528 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off, Doc. 



MUSHROOM CULTURE. 



By Thomas Rakestbaw, Kennett Square, Pa. 



The word mushroom is used by some as a general term for a 

 large number of the higher fungi, which would include what is gen- 

 erally known as mushrooms, toadstools and puff-balls. The lower 

 fungi would include rusts, smut, molds and mildews. Others use 

 the word in reference to the common edible kinds in cultivation, 

 and those that grow in the fields. Still others apply it to all the 

 edible species, and use toadstool in reference to the poisonous kinds. 

 Webster says a toadstool is a mushroom. It will be seen that it is 

 difticult to give a satisfactory definition, or to tell just where mush- 

 rooms commence or where they end. There are hundreds of varie- 

 ties, many of them are edible and some are poisonous. In a horti- 

 cultural sense, when we speak of mushrooms, we mean those in 

 cultivation in this country and Europe, and those that grow natur- 

 ally in the fields. This variety botanists have named Agaracus 

 Campestris. The best known of the other genera are the Coprinus, 

 Lepiota, and the Aminita, all of which have several edible species. 

 Among the Aminitas are a number of poisonous kinds, of which the 

 principal one is the Aminita Phalloides which is responsible for 

 most of the deaths caused from eating mushrooms. It is generally 

 found in the woods or near them. 



The common mushroom is umbrella-shaped, and the principal 

 parts are the stem and the cap, which has gills underneath. At first 

 these gills are white in color, a little later they are pink, and when 

 the mushroom becomes still older and is ripe, they are of a black- 

 ish color. This is due to the ripening of an immense number of 

 seeds or spores on the surface of the gills. It is supposed that 

 these seeds or spores of the mushroom, when growing in the fields, 

 are scattered by the wind or are distributed in other ways, and when 

 they fall in congenial places, they germinate and produce the spawn 

 which botanists have named mycelium. A person would naturally 

 suppose that we would be able to take the mushroom spores and 

 raise other mushrooms from it, but so far, no one has been able to 

 do this, though there has been a great deal of experimenting along 

 this line. But that the spawn is produced from the spores in 

 Nature's way, however, is almost certain. 



In the growing of mushrooms, the spawn itself is cultured and 

 divided, and the new spawn is grown from the parent stock. The 

 spawn is the true mushroom plant, and what we call mushrooms is 

 the fruit. The spawn or mycelium has the appearance of a net- 

 work of delicate white threads which grow through the soil or 

 manure or the beds that have been prepared for it. Under fav- 

 orable circumstances, and having the right temperature, moisture, 

 and proper nourishment, the plant developes and in due course of 

 time produces fruit. 



Cultured or made spawn is an article of commerce and is manu- 

 factured in large quantities. That used in this country is made 

 mostly in England and comes in what are called bricks. These bricks 

 are about 9 inches long, 5 inches wide, 1 and ^ inches thick, and 

 weight about one pound. They are made of horse manure, cow 



