CHAPTER II 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE MUSHROOM. 



When the stems of the mushrooms are pulled or dug from the 

 ground, white strands are often clinging to the lower end. These 

 strands are often seen by removing some of the earth from the young 

 plant, as shown in Fig. 2. This is known among gardeners as 

 "spawn." It is through the growth and increase of this spawn 

 that gardeners propagate the cultivated mushroom. Fine specimens 

 of the spawn of the cultivated mushroom can be seen by digging 

 up from a bed a group of very young plants, such a group as is 



Figure 4. Agaricus campestris. Sections of " buttons " at different stages, 

 showing formation of gills and veil covering them. (Natural size.) 



shown in Fig. 3. Here the white strands are more numerous than 

 can readily be found in the lawns and pastures where the plant 

 grows in the feral state. 



Nature of Mushroom Spawn. This spawn, it should be clearly 

 understood, is not spawn in the sense in which that word is used in 

 fish culture ; though it may be employed so readily in propagation of 

 mushrooms. The spawn is nothing more than the vegetative portion 

 of the plant. It is made up of countless numbers of delicate, tiny, 

 white, jointed threads, the mycelium. 



Mycelium of a Mold. A good example of mycelium which is familiar 

 to nearly every one occurs in the form of a white mold on bread or 



