The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-12-31

Numbers had cellars ,atsached to pr,
vate gardens, but only p few succeeded
in raising mushrooms. Lack OF atten'
3on to temperature, improper manage:
1nent of the beds, the use Of inferior
spawn and other mistakes were fatal.
Then some market gardeners in Long
Island, Staten Island, Manhattan Island
and other points adjacent to New York,
as we'll as near Boston, Philadelphia and
Washington. began holl Owing out caves
and building dark PLACES to raise the
fungus. ...,..... 49,.
A few succeeded, and he rest, becom-
ing disheartened by c3nstant failure,
abandoned the project. The truth is
they had not the knowl@ edge nor the pa
tience. They could easily have imported
expert mushroom gardeners from
France, instead of learning from the i'm.
perfect and very meagres literature, pic
torial and otherwise, belonging to tho
subject. I may add b ERE that all tho
drswings to be found in the American
Encyclopedia and the lother three or
four publications on the Subject are to be
traced back to a stupid inadequate and
inaccurate work printSd about forty
years ago.
From that time on artificial mushroom
raising has been carried on almost owe:
the entire Union with varying success.
The clumsy, thriftless and i'll informed
have oone out of the business, but tina
careful and industrious pnes have made
plenty of money. -
Said another restaurant man to me on
this point: "Why, sonte of them are
fairly coming cash out of this thing, and
no wonder. They know that the lnferi-
ority of imported mushrooms leads us to
nav exorbitapt prices for (all that we can
get taken fresh from the jbeds. We have
actually to pay from 81. Pc to S1.50 a
pound for these home grfwn mushrooms
lust as soon as the NATURALLY season closes. "
ssDo YOU get artiiciallE grown musb.
rooms from American gardeners all .nH
wear reand except in August and Sep
temfpc?" l asked anothIef expert III
musnrooms who keeps a large restaurant
in Liberty street. Ii 49,
"No. That is the stupid and aston
ishing part of it. It almoI Isl forces one
to the belief that there is pc brains en-
ployed in the domestic busirk kss. For all
their huge profits our mushfdom men are
timid. Do you know thatt just as soon
% summer comes they Closeup Their cell
lars, caves, dark houses andy mushroom
gardens and do not start them gong
again till October. They ;db this year
after year in spite of the Short natural
crop of the six years just l'd6t. Ihey
ought to run them at their fullest capac-
ity the year round, anL. if they have an
oversupply in August and Sd 4ptember they
esuld can them, as they do nin Fran'A
From various other comp Fent sourcea
confirmation was obtained d these state.
ments. The facts generally as gather
them from oil reliable urces, arc,
There are, round about New York, Bos.
ton. Philadelphia, Chicago and all the
large cities, several market ardenerS en-
gagged in the artificial produ tiou. There
is IA general understanding mong them
to shut down at certain season, but
when they are running the get close
upon $1.50 pound for a. they pro-
duce. A more plentiful supply would
bring down prices, and thus they stand
together to maintain what practically
a monopoly. II
But look at the magnitu4n of an in
dustry of This kind if prd db'erly devel.
oped. If you allowed but pound OF
mushrooms day to every tlfty or Sixty
persons, and that is so low an estimate as
to be almost ridiculous, it yould repre-
sent production of 1000, qoO day, or
365, 900, 900 pounds in yefr, which at
fifty cents pound, would mean $751;
500, 900 paid to the mushr pom garden
crs in year. Who will say then, this
ia m industry that the people should no:
hear about and that should 1emaln IN the
hands of few covetous pefsonsf
That all who read this and who are
interested in the subject M may have closr
views about the methods of raising, /
I'VE at some length the methods found
the best by experts:
In Paris thousands of persons are en-
ployed in the subterranean places. Here
they work the twenty -four hours through
at depth of from sixty to 100 feet, the
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