of their labours will be displayed above ground in the elegant and sweet-smelling fungus that few human appetites can resist when it is placed upon the table in the way that it deserves.  Experts can readily form an opinion as to whether a cake of Mushroom spawn is or is not in a fit state for planting, and it will be a safe proceeding for the amateur to buy from a Firm which has a large and constant sale; otherwise, spawn may be purchased which was originally well made and properly impregnated, but has lost its vitality through long keeping.

==Soil.==—­As to soil, it is well known that in a favourable autumn Mushrooms abound in old rich pastures, and those who have command of turf cut from a field of this character have only to stack the sods grass side downwards for a year or two, and they will be in possession of first-class material for Mushroom beds either in the open or under cover.  But small gardens, particularly in towns, have no such bank to honour their drafts, and for these it becomes a question of buying a load or two of turfy loam, or of making the soil of the garden answer, perhaps with a preliminary enrichment by artificial manure.  In the general interests of the garden, the money for a limited quantity of good loam would probably be well spent, independently of the question of Mushrooms.  No great bulk is necessary to cover a moderate-sized Mushroom bed, but the quality of the soil will certainly have an influence on the number and character of the Mushrooms.  As a proof of the exhaustive nature of the fungus, it almost invariably happens that when the soil is used a second time it tends to diminish the size and lower the quality of the crop.

==Manure.==—­In the management of the manure two essentials must be borne in mind.  Not only is nourishment for the plant required, but warmth also.  Probably a large proportion of the failures to grow Mushrooms might, if all the facts were known, be traced to some defect in the manure employed, or to some fault in its preparation.  It must be rich in the properties which encourage and support the development of Mushrooms, absolutely free from the least objectionable odour, for the plant is most fastidious in its demand for sweetness, although it can dispense with light; and there must remain in the manure when made into a bed a sufficient reserve of fermentation to insure prolonged heat, no matter what the temperature of the atmosphere may be.  Of course, the duration of the heat will depend very much on the care with which it is conserved by suitable covering and management.  These requirements, formidable as they may seem, can be insured with extreme ease; indeed, the work is apparently far more difficult and complicated on paper than it proves to be in practice.