CULTIVATION OF MUSHROOMS. 



269 



and the following morning the plants are trimmed, that is, the part of 

 the stems to which the earth is attached is cut away, the plants are 

 weighed, put in baskets, and prepared for the markets. In other 

 cases, the mushrooms are gathered early in the morning, in the 

 same way, taken to the packing room, where the lower part of the 

 stem is cut away, the plants are weighed, placed into the baskets 

 and shipped to market. 



In some of the caves, or abandoned mines, which I have visited, 

 where the mushrooms are grown on a large scale, the practice in 

 picking the mushrooms varies somewhat from that just described. 



Figure 



237- 



-View in Packing Room (H. E. Hicks' Mushroom House, 

 Kennett Square, Pa.) Copyright. 



In the first place, the mushrooms are allowed to stand on the bed 

 longer, before they are picked. They are rarely, if ever, picked 

 before they open. Mushrooms may be quite large, but if they have 

 not opened, they are not picked. Very frequently, the plant may 

 open, but, the operator says, it is not open enough. It will grow 

 more yet. The object of the grower, in this case, is to allow the 

 mushrooms to grow as long as it is possible, before picking, for the 

 larger the mushroom, the more water it will take from the bed, and 

 the more it weighs. This may seem an unprofessional thing for a 

 grower to do, and yet it must be remembered that a large water 

 content of the mushroom is necessary. The mushrooms grown in 

 these mines are very firm and solid, qualities which are desired, not 



