i8g6. 



GARDENING. 



297 



SECTION OP MR. GARDNERS MUSHROOM PIT. 



tips of the shoots a little, then with a 

 piece of tar cord or hay rope tie the shoots 

 lip tidily together so that they won't run 

 in through the other plants and get their 

 buds rubbed ofl', and store the pots or 

 tubs together asclose as possible. Byall 

 means keep them moist in winter, that is 

 never let the soil in the pots or tubs get 

 dry. but don't wet the foliage overhead 

 any more than you can help. Don't at- 

 tt nipt to cause the plants to drop all of 

 their leaves in w inter, that isn't necessary 

 at all, in fact we like to have them retain 

 a good deal of their treen leavts, it is a 

 sign the roots are good. 



Mushrooms. 



MUSHROOMS. 



DY.IOHN G GAKDNEK. ' 



yRead before the Philadelphia Florists' Club.] 

 The material I have used for beds has 

 been chiefly fresh manure from horse 

 stable, with soil or well rotted manure 

 mixed together. The general system in 

 use of mixing material is fatal to a good 

 all-round crop, as the bed formed under 

 the old system has a very complicated 

 service to render. First it is the home of 

 the spawn; secondly, it must furnish the 

 necessary warmth, for a healthy and free 

 growth; thirdly, it must supply the 

 general food for the mushrooms' devel- 

 opment, so if any of these conditions fail 

 a good crop cannot be gathered. 



In the culture of mushrooms in green- 

 houses under benches, the temperature of 

 the greenhouse will furnish warmth for a 

 healthy growth, which r< lieves the bed, 

 the material may be half fresh manure 

 with the straw left in, and soil and well 

 rotted manure, well mixed together and 

 put down in layers. In vising soil care 

 must be taken to half lift and shake 

 slightly, so as to let the soil filter down 

 among the straw; this will prevent burn- 

 ing and drying out, and the bed will need 

 less water. The fermentation will be 

 slight and the decomposition of the mass 

 slow, which is one of the chief features in 

 keeping up a constant supply of food for 

 mushrooms. Keep adding layers until 

 you have a depth of l-t inches, the mate- 

 rial kept pressed down until it becomes 

 firm and the bed will be ready in a few 

 days for spawning. 



1 have used hotbed sash or shutters as 

 a covering for beds under benches, having 

 placed 3 inches of rye straw over glass, 

 tacked on with plastering laths to shut 



out light and sun with good success, clos- 

 ing down sash or shutter during days 

 and propping them up at nights 6 to" 8 

 inches. Canvas and paper I have used 

 to cover and close in beds, but not with 

 as good results as sash and shutters, 

 owing to the eficct upon them, during 

 day time, of light and sun, which make 

 too rapid changes of temperature for the 

 the very sensitive mushroom. I have had 

 the best results when 1 could maintain a 

 temperature of 55° to 60°, slightly moist 

 with a wholesome air. The mushroom 

 needs good fresh air. but not in the way 

 of a severe draft. Theair mustbeehanged 

 each day and a slight moisture ke|)t up. 

 Iftheairis too dry the mushrooms will 

 crack and become scaly on top of cap. If 

 too moist they will drdw up with long 

 soft stems and small caps and become 

 useless for market and shipping, and if 

 the excessive moisture is kept up 48 hours 

 all the small mushrooms the size of a pea 

 will turn brown and rot; many beds are 

 missed in this way. All decaying stalks 

 should be removed from beds. I cut all 

 my mushrooms, not pull them, and in 

 three days after cutting I remove stalks, 

 at which time they will separate from 

 spawn without pulling out and damag- 

 ing it. 



If you watch the natural mushroom, in 

 open pastures, you will find they spring 

 up where the grass is short and the air is 

 moist, the light and sun changing the 

 conditions each 24 hours. In heavy long 

 grass laden with moisture no mushrooms 

 can live, although in the same spot, if 

 grass was cut and removed, mushrooms 

 would spring up, showing us very plainly 

 that the condition was too moist, and 

 with no circulation of air to form the 

 atmospheric conditions that mushrooms 

 develop in. 



I advise making mushroom beds early 

 in September, bearing in mind that the 

 best results come from a slow and pro- 

 longed fermentation, and beds that dry 

 and burn out will not pay. Make no beds 

 less than 14 inches in depth when packed 

 down 



I now give you my experience in a out- 

 side small pit system of mushroom cult- 

 ure. The material is 3.V4 hemlock ; nd 

 boards. You will s e that the lumber bill 

 will not be large. The first operation is 

 to dig out a trench five feet wide and 14 

 to 16 feet decj) in center sloping down 

 banks to center. Mix together manure 

 and soil, and form bed in trench, high 

 enough when complete to be 9 inches 

 above ground level, when well tamped 



down. Now take 3x4 material and form 

 rafters for a span roof, allowing the north 

 side rafter 8 inches longer than south, so 

 as to over-lap. Now take boards and 

 place them lengthwise overlapping like 

 shingle roof to turn water, the north side 

 boards may be nailed fast and the south 

 left movable, leaving in south side 6 inches 

 of space for ventilation at top, where the 

 overhanging roof of north keeps rain out. 

 When gathering mushrooms, the south 

 side boards may be taken off to allow 

 space to reach in freely. Mushrooms can 

 be grown during April, May, June, Sep- 

 tember, October and November, under 

 this system. The only attention the bed 

 will need is a slight watering when crop 

 is cutting and the pit covered with litter 

 or long manure, to keep off sun and frost. 

 I have used a bed several years by adding 

 4 inches of new soil and manure, which had 

 been in compost, spreading it evenly 

 over the surface of bed. The beds should 

 not be allowed to get water soaked, and 

 ground must be graded, to turn all sur- 

 face water. During July and August, I 

 let in a good supply of air and remove 

 litter, and the beds be ome quite dry 

 upon the surface, and I give no water 

 until September to start them up again, 

 anyone having space outside can raise 

 good mushrooms in this way with little 

 expense for material and labor, etc. 



I have found that in total darkness 

 mushrooms, during their growth will 

 turn and draw over to air circulation, 

 the same as fibre making plants turn to 

 light, which makes it very clear that the 

 air of the mushroom house must be con- 

 sidered of great importance. The best 

 means to keep the atmosphere of a mush- 

 room house moist is to place a few bar- 

 rels of fermenting manure in the house, 

 changing them when cooled off. This is a 

 better plan than syringe and watering 

 pot, and the risk of getting beds too wet 

 is avoided. The ventilation must be from 

 the top, or above the bed, avoiding all 

 strong currents of air passing over the 

 surface of beds when in bearing. 



I have used hot water and steam for 

 heating, but prefer the former. No pipes 

 should be placed near surface of beds. A 

 temperature 57° will bring rapid growth 

 and if air is perfect a good supply ol^ mush- 

 rooms will be the result. All sudden 

 changes either of temperature or atmos- 

 phere, will affect the mushroom and 

 should if possible be avoided. In regard 

 to spawn I like the brick form • best, and 

 use it perfectly dry and spawn beds when 

 temperature is below 90° and with a 

 tendency to fall. 



Many times I have been asked what 

 weight of mushrooms is it possible to 

 raise per square foot. To answer this 

 question fully you must know the length 

 of time, the conditions of cellar, pit or 

 house. I have a cellar below ground from 

 which I can cut mushrooms nine months 

 of the year. Now in a greenhouse five to 

 six months is all the time possible. In 

 Jobstown in 1886, I kept record of cut 

 from 24 hotbed sash and I cut duringfive 

 months an average of 107 pounds per 

 sash. I have a cellar below ground 50x20 

 feet that has yielded 80 pounds of mush- 

 rooms in one day and the average of same 

 cellar in 1886 was 9 pounds per dav for 

 8 months. I have a mushroom bed under 

 bam atConshohocken where 360 pounds 

 mushrooms were cut in one week, but 

 this is an exceptional ease. 



I'lease find renewal of subscription 

 enclosed. I do not spend any other two 

 dollars through the year that give raethe 

 same amount of information and pleas- 

 ure. W. W. 0. 



New York. 



