6 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO MUSHROOMS, 
fected by drenching with boiling water, or it may be hauled to a dis- 
tance and spread upon the ground as fertilizer, or it may be destroyed 
by burning. The ground occupied by the mushroom beds should be 
thoroughly scalded, and the woodwork of the mushroom house treated 
io a wash of creosote or crude carbolic acid, either of which is distaste- 
ful to the mites. After complete disinfection has been accomplished 
the house should be screened, to guard against subsequent introduction 
of the pest by means of flies. All manure forming the beds should be 
steamed, according to the directions under the head of mushroom 
maggots. Care should be used to purchase spawn only trom unin- 
fested houses. With these precautions it is unlikely that trouble will 
be experienced from the attacks of the mushroom mite. Close watch 
should be kept, however, for any signs of the presence of the mites 
in the beds, and the compost destroyed upon their first appearance, 
as it is impossible to secure good results with mushrooms when in- 
fested by these mites. All applications of suffi- 
cient strength to destroy the mites are likewise 
injurious to the mushrooms, and it is futile to 
attempt to control by any artificial means, once 
the mushroom bed becomes infested, as the mites 
are buried so deeply in the compost that no insec- 
ticide will reach them. 
A predaceous mite belonging to the Gamasidie 
frequently occurs in beds infested by the mush- 
room mite, feeding upon the latter, and at times 
OBS Aad ar becoming so numerous as entirely to wipe out the 
Achoreutes arma- pest. The gamasid may be known by its longer 
es eta) legs and its manner of running swiftly over the 
compost or the mushrooms. The writer has seen 
cases where the gamasid has occurred in such abundance as greatly 
to outnumber its host. This predaceous enemy does not feed on the 
mushrooms after the destruction of the mites, but seeks other feeding 
grounds, or dies by starvation. 
‘ 
SPRINGTAILS. 
(Achoreutes armatum Nicolet et al.) 
At times the surface of a mushroom bed becomes alive with minute 
brown or black insects, which, when disturbed, leap about like fleas 
in an extremely erratic manner. These are known as springtails, 
since the springing is performed by the aid of two short bristles 
situated on the anal segment of the abdomen. ‘These insects (A cho- 
reutes armatum, see fig. 4) are present in almost all manure, where 
they feed on the decaying vegetation present, but on occasion they 
may become quite injurious in mushroom houses. A correspondent 
