530 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



will soon fall. Growers usually spawn the beds when it has dropped 

 to about !)() dejii'ees. The spawning process consists in cutting up 

 the bricks in about 8 pieces and putting them 2 inches deep in the 

 manure and 10 inches apart. In a week or 10 days the beds are 

 covered with about 1 and ^- inches of earth — rich sod — with the 

 heavier grassy parts of the sod thrown out is considered the best. 

 It should be moderately moist, but not wet, and it should be made 

 firm. After this is done, a temperature of about 60 degrees is de- 

 sirable. 



The length of time until signs of mushrooms appear on the sur- 

 face varies, as the}- are sometimes much slower than others, but 

 usually, in about 5 or 6 weeks there will be an appearance iike white 

 mold on the surface, and in a short time after this, the mushrooms 

 will appear. During the interval of time from spawning until the 

 crop comes, the anxious grower will be examining the beds to see 

 if the spawn is running freely and tilling the entire mass of manure 

 with a complete network of small white veins. If it is doing this, he 

 is pleased wdth the prospect. At the joints in this network of spawn 

 or mycelium little rouuded enlargements are formed. These are 

 called buttons, and as they grow^ and come up to the surface they are 

 supported by a stem. They very soon push up through the manure 

 and dirt and we have the mushroom. It seems quite a while after 

 the house is spawned until there is any crop, but when they once 

 get to coming through the soil, they develop very rapidly. After 

 the mushroom house is producing, the temperature should be kept 

 as near 55 degrees as possible. A high temperature brings the crop 

 on too rapidly and exhausts, the beds. The mushrooms will be 

 weak, of poor quality and will have objectionably long stems. 



Much care must be observed in the watering. It is the custom to 

 moisten the beds when the first signs of mushrooms appear and 

 afterwards whenever the soil shows signs of dr^^ness. They should 

 never be flooded, simply enough water being applied to keep the 

 earth moist but not enough to get very dry before watering. Heavy 

 drenching is considered injurious to young mushrooms. Hence the 

 necessity of watering sparingly and often, but not more often than 

 necessary to maintain a moderate moistness in the soil. 



After the cropping season begins the mushrooms develop very 

 rapidly and it is only a few days after they begin to come through 

 the ground until they are ready to pick. They must be gathered 

 every day. They must not be cut off, but pulled. In preparing them 

 for market, the roots are cut otf, and then they are firmly packed, 

 with the caps up, in four pound baskets made especially for the 

 purpose. Those grown in this section are sold mostly in New York 

 and Philadelphia markets. Prices vary in different years and at 

 different times in the year. Earl}" in the fall they often bring as 

 much at 75 cents to |1.00 a pound, and late in the spring, before 

 the weather gets hot, they will often bring the same price. But the 

 bulk of the crop, however, is gathered between these extreme sea- 

 sons, and brings to the grower prices varying from 25 to 60 cents a 

 pound. 



After the crop is over the houses are cleaned out. The refuse 

 makes a good top dressing for any soil. The houses should be 

 thoroughly purified and everything about the house should be white- 



