MUSHROOM GROWING 



of the period of production will usually be 

 shorter and the mushrooms smaller at the 

 higher temperature. 



Flushes of growth. When the mush- 

 rooms begin to form, they invariably appear 

 first almost directly over the inoculum of 

 spawn inserted, so that under uniform con- 

 ditions the first patches of buttons will be 

 as regularly distributed as the spawn pieces. 

 As these groups or clusters all push toward 

 maturity simultaneously, it may be called a 

 ''flush" of fruiting (Plate IIP, d; IV, a). 

 When these are picked, a little fresh earth 

 placed where necessary, and the bed suffi- 

 ciently watered, it may be a week or more 

 before a second flush of buttons occurs. By 

 this time the mushrooms are better dis- 

 tributed over the bed, and subsequently 

 there may be less regularity in the flushes. 

 If the temperature is irregular, flushes may 

 characterize the whole bearing period. 



Period of production. The period of 

 productiveness of a bed will vary from a few 

 weeks to several months, depending upon 



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