680 



Commercial Mushroom Cultivation. 



[Oct., 



should begin to appear in from 6 to 8 weeks, but even if this time 

 is exceeded, hope need not be given up, as a little extra covering 

 or additional heat may still bring the crop along. Beds that have 

 lain dormant for more than three months have, in the end, been 

 known to yield a heavy crop. In normal circumstances, the bed 

 will need to be picked over three times a week, but the frequency 

 of picking is regulated by the progress of the crop. 



In picking mushrooms for market, the contents of each basket 

 should be made up to even weights, usually 5 or 6 lb., good 

 weight being allowed to compensate for evaporation in transit. 

 Packing with the stems upwards prevents the spores falling on 

 the mushrooms below and spoiling the colour. For the sake of 

 appearance, however, the top layer may be packed with the 

 stems downwards. Baskets should be marked " Perishable^ 

 Mushrooms, With Care," and should be covered with tough 

 brown paper and tied down with strong twine. The marketing of 

 mushrooms is helped by grading, a comparatively simple affair. 

 The chief recognised grades of mushrooms are (1) buttons, 

 (2) cups. (3) broilers, (4) roughs. Buttons are the mushrooms 

 which have not opened. Cups are partly open, broilers are fully 

 opened, and roughs are broken and imperfect specimens rejected, 

 from the other grades. An experienced grower can obtain an 

 average crop of 40 lb. to one ton of manure used. Since the 

 War, the increase in the price of materials has made it impossible 

 to raise a crop of mushrooms for less than 30s. to 40s. per ton 

 of manure employed. The increase in prices, however, has kept 

 pace with the costs of production, and the rates obtaining during 

 1919 at Covent Garden showed that cultivation might still be- 

 carried ©n on economic Jines, although no hard and fast rules- 

 can be laid down as to the prices likely to obtain in the future. 



