Having fulfilled all these conditions, I should be able to tell you 
that you will surely meet with marvellous success, but alas! the first 
and most necessary requisite, we are told, is a calm and even temper- 
ament, for while the mushrooms are due to appear in six weeks, it 
may be 8 or even i6 before we are rewarded. Also, one bedful may 
flourish and another, next to it, show not a sign of life. However, I 
imagine any good results would quite atone for a failure or two. 
A second requisite is the dry atmosphere of the room, and an even 
temperature. 
Of course someone is wondering — "Are they free from pests?" 
Alas! No! Wood-lice may attack them, but they usually make their 
home on edges of the box or on a near-by wall by the box, where they 
can make nightly sallies and chew off heads of mushrooms as they rise. 
To get rid of them, pour boiling water on the edges of the box, being 
careful not to boil the mushroom spores at the same time ; or -mix one- 
half ounce of sugar of lead and a handful of oatmeal, which can ba 
kept near by. 
If the temperature is too high, the small white mites may appear, 
but will not if the temperature is kept below 60. Having done all 
these things, what will the result be? Mushrooms from 2 to 5 months, 
and with careful watering of the beds with warm water and nitrate of 
soda, a second crop may be induced. 
We in America are far behind the rest of the world in growing 
mushrooms and in appreciating their food value. France grows tons 
annually, and in most European countries mushroom culture is under 
Government inspection. In certain parts of Italy, and Australia, 
mushrooms form the staple among the more primitive people, and 
some man has remarked that he could maintain an army five months 
on them. The Chinese are devoted to mushrooms, and import many 
from Japan, Tahiti, and New Zealand, and know of their nutritious 
value. 
Personally, I think they are infinitely more desirable as a meat sub- 
stitute than the peanut loaf, "mock sausage," etc. that we are urged 
to eat, and we definitely know they are rich in nitrogenous matter 
and in protein, and are so meaty in substance that Mr. Gibson tells 
us he fooled a hawk into thinking it was eating something as dainty as 
a baby chick. He threw the mushroom into the air — the hawk 
swooped down and caught it in its claws, shaking it as if to kill it, 
and gobbled it down. It did this five times, and acted as if it were 
being treated to a great delicacy. 
All books on mushrooms that I have read ended with such deli- 
cious recipes for cooking them, that I longed to start right in and raise 
them, so that /or once I could have all I wished. 
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