[ 806 ] 



poisonous, and the most practical methods of distinguishing 

 edible mushrooms are : (a) To taste a bit of the raw mush- 

 room. If the taste is sweetish and pleasant it is quite safe 

 to count it as an edible mushroom. If it has a bitterish or 

 acrid taste it may be rejected as a poisonous one. (If) To 

 rub a little bit of the raw mushrooms with the fingers. If 

 the colour changes from white into green, the mushroom is 

 poisonous. If the colour does not change it is a safe one to 

 eat. But, it is still safer to rely upon imported French 

 'spawn' bought from the Great Eastern Hotel, or some 

 other reliable firm, and grow the mushrooms from it in 

 artificially prepared beds. The spawn incorporated with 

 loose manure is sold by the Himalaya seed stores, Mussoorie, 

 at Rs. 2/4 per box of 2tbs. This gives very good result. 

 The best place to choose for mushroom-beds is a damp 

 godown, where a specially prepared soil is to be spread 

 to a depth of 18". The soil should consist of 5 parts of 

 garden mould, 10 parts of fresh horse-dung and i part of 

 fresh ashes, thoroughly mixed up and exposed for two days 

 to the sun before it is spread out in the godown. After 

 4 or 5 days, the spawn should be sown a foot apart each 

 way. The spawn should be taken in pieces about 2" square, 

 dipped in water and sown in holes 3 inches deep covered 

 up after sowing and beaten down firmly. After a month 

 2 inches of garden mould are to be spread over the bed, 

 beaten down and well watered. No further attention is 

 needed afterwards except occasional watering of the walls 

 to ensure dampness of the atmosphere of the godown. 

 If spawning is done early in September the first mushrooms 

 will come up at the end of October. Small cellars are 

 utilized in Europe for growing mushrooms on shelves fixed 

 in the walls one above another. So grown, the mushroom 

 crop may prove remunerative in this country also grown in 

 towns like Calcutta where there a rich European population 

 who value mushrooms as a delicacy. 



