Vegetable Growing for Market 



to get to the surface. When the Mushrooms are peeping through, daily 

 dampings will be required. This should be done with a very fine rose 

 and very lightly each time. Once a day is sufficient in cool weather when 

 fire heat is not used, but two or three times a day may be necessary. 



Picking". A damp-over should be given before picking; the Mushrooms 

 are easier to clean after and keep better. For picking, several rows of 

 boards running the length of the house will be necessary. These should be 

 nailed to posts driven into the ground before the house is filled. Short 

 lengths of board that can be moved about are placed across the rows. The 

 mushrooms should be given a twist when they are plucked and laid as near 

 the long boards as possible. Boys with two boxes each then work behind 

 the pickers, cutting off the stalks 

 into one box and putting the 

 mushrooms into the other. In 

 this way they reach the packing 

 shed free from dirt, and give a 

 minimum of trouble. The old 

 stumps should be left till they 

 are shrivelled, when they will 

 come out easily, the holes being 

 filled with good soil at the same 

 time. This helps greatly to pro- 

 long the life of the bed. 



If the beds are to be in cold 

 houses or pits, they must be 10 

 to 12 in. deep in the winter, and 

 laid down and trodden in two 

 separate layers; otherwise the 

 procedure is the same as above. 



If they are in glasshouses 

 the roofs should be made as dark as possible, either by spraying on two 

 or three coats of clay mixed with oil, or covering them with canvas. 



Long rolls of stout brown paper, or canvas laid on wires inside the 

 houses, also help to equalize the temperature and prevent radiation of 

 heat. The idea of this is not to shut out the light but to maintain the 

 atmosphere even in temperature and moisture. 



Outdoor Ridge Beds. For these rather different treatment is required. 

 The usual size of winter beds is 3 ft. high and 3 ft. wide. The manure 

 is trodden down very firmly in 6-in. layers, the sides being dressed down 

 to the necessary width, leaving the top about 6 to 8 in. across. As a rule, 

 the temperature will be found to run up rapidly, sometimes to 120 or 130. 

 Holes 1 ft. apart and about 2 in. wide should be bored from the top nearly 

 to the bottom with a crowbar. These will quickly reduce the temperature, 

 but the base of the ridge will be soonest ready for spawning. Each layer 

 should be spawned when ready. There may be a difference of a week 

 between the start and the finish. The spawn should be inserted rather 



Fig. 480. Mushrooms (Agaricus campestria) 



