MusHEooM Growing. 343 



MUSHROOM GROWING. 



By A. M. BoTTOMLKY, J]. A., Mycn)l()oi,st, Division of Botany and 



Plant Mvcoloo-y. 



Mushroom growing' is iiot, as many people seem to inuigine, a difficult 

 process or one that requires special knowledge. On the contrary^ 

 muslirooms are an easy crop to grow, and beginners are often as 

 successful with them as growers with considerable experience. They 

 have the advantage, moreover, of occupying little space and, apart 

 from the preparation of the beds, are a clean crop to handle. As 

 with any other industry, however, success depends on general con- 

 ditions, good materials, interest in the business, and intelligent 

 management . 



The Mushroom Plant. 



The term " Mushroom " is the popular name applied to those 

 members of the '" gill-bearing " fungi which are considered to be 

 edible, and is often used in contradistinction to the poisonous 

 members of the family commonly known as "toadstools." The 

 form luost familiar to people is that of the common mushroom, known 

 as Agaricus campestris This consists of an umbrella-shaped struc- 

 ture with a whitisli stalk and a cream to brownish cap, on the under- 

 side of which are " gills "' or plates radiating from the stalk. When 

 young or in the " button "' stage these gills are hidden by a skin 

 known as the '" veil,"' which breaks away as the mushroom expands^ 

 leaving a i*ing round the stalk and exposing the gills, which are at 

 first pale pink in colour but rapidly change to a dark brown on 

 matuiity. On the gills are borne the spores — very minute bodies — ■ 

 which are equivalent to seeds in ordinary plants, and serve to propa- 

 gate the plant. These may be seen by laying a ripe cap, gills down- 

 wards, on white paper for a few hours, Avhen they w-ill be found 

 to have been shed in a dark powder along lines corresponding with 

 the arraug-ement of the gills. In nature, these spores fall to the 

 ground, geriuinate, and ulimately give rise to a mass of white threads 

 known as the mj-celium. The mushroom itself originates as a small, 

 round, Vi^hlt*^ structure, which develops at the junction of some of 

 the thicker threads. It constitutes the fruiting portion of the plant, 

 while the vegetative part consists of the underground mycelium. 



Cultivation from Spores. 



In nature, the propagation of these fungi is probably effected 

 by means of the spores, but under artificial conditions this "Is not 

 the case, owing to the difficulty experienced in germinating the 

 spores. The process by which mushrooms are cultivated in this way 

 is a secret one and known only \o a few, 



Cli.tivation from Spawn. 



For all general purjioses, mushrooms are cultivated from 

 " spawn." Strictly speaking, spawn is the mycelium of the fungus, 

 but in a commercial sense it is used to include both the mycelium 

 and the medium in which it is carried and preserved. Spawn may 

 be obtained in two forms — "' flake '' spaw]i and " brick " spawn,. 



