150 MUSHROOMS, HOW TO GROW THEM. 



mines are adopted. To stop strong draughts, too, in 

 the passages, tall, straw-thatched hurdles are set up. 

 In narrow caves the breath of the workmen, the gases 

 given off by fermentation, and the products of combus- 

 tion of the lamps would soon so vitiate the atmosphere 

 as to render the caves uninhabitable were they not prop- 

 erly ventilated. Indeed, it frequently occurs that caves 

 in which mushrooms have been grown continuously for 

 some yeare have to be abandoned for a year or two be- 

 cause the crop has ceased to prosper in them. But after 

 they have been thoroughly cleared of all beds and the 

 surface soil that would have been likely to be touched 

 or aEFected by the manure, and ventilated and rested for 

 a year or two, mushrooms can again be grown in them 

 successfully. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



COOKIlirG MUSHROOMS. 



Fresh mushrooms, well cooked and well served, are 

 one of the most delicious of all vegetables. If we grow 

 our own mushrooms we can gather them in their finest 

 form, cook them as we please, and enjoy them in their 

 most delightful condition. If we are dependent upon 

 the fields we should be careful to gather only such mush- 

 rooms as are young, plump, and fresh, and reject all 

 that are old or discolored, or betray any signs of the 

 presence of disease or insects. And in the case of store 

 mushrooms, that is, the ones we. get at the fruiterer's or 

 other provision store, we should examine them critically 

 before using them to see that they are perfectly free 

 from "flock," "black spot," "maggots," or other ail- 

 ment, and discard all that have any symptoms of disease. 



