ave benefited the crop, and there is always a risk in their use. Liquid
manure made from the contents of the barnyard tank has not done much
good, but fresh urine from the horse and cow stables diluted twelve to
fifteen times its bulk has given favorable results.

Mushrooms not only bear with impunity but appear to enjoy a stronger
liquid manure more than do any other cultivated plants, and I am
satisfied that the weak liquids usually recommended for pot and garden
plants would be barely more efficacious than plain water for mushrooms.

The manure water that has given me most satisfaction is prepared as
follows: Dump two bushels of fresh horse droppings into a forty-five
gallon barrel and fill up with water; stir it up well and let it settle
over night. Drain off the liquid the next day and add a pound of
saltpeter to it. For use, to a pailful of this liquid add a pailful of
warm water. Water of about 80 deg. to 90 deg. is best for mushroom beds.
Saltpeter is an excellent fertilizer for mushrooms. I use it in two
ways, namely: First, powdered and mixed in the soil for casing the beds,
at the rate of two ounces of saltpeter to the bushel of earth. Second,
dissolved in water at the rate of two ounces of saltpeter to eight
gallons of water, and sprinkled over the beds.

Common salt I use as an insecticide and also as a fertilizer, and am
satisfied that it proves beneficial in both ways. Sometimes I sprinkle
it broadcast on the surface of the beds, always on the bare places,
never touching the mushrooms, and leave it there for a day or two, then
with a fine, gentle sprinkling of water wash it into the soil. This is
to help destroy the anguillulae. As a fertilizer only dissolve four
ounces of salt in ten gallons of water, and with this sprinkle the beds.

A too dry atmosphere can be remedied by sprinkling the floors, walls, or
litter coverings on the beds with water, not heavily or copiously, but
gently and only enough to wet the surfaces; better moisten in this way
frequently than drench the place at any one time. But I very much
dislike sprinkling the beds in order to moisten the atmosphere. An
experienced man can tell in a moment whether or not the atmosphere of
the mushroom house is too dry. The air in the mushroom house should
always feel moist, at the same time not raw or chilly, and the floor and
wall surfaces should present a slow tendency to dry up, and the earth on
the beds should retain its dark, moist appearanc