoor beds as it does in those under cover.

CHAPTER XI.

SPAWNING THE BEDS.

After the mushroom bed is made up it should, within a few days, warm to
a temperature of 110 deg. to 120 deg.. Carefully observe this, and never spawn a
bed when the heat is rising, or when it is warmer than 100 deg., but always
when it is on the decline and under 90 deg.. In this there is perfect
safety. Have a ground thermometer and keep it plunged in the bed; by
pulling it out and looking at it one can know exactly the temperature of
the bed. Have a few straight, smooth stakes, like short walking canes,
and stick the end of these into the bed, twelve to twenty feet apart; by
pulling them out and feeling them with the hand one can tell pretty
closely what the temperature of the bed is.

All practical mushroom growers know that if the temperature of a twelve
inch thick bed at seven inches from the surface is 100 deg., that within an
inch of the surface of the bed will only be about 95 deg. indoors, and 85 deg.
to 90 deg. out of doors. Also, that when the heat of the manure is on the
decline it falls quite rapidly, five, often ten degrees, a day, till it
reaches about 75 deg., and between that and 65 deg. it may rest for weeks.

Some years ago I gave considerable attention to this matter of spawning
beds at different temperatures. Spawn planted as soon as the bed was
made (five days after spawning the heat in interior of bed ran up to
123 deg.) yielded no mushrooms, the mycelium being killed. The same was the
case in all beds where the spawn had been planted before the heat in the
beds had attained its maximum (120 deg. or over). Where the heat in the
middle of the bed never reached 115 deg., the spawn put in when the bed was
made, and molded over the same day, yielded a small crop of mushrooms. A
bed in which the heat was declining was spawned at 110 deg.; this bore a
very good crop, and at 100 deg. and under to 65 deg. good crops in every case
were secured, with several days' delay in bearing in the case of the
lowest temperatures. But notwithstanding these facts, my advice to all
beginners in mushroom growing is, wait until the heat of the bed is on
the decline and fallen to at least 90 deg., before inserting the spawn.

Writing to me about spawning his beds, Mr. Withington, of