CULTIVATION OF MUSHROOMS. 2(37 



however, if the material in the bed becomes too dry, lukewarm 

 water should be used, and it should be applied through a fine rose of 

 a watering pot. 



While some operators after soiling the bed give no further care to 

 it until the bed is bearing, others cover the beds with some litter, in 

 the form of straw or excelsior. This is done for the purpose of 

 conserving the moisture in the bed, and especially the moisture on 

 the surface of the bed. Sometimes where there is a tendency for 

 the material in the bed to become too dry, this litter on the surface 

 retards the loss of moisture. Also, the litter itself may be moistened 

 and the bed can absorb some moisture in this way, if it is desirable 

 to increase the moisture content of, the bed slightly. 



When the spawn has once run well through the bed, watering 

 can be accomplished whh less danger of injury, yet great care must 

 be used even now. The spawn will run through a bed with a some- 

 what less moisture content in the material than is necessary for 

 drawing off the crop of mushrooms, though, of course, the spawn will 

 not run if the bed is too dry. The only way to see if the spawn 

 has run satisfactorily is to open up the bed at one or two points to 

 examine the material, opening it up slightly. If the spawn has run 

 well, a very delicate white "fiber," the mycelium, can be seen 

 penetrating all through the material. This handful can be replaced 

 in the bed, packed down, and the soil covered over and firmed again 

 at this point. 



When the mushrooms begin to appear, if the bed is a little dry, 

 it should be watered from time to time through the fine rose of a 

 watering pot. Lukewarm water should be used. Nearly all grow- 

 ers water the beds during the picking of the crop, or during the 

 period of gathering the crop. At the first few waterings, water 

 should not be sprinkled on the beds to wet them entirely through. 

 Enough water is applied to diffuse a short distance only through the 

 upper surface of the bed. At the next watering, several days later, 

 the moisture is carried further down in the bed, and so on, through 

 the several weeks, or months, over which the harvesting season ex- 

 tends. The object of thus gradually moistening the bed from above, 

 is to draw the crop from the spawn at the surface of the bed first, 

 and then, as the moisture extends downward, to gradually bring on 

 the crop from the ** fiber " below. 



Gathering the Mushrooms. In artificial cultivation, the mushrooms 

 usually formed are very near, or on, the surface of the bed. In the 

 case of the meadow or pasture mushrooms, they are formed further 

 below the surface. This is probably due to the fact that the con- 



