1048 



MUSHROOM 



JIUSHROOM 



iuto a bed, a depth of froni 9 to 12 inclips bein.c; about 

 right. Thi:' manure is phiced in layers and jjoiinded ;is 

 hard as possible with a wooden mallet or brick; it can 

 be well trodden where treading is possible. We spawn 

 when the temperature of the bed has subsided to Uii*^. 

 It is, a little unsafe to spawn at a higher temperature, 

 and if left until the lieat drops below 80°, Blushroonis 

 will be much more tardy in appearing and of poorer 

 quality. English Milltrack spawn usually gives the best 

 results. The spawn is broken into pieces as large as a 

 walnut an(i inserted 2 or 3 inches deep, some 4 or 5 in. 

 apart each way, pressing the surface firm after the in- 

 sertion. Ten days later 2 inches of good loam is spread 

 over the surface and pounded in hard. The beds ;ire 

 then covered with meadow hay or straw, and, given 

 proper atmospheric conditions, should require no furtlirr 

 attention until after Mushrooms have appeared, which 

 may be in four weeks or not imtil four montlis later. 

 The time wlien the first buttons will appear is very un- 

 t^ertain. It does not do to be of a highly strung nervous 

 temperament in Mushroom culture. We have spawned 

 beds and ck^spaired of success, when we have l)een grati- 

 fied by getting a first-class crop thirteen to sixteen 

 weeks after spawning. 



A dry atmosphere is inimical to the well-being of 

 Mushrooms, and. success is uncertain where such condi- 

 tions exist. It is generally conceded that watering the 

 beils often does more harm than good, but it must ])e 

 remembered that the fact of the bed becoming dry only 

 retards the production of the crop, and does not lessen 

 the chance of Mushrooms appearing once the bed has 

 become sulfieiently moist. If the beds are made very 

 compact there is less probability of them ilrying out and 

 less likelihood of their injury by any sudden excess of 

 either drouglit or moisture. When wuter has to be 

 given we prefer to use it of a temperature of 85° to itO'^ 

 and to water only the dry portions of the bed, which are 

 wetted as evenly as possible. 



When the first crop is exhausted and tlie bed has be- 

 come somewhat dry, we use warm water and a<ld a little 

 nitrate of soda to it, covering the surface witli hay after 

 watering. This usually induces a good second crop to 

 come. 



We start to collect manure for tiie beds early in Seji- 

 tember, and continue to do so until early November. 

 Usually the beds are made under the benches of some 

 of the houses, where a temperature of 55° to G0° can )»e 

 maintained, b\it any cellars or caves where such a tem- 

 perature can be kept up are even better than grern- 

 houses for Muslirooni culture. The beds are always 

 kept as dark as possjlde. Cockroaches, wood-lice and 

 other pests must be poisoned or trapped, else they soon 

 ruin a crop. W. N. Craig. 



MushroDDi-tinnvtiir/ is interestiu.^' work, and it is the 

 uncertainty tijut is the cause of it. Most Mushro(>ui- 

 growers are in doubt when spawning their beds as to 

 whether Mushrooms will appear, or the work be a fail- 

 ure. The writer has had excellent success with Mush- 

 room culture an<l remaritable failures. Failures in a 

 Mushroom crop are not easy to explain. The fault may 

 be in making up the bed, or it may he in tlie spawn. A 

 few years ago a bed was spawned with three lots of 

 spawn; two beds were a success, wliile the otln.'r was a 

 complete failure, — a proof that the bed is not always 

 the cause of failure. Bluslirooms may lie grown suc- 

 cessfully under the greenhouse benches, i)roviding tin- 

 drip can be kept off the beds; also in cellars; but the 

 preference is for a Mushroom house built for that pur- 

 pose. The house of which the writer has charge is 

 built into a bank iu such a position as to require very 

 little fire heat to keep up the temperature. Of course 

 air-spaces must be provided in the walls, according to 

 the size of the house. 



Two methods of making the beds may be described: 

 (1) Collect fresh horse manure until there is enou^'b '<> 

 make a bed. The manure should lie kej^t where it can 

 be protected from rains, an o|iimi slied preferred. Turn 

 the manure every other niornin!^ for a week, or until 

 danger (,)f burning is over. In makinc the beds, from 

 y in. to a foot of ma.nure is used. Beds should lie thor- 

 oughly firmed, [luttini; in a la.ver of manure, then tirm- 

 itig, then another layer, until the desired deiitli is 

 secured. Assuiiiiiig th.-it the bed goes np al'tiM- making 



to 100° or 110^, then ^r,-adualiy drops, it is safe to spawn 

 at 90°. 8pawn should be inserted in the manure sav 

 2 or 3 in. deep, and about ry in. apart. In a week or ten 

 days after spawning, cover with 2 in. of good loam. 

 Good loam from the pasture, soil from the garden, and 

 also old rose soil have been used with good results, it 

 is customary to mix a little soil through the mannic 

 before making the bed. After the soil is on the bed 

 and firmed down, a covering of straw will be beneficial, 

 as it prevents the beds from drying out. Should thev 

 dry out, water must be applied, which should be at a 

 temperature of 75° or 80°. Mushrooms should be gatli- 

 ered from six to eight weeks after making the bed. 

 Keep the house at a temperature of 55° to 00-'. (2) The 

 second Tnethod, which seems to be the better, is for 

 every load of fresh horse manure to add a load of old 

 thoroughly rotted manure, or a load of old Mushroom 

 nninure. The aim is to get enough old manure to pie- 

 vent the other from burning. The two are mixed, and 

 the following day the bed is made. This method does 

 away with a great amount of labor turning the manure: 

 the Vjed also has a tendency to hold the moisture a 

 greater length of time. The details of making the bed 

 are the same as in the other method. This is a simple 

 way to make the beds, but the results will follow with 

 us mvich certainty as with any other method. 



William Turnkk. 



The ivriter'.s firs( trial ivith Mushrooms was made iu 

 a soap box under a bed, and the Mushrooms diil well. 

 That was 45 years ago. The next year he went into the 

 business on a larger scale, growing them in the cellar, 

 and a good crop was the result. He received $1.50 a 

 pound, or $220 for the lot. A cellar under the parlor was 

 devoted to the ero|"), and $'{50 worth was sold. Then a 

 place was built under the ground with good ventilation. 

 but it was not a success. The drip was too much. A 

 cellar under the carriage house, which had no dri|i, 

 made a good place, leading to the belief that a place with 

 a Mushroom house under a building is the best place in 

 which to grow them. Tlieyneed a dry place. If we have 

 a dry summer and light rains in September, or heavy 

 dews, we will pick plenty of Mushrooms in the fall oul- 

 doors. In growing Mushrooms, we must imitate nature. 

 The money that is wasted for spawn alone in one year 

 would make a fortune for some persons. People get 

 wild to grow Mushrooms, Some secure a crop, but others 

 get nothing. The young man must try a little at a time. 

 He shouhl learn from the experiences of different men. 

 A man can make Tuoney in this business, and he can lose 

 it. The writer has had failure and success, but he m-w 

 grows t\TO t<ins every >"ear. 



Mushroom spawn runs best in anything that is dry. 

 It is difficult to fiTid out what moisture is wanted, and 

 to get the material in the right state. The writer pre- 

 fers to secure his manure on the cars fresh from the 

 stabli--. Turn it over eight or ninetinies, once every day. 

 so it will not liurn, and iiut iu <lirt. To twenty tons add 

 tixM- cart-h.iads of i-arth. This earth is secured from s<'d 

 from the hedi;es around the farm, taken the first of June 

 and piled up to rot. so it will be ready for mixing in tlic 

 manure. \VI)en the manure is in the right state, put it 

 in beils H inches deep. The beds (mn<le in houses) an- 

 made up like bunks on a ship and are 100 feet loui;. t 

 feet witle and '.\ feet l)etween the beds to allow a man lo 

 go throu;j:h with a \\dieelbarrow. One house is 20 feet 

 wide. It contains 13 bfds 10(1 fi.et long. It is heated liv 

 hot water and the temperature is kept at (>0°. There are 

 three large houses, and all of them with greenhouses on 

 top, where lettuce, caulidower, parsley, rhubarb and 

 radisht^s are grown with the same heat that grows the 

 Mushrooms. English spawn is used. It should be fresh 

 and new. The spawn is placed G inches apart in the 

 beds, in pieces the size of n black Avalnut. When thi 

 heat goes down to 90° the spawn is put in. and in six 

 weeks the Mushrooms are ready for pickinu:. The beds 

 last from three to four months. Tlie Mushrooms ai-e 

 packed in lioxes and shipped to New York. 



S. W. WOKTMAN. 



The Tntdi' ill J/"/f.s7(vi<>/;(,v. —q'he trade iu IMushrooms 

 hi- uM-own fr<^ni a supply of 30 to 50 poun<ls a day te 

 ih!' loiormou^ (piaiitity of one-half to three-quarters of a 

 (I'li. In I'ai't, the tr.-ide has increased in proportion wit)i 



