Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-11
FORTUNES In OLD COAL PITS.

Ioiden Opportunities for Mushroom Farm
ing in the Deserted Mines on Mt. WASH
fngton-only a Moderate Capital Needed
and the Market Is Always Good.
r. H. Robinson, of Charters township,
mas been experimenting in the culture OF
mushrooms in coal pit, and although he
mas abandoned the business in disgust, ms
attempt is suggestion that might be made
profitable. Peter Henderson, noteo
New York gardener, and author
OF a text book for truckers, en-
titled Gardening for Profit" states
that in the New York market the supply has
never half equaled the demand, even Mt the
almost fabulous prices the fungi command,
and there are manv people in this city VINO
are almost continually on the outlook 1or
them and can rarely get what they want.
Some walk out four or five miles ana g'itheE
those thai nature provides, saving that IL Is
about as cheap to do so as to pay marker
prices. Here, then, is one farming INDUSTRY
that would give employment to large
number of people on remunerative terms,
and the farmer who experiments ludlclously
with novelties is the one who makes money;
Beside this, the mushroom farmer neeu
not necessarily be q hermit. He might rent
an abandoned coal pit on Mt. washington
Tor song, and when he has his crop planteo
and has seen to it that the temperature OF
his fHrm is about right, say between Az ana
CO.. he can come downtown and spend his
leisure In the Young Mems Mercantile
Library, at the rooms Of the I. NJ T. A, at
church, at the rheater, in the lecture room;
OF barroom, ETC., according as his tastes lead
him.
The nearer the city, the cheaper can
the farm be started, and 500 capital would
be abundant to start one in a Mt. WashlnS-
ton coal pit as the fue: necessary to keep
the proper temperature could be gotten at
hand in the pits and for nothing. there
being enough slack left in these disused
for half a century at least. In
old times the operators left the
greater part of the slack in the pits: as 1t did
not pay to take 1t out, there being next to
no market for it. The mushroom raiser is
not necessarily compelled even to buy seed,
as he can manufacture it himself, and the
process is so simple that any child can
understand it. The spawn for large r1ush-
room "farm" need not cost more than So
1t is more than probable that Mr.. Robin
sons failure was caused by some very slight
inadvertence, us an experienced cultivator,
who made pile Of money in the business,
states that after consulting all the authori-
ties on the subject, he labored two years be-
fore he produced single mushroom, and
finally on a patient examination or the au-
thorities he discovered in single sentence |
the cause of all his failures. 1t read: "Be |
careful to delay the covering with mould
until 10 or Il days after the bed has been
spawned" In ali his attempts he had |
put the two-inch covering of soil
on tho spawn as soon as it
WIS painted, thereby TalSlnp tue UelnpeTd-
ture by confining the steam to such a degree !
;Is to destroy the spawn. This man who mad |
raised every kind Of garden vegetable that |
could be raised in the latitude of New York |
City. states that mushrooms paid far better |
than anything else. though his net profit on |
an acre of celery was $735, receipts being |
y $40 and expenditures of all kinds, Includ- |
ing cost of selling S605
There is very little systematic cultivation |
Of mushrooms around Pittsburg. A few |
people are making money at it.