The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1883-09-12
Raising Mushrooms

in this country. Like the tomato the
taste for it is generally acquired. Per-
sons who have become accustomed to
its use, however, are greatly attached
to it. Mushrooms rank as luxuries in
this country, and are paid for as such.
Most of those consumed in western
cities are imported from France and
Italy, and come in tin cans They are
greatly inferior to those that are picked
and cooked in fresh state. They
make good dressing for steaks and
chops, but are not in suitable condi-
ton to be broiled, fried, or baked.
Mushrooms in this country are chiefly
employed for imparting and appetizing
-1avor to meats, but in most of the
countries in the south of Europe they
lake their place among the substantial
articles of common food. They form
the best substitute for fresh meat, as
their ultimate composition is almost
Identical In Italy the trade in them is
very large. A number of varieties are
cultivated, some of which sell at very
high prices. They are grown in natural
and artificial caves, in beds protected
by roofs, and in buildings constructed
for the purpose. Many are exported,
and still larger number are converted
into sauces and catsup. Raising mush-
rooms constitutes an important indus
try in France. They are very extern
sively produced in the caverns under
the city of Paris. The temperature
and moisture of these caverns are
nearly uniform during theSentire year,
so that constant supply can be OBJ
tanned. The beds are formed of horse
manure and the sweepings of streets,
to which some loan is added. The
business of raising and delivering
mushrooms gives employment to a
large number of persons.
Great attention has been given to
mushroom-culture in England during
the past few years. Persons having
fine country estates have erected houses
for raising mushrooms, and in some
cases their production has been carried
on in mines that are no longer worked.
| a large number of works on mushroom
culture have been published in England
during the past few years. In this
country the subject of raising mush-
rooms has attracted but little attention.
This is probably chiefly owing to the
abundance of meat and the former
cheap price. The old pastures in the
eastern States have produced many
mushrooms during the months of Sep
tember and October, when the tempera-
ture of the soil and air are suited to
their growth. Mushrooms are gathered
during these months, carried to the
| cities and towns, and sold. The de-
mand for them, however, is greatest
| during the winter and early spring. be-
fore garden vegetables appear in the
market. Persons living in the country
| can raise mushrooms to good advantage
| for their own use in cellars, barn base
ments, green houses, and old hot beds
and cold-frames. For supplying the
city market they should be produced
near where they are wanted. In this
climate buildings must be constructed
above or below ground for protecting
them from the changes of the atmos-
phere. Old buildings that are no
longer useful for the purpose for which
they were originally intended will an
swer the purpose very well. A cheap
| heating apparatus will be necessary for
regulating the temperature during quite
cold weather. But little light is re-
quired in q building designed for rails
ing mushrooms.
A Philadelphia gardener who has
| given considerable attention to the cul-
tivation of these fungi. says: Many
persons are under the impression that
mushrooms grow spontaneously. They
must have arrived at this conclusion
without making observations, or else
have accepted the opinions of others
that have not made a study of the
plant. Mushrooms belong to the lower
order of plant life, and reproduce them
selves by going through two or more
changes similar to those undergone
by the caterpillar in the animal life.
| Tho oood rlrorar aor ha coar, Ixy ohaE l. =,
| an old mushroom over white paper,
when a dark-colored powder will fall
from the gills on the under side of the
mushroom. This will, under certain
conditions, produce cells somewhat
similar to the plant called yeast, used
for making bread. These cells multi
| ply or reproduce themselves by a divi-
sion of the cells. 1t is in this stage of
life of the mushroom that we control
its growth and can produce full-grown
mushrooms at pleasure. At this stage
| gardeners call it spawn and it can be
kept in this condition for years. The
manner of keeping and making new
spawn is to take equal parts of fresh
horse and cow manure and old soil,
with no lime in it, and form them into
cubes the size of common bricks. After
the bricks have become partly dry in
sert pieces of spawn one inch in di-
ameter in each one, and after they be-
come perfectly dry place them in pile
and cover them with fresh horse ma
nure, aud leave them in this condition
for two weeks. At the expiration of
that time it will be found that the
spawn has permeated the whole brick
the same as a small quantity of yeast
makes q larger quantity. This can be
used for making more spawn or for
making the beds for mushrooms.
To make the beds for mushrooms
take equal parts of fresh horse manure
and old soil from sod field containing
no lime. Mix well and place in layers
of four inches and pound it with NAL
let until solid. Then place other layers
on and pound until bed eight inches
deep is made. Place in it thermome-
ter. Over 100 degrees will be recorded,
and when the thermometer recedes to 95
or 80 degrees insert pieces of the spawn
the size of hens egg, burying them
about four inches deep and one foot
apart. Smooth the bed off and cover
with hay or straw to retain the heat
and moisture. In ten or twelve days
remove the hay and cover the bed with
one and a half inches of soil and then
again replace the hay. In four or five
weeks, if the temperature of the bed
can be constantly kept between IS and
60 degrees and the soil moist, but NOT
wet, mushrooms viii make their APP
pearance Beds can be made in any
out-of-the-way place, such as under
sheds or in cellars.-Chscago Times.