ear. In a temperature of 50 deg. they may take a few days
longer in appearing, but, as a rule, they are firm, heavy,
short-stemmed, and perhaps a little furry on top and clammy to the
touch, and the beds last in good bearing for two months; indeed, often a
whole winter long. But I have failed to find that the whole crop from a
bed in a 45 deg. to 50 deg. temperature was any greater than that of a like bed
in a 55 deg. to 57 deg. temperature; it is merely a case of getting in six weeks
from the warmer house what it takes ten weeks to get from the cooler
one.

In a temperature of 50 deg. it is not necessary to cover the beds to
increase their warmth, nor is it needful even in one of 45 deg., if there is
a fair warmth in the body of the bed to keep the spawn working; but if
the warmth of the interior of the bed falls under 57 deg., and the
atmospheric temperature under 45 deg., the bed should be kept warm by
covering with hay, straw, matting, or other material, or better still by
boxing it over and laying this covering on the outside of the boxing.
When cold thicken the covering, when warm lessen it.

CHAPTER XVI.

WATERING MUSHROOM BEDS.

If the beds get dry they should be watered, for mushrooms will not grow
well in dry beds or in a dry atmosphere. Watering is an operation
requiring much care. In properly-made beds the manure should remain
moist enough from first to last, and whatever dryness is evident should
be in the loam casing of the beds and the atmosphere. In all
artificially heated mushroom houses the beds and atmosphere are apt to
get too dry at one time or another; in underground houses or cellars
this is less apparent than in above-ground structures; in shaded
north-facing houses dryness is less troublesome than in houses more
openly placed.

Endeavor by all fair means to lessen the necessity for watering the
beds, but when water is needed never hesitate to give it freely.
Mulching the beds and maintaining a moist atmosphere are the best
preventives. After the beds are spawned and molded it is a good plan to
cover them with a light coating of strawy litter or hay to prevent
drying, but this mulching should be removed when it is near time for the
young mushrooms to appear. A light sprinkling of water over this
mulching every few days, but never enough to reach the soil, assists in
preserving enough moisture in the bed under the mulch and also in the
atmosphere of the house.

Clean, soft water at