CHAPTER XXIII 



MUSHROOMS 



Hundreds of greenhouse vegetable growers are in- 

 terested in the culture of mushrooms, and this volume 

 would not fulfill its mission without a brief discussion of 

 the most important phases of the subject. 



Importance. The gardeners of all civilized countries 

 have long been interested in the growing of mushrooms. 

 In England and France the industry has been of large 

 commercial importance for over a hundred years. Exten- 

 sive areas are also devoted to the crop in Germany, 

 Belgium, Italy and other European countries. 



In the United States the business did not assume large 

 proportions until about 1900. The production of pure 

 spawn, which has made the growing of this edible fungus 

 a much more certain financial venture, has stimulated the 

 enterprise until special sections of the country have at- 

 tracted much attention for the magnitude of the mush- 

 room business. The Kennett Square region of Penn- 

 sylvania is particularly famous, though large plantings 

 are made near all of our great centers of population. 

 Individual growers may have two acres or more of bed 

 space devoted to the growing of mushrooms. Duggar 

 estimates that about 5,000,000 pounds were sold during 

 the season of 1913 and 1914. 



Most of the crop is generally sold locally, though there 

 is an increasing tendency to develop a trade with distant 

 points. Practically all the mushrooms grown in the 

 United States are sold in the fresh state. Large quanti- 

 ties of the canned product have been imported from 

 Europe, particularly France, and a limited supply has 

 been dried for commercial purposes, the latter being 

 used mainly for flavoring and for gravies. 



407 



