a temperature of 80 deg. or 90 deg.; a little warmer or a
little colder will not hurt, but do not use water higher than 110 deg., as
it might injure the little pinheads, nor lower than the average
temperature of the house, as it would chill the bed, and this should
always be avoided.

Use a small or medium-sized watering pot with a long spout and a fine
rose sprinkler. Apply the water in a gentle shower over the bed,
mushrooms and all, but never use enough to allow it to settle in pools
or run off in little streams. Clean water sprinkled over the mushrooms
does not appear to hurt them, but they should never be touched with
manure water, as it stains them. Just as soon as the surface of the bed
shows signs of dryness give it water, the quantity depending upon the
condition of the bed. Never let a bed get very dry before watering it.
To thoroughly moisten a very dry bed requires a heavy watering; so much,
indeed, that the sudden change might injuriously affect the young
mushrooms and spawn. Give enough water at a time to moderately moisten
the soil, not to soak it, but never sufficient to pass through the soil
into the manure. Clean water only should be used until the beds come
into bearing, but after that time manure water may be employed with
advantage; however, this is not at all imperative; indeed, excellent
crops can be and are continually being produced without the aid of
manure water at all.

In the case of beds in full bearing, manure water is beneficial to the
crop. Apply it from a small watering pot with a long narrow spout but no
rose, and pour the liquid on gently over the surface of the bed, running
it freely between the clumps but never touching any of the mushrooms.
For this reason a rose should not be used.

I have always used manure water for mushrooms more or less, but during
the past two seasons--'87-'88 and '88-'89--I have experimented with it
continuously and very carefully, using it in some form or other on part
of every bed, and am satisfied that manure water made from fresh horse
droppings is the best, and the dark colored liquid, the drainings from
manure piles, is the poorest; in fact, this latter is not as good as
plain water, for it seems to have a deadening rather than quickening
effect upon the beds. Cow manure and sheep manure make a good liquid
manure, but still I prefer the horse manure, and although having given
hen and pigeon manure and guano fair tests I am not satisfied that they
h