CHAPTER XI. 



On the Cultivation of Certain Fungi. 



Of the many kinds of esculent Fungi, only one species has been 

 artificially raised to the extent of proving a distinct commercial 

 success. Others have been cultivated as well, but hardly more 

 than experimentally or locally. Still, there is no reason to doubt 

 ihat means may be found for raising crops of various choice kinds, 

 Avere attention duly bestowed upon them. 



The familiar Pratelle, vaguely known in England as " the 

 common mushroom," is now largely cultivated in various countries 

 besides our own. Produced under artificial and altered conditions, 

 the features of the original White Pratelle (A. campestris) are in 

 some measure modified, and a new variety appears which it may 

 be expedient to regard as a distinct species under the name of the 

 Garden Pratelle (A. hortensis). The cultivation of this species is 

 easy and inexpensive. In and near Paris it is carried out in sub- 

 terranean excavations, where thei-e are many miles of mushroom 

 beds in the aggregate. Here, in recent years, the demand has 

 greatly increased, and the Garden Pratelle is raised in large and 

 steadily augmenting quantities. It proves exceedingly lucrative 

 to the growers, who state they can rely on a return of one hundred 

 to one hundred and fifty per cent, per annum, at least, on capital 

 invested in mushroom-culture. But this production is far from 

 having attained its fullest development as yet. Cultivated mush- 

 rooms ought to be retailed at a much lower price than they are at 

 present. Moreover, English people still regard mushrooms as but 

 a mere relish and adjunct to other dishes, and have yet to learn 

 that they might take the place of a staple article of food, which 

 their wholesomencss and nutritiousness fit them to be. 



The author does not propose to enter into details respecting the 

 cultivation of the Garden Pratelle on a large scale. The subject 

 will be found treated of in most modern manuals of gardening, 

 and numerous treatises have been published which give the fullest 



