Mushrooms 24 1 



Gathering and Packing. When the beds begin to bear, the 

 Mushrooms should be gathered regularly and frequently at 

 least two or three times a week. To allow them to get too far 

 open before gathering tends to exhaust the bed and shorten 

 the crop. Every one that is gathered should be pulled out 

 with a slight twist, so that the base of the stem comes clean 

 away. It is a great mistake to cut or break the stems and 

 to allow the bottoms to remain in the bed with the idea of 

 later getting the few small ones which generally show at the 

 foot of a large one. Such a plan, by leaving the old stumps in 

 the bed to decay, encourages insect pests and fungoid diseases, 

 and thus materially lessens the crop. The person who is 

 gathering should always carry a knife for the purpose of 

 cutting clean out the roots of any which have broken off, and 

 all Mushrooms which are looking dead and withered should 

 also be dug completely out in the same way. A basket con- 

 taining moist soil similar to that used in casing the bed should 

 always be kept at hand so that all holes made in the bed may 

 be filled at once. Great care is needed in handling the Mush- 

 rooms to avoid bruising them, the least touch on the tender 

 gills causing them to become discoloured. They should be 

 gathered into three separate baskets, in one of which would be 

 put the largest and best looking fully open ones, known as 

 " broilers," in another the smaller half-opened and small round 

 undeveloped ones, known as " cups " and " buttons," and in the 

 third the rough and broken ones. They must be very carefully 

 placed in the baskets stem downwards to prevent any soil 

 falling into the gills, any adhering soil being cleaned off in 

 the packing shed with a piece of flannel. When they are 

 gathered under cover it is a good plan to cut off the bottom of 

 the stem at once as soon as they are removed from the bed 

 and before putting them in the basket. * When gathering from 

 outside beds in severe weather they should be picked very 

 closely so as not to have to expose the bed too frequently, and 

 only a small portion should be uncovered at one time, and this 

 should be re-covered as soon as the Mushrooms are gathered. 

 The produce after being graded as indicated above is packed, 

 stalks downwards, in " handle baskets " supplied by the market 

 salesmen, generally in quantities weighing from 41bs. to 61bs. 



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