The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-10-07
Tho Natural Crop II 100000
Bushels q Day, but Many
Spoil.
Lore or the Mushrsom-Watching One
Grow-Produced Artiacially In Paris
Profitable Business

~N~J HN .
come along ana sfahP.e ing ianRu.' ny
the sun snfivels ~ - many p1'.s 80
mushroom-piokers 90 nor wsls iof uawh'
but 90 out q little aitef Mian'Rns' carrying
lanterns, occurring inc oowh naeauoWs. ahu
pastures. Ine 1pers picAef Anows' a''e'
two or three days. JUST wneIe 70 100. io1 .
cluster OF these plants. ana goes ssraiRns 70
the spot ~ any nour IN INC n'Rn'' cu''ihR
bach on on AZ the root.
know nothing more Welra la 70 see'
on . dark nignt, . score OF lanselns ooD.
bling along over tns siens ssresones ~
marsh md tnrouRn sns uplahds, Wri.ss ~
mund Collins IN Harpers weekly. WISH
nrss saw tnsm, 2 !i'.lo wnlo aRo' -
valley OF EvsnReilnss iana' : saouRn' .noy
were . congregation OF wil-o wiSp''
Tor these marshes. Wnicn Loneiellow nAs 10
accurately described. though nc never saw
them, are favorite regions of iack-o'-thc-
lantern. In Z couple of hours the basket,
vhinb m.v contain 4 bushel. Ia filed. and
NJ 1890. ~.t,rr = IN. ranra.t railvav
sno
statlon, wners sne nusu.oola1 ale uopo'A
before the dew has yet dried upon them.
From a thousand railroad stations, great
and aroal, in thu T1nited States and Canada.
s-s-H- - a.. 80 "a o..4.n,ho,
every morning llo'a 'ne ~ ~ oep.0i.uol
till we'll on in October, there IS one freiRnt
car loaded almost entirely with mushrooms.
Only thu Trash ones are shipped. and these
49,. a. ,..rlat .l,noat M cr;sn aa vhan
reach Tue na.As' al'nos' 90 oA.sp ? ~
gathered; Dus II 10 necessary 70 use ehein "
once, otherwise they turn brown, become
touph. and lose their flavor. The natural
.MM. ~ snar,nn,s anar+i4iaa
weeks, DuS INC onoino"s 'qu"n'''1e'
gathered from the fields fall short OF sup
plyino tho market for that time, so that
now one ordering mushrooms in nearly nny
-S--s.. :. .a.uo1 f,om cons Most ~
tcs'"u'an' !" eo''o" va ~ 49,
tho Wild or natural crop II DouRns Dy PEI
vate individuals, and If the dealers have
mora than they can sell. thew DISPOSE OF
+h.m n L.tcbur and aance manufacturers
~, N-., -. .rotohlv
Inc na'ural Musnioom f'top piopaDAS
the plants shipped to olstant markets Ieacn
their destination large quantities OF them
are spoiled.
The wild mushroom is more brittle, sue
culent, and better-favored than those grown
in caves, cellars, and darkened places, and,
afterwards put in TINS; it is also many times
larger, spreading out like an umbrella on
coming in contact with the air. The mush-
room family is a very numerous one, COM
prising, in round numbers, about hundred
varieties. This includes many .unwhole-
some members, and one which is deadly
poisonous. The worthless members OF the
mushroom family receive various names,
such as toad stools, fairy caps, etc. The
belief was held for a long time that toads
slept at night on the top OF large mush-
rooms, and it was also believed that the
fairies used the plants for caps, and wore
them during their revels on the open glades
and downs ut night when the moon was
shining. I do not know how this fiction
became a common belief. but suppose it
was owing to the rapid growth of the plant,
which burst through the sod during the
night, standing an inch high IN the morn
ing, n often nve or SIX lncnes IN a,amete
ut the tor. 1t is q mistake, however, TO
suppose that the mushroom attains its
growth in n night; in thatperiod the plant
merely bursts through the sod, expanding
rapidly on contact with the air. The spawn
from which it grows has been. propagating
for two or three weeks; and this spawn
thrives best in ground run over by sheep,
kline, horses, and other cattle.
One night l was out with a party of mush
ioom-picksrs at Grand Pre-. which is q por-
tlon Of Evangeline's land. One of the num-
ber snidto me, IF you have patience enough
tonight you will see mushrooms grow;' md
then he led mo to a spot in q pasture that
produced a couple of hundred of the fungi
every morning. While the rest were dart
ing hither and thither picking the plants, l
lay down, putting my lantern beside me. on
a spot where my expert friend assured me
several mushrooms would appear before
morning. | waited for nearly an hour and
was becoming tired of my vigil, but Htill
kept my eye close to the ground. Then I
noticed a slight movement in the sod; q
little nodule of clay was pushed up. and
then the motion ceased: but presently a
couple of withered blades Of grass snapped,
and | r perceived another movement in the
little clay mound. The mushroom seemed
to me to push itself by hts and starts; new
ertheless, l believe the growth was regular.
1 remained there for n couple OF hours after
seeing the first movement. and then the top
of Q plant, rounded like the end OF an egg,
was fully in view through the sod. As soon
as its head Was free, 1t began gradually to
measured as much across as a silver dollar.
The mushroom that ls coming into our
markets every day now BY thousands OF
bushels II. known to sclentltc men as agarl-
Gus campestris, but of this there are many
varieties. 1t will grow only on the open
pastures, meadows, and downs which are
exposed to the winds; the unwholetolne
members OF the tribe like the shade and are
clammy to the touch. Even persons whose
fields abound with this plant cannot always
distinguish the wholesome from the I'M
wholesome fungus, but whoe yer bears tho
following facts in mind will have no diff
Guilty:
l. The table mushroom, or agaricus cam
~nestris, is usually white on the outer sur
face, and has n skin which readily peels of.
This is not true of the unwholesome mush-