CULTIVATION OF THE MUSHROOM 



591 



in and infect the surrounding plants. A good mushroom bed will yield a crop 

 of from one-half to two pounds per square foot. Mushrooms should be picked 

 every day or every other day ; they should not be left after the veils begin to break. 

 For the market the mushrooms are sorted as to size and color, and packed 

 in one, two or five-pound boxes or baskets. Since they are very perishable, they 

 must reach the market in the shortest time. 



OLD BEDS. It is not practicable to raise another crop of mushrooms in 

 the material of an old bed, although this material is still valuable for garden 

 purposes. The old material should be entirely removed, and the mushroom 

 house thoroughly cleaned before the new beds are made. If this precaution be 

 omitted the next crop may suffer from the diseases or enemies of the mushrooms. 



Figure 502. A Cluster of 50 Mushrooms on One Root, Grown from "Lambert's Pure Culture Spawn" of 



the American Spawn Co., St. Paul, Minn. 



SPAWN. The cultivated mushroom is propagated from "spawn," the com- 

 mercial name applied to the mycelium ; the term "spawn" includes both the myce- 

 lium and the medium in which it is carried and preserved. Spawn may be pro- 



