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are termed "Spring mushrooms" ("Haruko")- The "Winter mush- 

 rooms " (" Toko ") are collected in the late of autumn or early in winter 

 before the cap (thallus) is fully developed. They are much sought for 

 in the Chinese market. Both kinds of mushrooms should immediately 

 after collection be dried either in the sunlight or by fire, any delay in this 

 work spoiling the flavor of the product. During the drying, spores fall 

 in quantities from the matured'caps and they should of course be collected 

 for use in dissemination. For this purpose, rotten wood is ground into a 

 meal and strewn over the mats on which mushrooms- are placed for drying. 

 The same meal loaded with spores may be used many times for this end. 

 The mixture thus obtained is kept and can be used in inoculation by 

 mixing with water and sprinkling it upon fresh billets. 



(c) Propagation by Means of Mycelium. 



It is impossible in practice to obtain mycelium as is done in culture. 

 The most convenient method to obtain them is to remove the outer coating 

 of old billets that have been used in mushroom growth. The rotten part 

 of the wood in which mycelium is abundantly found is ground into a 

 meal. This meal is mixed with water and be spread on fresh Konara 

 billets. The work is best done in winter when strong mycelium able to 

 resist the cold can be produced. 



The mushroom can be propagated by inoculation, but the method is 

 of so scientific that it could hardly be comprehended by country people 

 who remained ignorant of the possibility. 



After the results of study of spores and mycelium of the mushroom 

 made by us became fully known, they gave a great impetus everywhere 

 to the culture of Shiitake. An increase of over 20% in amount was 

 obtained by the adoption of the methods. Not only this but in 

 districts where Shiitake culture had hitherto failed, the success was 

 obtained as elsewhere by the adoption of our new method. There is no 

 doubt that the artificial inoculation of the mushroom as now carried on 

 throughout country redounds to the credit of this discovery and adds to 

 success of the forest industry. 



