MUSHROOM GROWING 



almost discarded custom of adding no water 

 to the beds so long as mushrooms are evi- 

 dent. I have v^itnessed several cases in ex- 

 tensive cultures w^here the sole cause of fail- 

 ure to get adequate returns was in the dearth 

 of water at the right time. Preferably, the 

 water applied should be of about the tem- 

 perature of the beds. Obviously, one must 

 beware of water if ventilation is poor and 

 evaporation practically nil; indeed, there 

 is then nothing more disastrous than too 

 much water. 



When hot water or steam heat are em- 

 ployed it is comparatively simple to control 

 conditions, but with dry heat the moisture 

 conditions will be irregular at best. Forc- 

 ing the stoves or heating plant in cold 

 weather will necessitate more water, and at 

 the same time the changes from a moist to 

 a dry atmosphere will induce a cracking of 

 the upper surface of the mushrooms — 

 much to their market injury. Under such 

 circumstances some type of covering may be 

 necessary. The simplest cover method, and 



84 



