CHAPTER XXIII 
MUSHROOMS 
Hundreds of greenhouse vegetable growers are in- 
terested in the culture of mushrooms, and this volume 
would not fulfill its mission without a brief discussion of 
the most important phases of the subject. 
Importance.—The gardeners of all civilized countries 
have long been interested in the growing of mushrooms. 
In England and France the industry has been of large 
commercial importance for over a hundred years. Exten- 
sive areas are also devoted to the crop in Germany, 
Belgium, Italy and other European countries. 
In the United States the business did not assume large 
proportions until about 1900. The production of pure 
spawn, which has made the growing of this edible fungus 
a much more certain financial venture, has stimulated the 
enterprise until special sections of the country have at- 
tracted much attention for the magnitude of the mush- 
room business. The Kennett Square region of Penn- 
sylvania is particularly famous, though large plantings 
are made near all of our great centers of population. 
Individual growers may have two acres or more of bed 
space devoted to the growing of mushrooms. Duggar 
estimates that about 5,000,000 pounds were sold during 
the season of 1913 and 1914. 
Most of the crop is generally sold locally, though there 
is an increasing tendency to develop a trade with distant 
points. Practically all the mushrooms grown in the 
United States are sold in the fresh state. Large quanti- 
ties of the canned product have been imported from 
Europe, particularly France, and a limited supply has 
been dried for commercial purposes, the latter being 
used mainly for flavoring and for gravies. 
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