The record-union., 1896-06-28

away; it will produce poisonous mush-
room. The filaments must be blush
white-no other color.
| The bricks must not be cut too thick
Very thin bricks simply waste the
spawn, and produce what is called a
rock" The upper layer of mush-
rooms develops quite well, but the
others are suffocated Several days
afer planting the bricks the filaments
will push to the surface and cover the
mound The entire bed will take on a
blush white appearance-"Il Y a fleuri
sur panne," says the mushroom grower
THE "GOPTAGE"
Now is the time to "gopter' the bed
This is slang word used by the mush-
room growers, but there is no other ex-
preston for the process. 1t means Civ
ing the bed a cover of 0.I9 inch of pre-
pared earth. In the stone quarries the
refuse of the cuttings is sifted and the
finer part is called "bousin." This is
mixed thoroughly with the light earth
in the proportion of one part of earth to
three of the "bousin." This mixture is
sprinkled until it is sufficiently moist
to retain the imprint of the hand
Then, with the aid of a smooth wooden
shovel, the bed is covered to the depth
of o2 meters with this paste, patting it
lightly to make it adhere, after which
it is sprinkled, not soaked. Nothing
more must be done until the day follow
ing, when the bed is again beaten with
the back of the wooden shovel.
The work is now finished. Nothing
more can be done except to watch the
bed and water it If it shows signs of be-
coming too dry. Forty days after the
| "goptage" the first mushrooms will ap-
pear. The action of the "bousn" on
the mushroom is due to the salts of
inter or saltpeter. which furnish the
plant an abundant supply of azote
Where the "bousin" cannot be had.
powdered plaster will do just as we'll
The ''goptage" is matter of the utmost
Importance; the slightest neglect means
absolute failure.
| CULTIVATION ABOVE GROUND.
The cultivation of mushrooms in the
open differs but little from the method
pursued in caves and cellars. The prep
aratfon of the bed is precisely the same
as those underground. The bed should
| if possible, be made on light soil If the
| soil is heavy. broken plaster should
form its base, say to the depth of 3.94
inches. After two weeks of fermenta-
| ton, the proposed manure may be mold
ed into form as in the Illustrations Let
it be JOBS, as before described, and be
| perfectly sure that they are dry. The
| lst of September is the most propitious
| time for above-ground planting If the
weather be rainy, the bed should be
covered with straw until the time for
the 'goptage." After the "goptage," ;"
cover the bed again with the straw. If
| the straw becomes moldy, it should be
| removed
The mushrooms will appear in March
and continue until May. The bed must
| not become too dry. but should be
sprinkled morning and evening, remov-
irg the straw before each watering.
Gather the mushrooms in the evening
| only. filling in the holes and patting the
surface smooth. They should be gath
cred only every two days. The bed will
be injured by daily plucking.
MUSHROOMS WITHOUT MANURE.
Careful scientific investigation #has
proven that the very life of the mush-
rooms depend upon good supply of
saltpetr, and, acting on this, growers
have been able to secure a growth of
mushrooms at all seasons without the
use of manure. The method is as fol-
lows: Take 1 meter cube of old plaster
ard break it up into pieces about
the size OF hazelnuts moisten
the mass and put it in the
cave or cellar. Form an en-
bankment against the wall 259S inches
wide at the base and 1852 inches high
| Smooth the surface with the hand
| Place on the bricks in the position
above indicated, the first row being
| t.Sl inches above the base, cover this
with sand from river or stream O. O.f5I
incehs. The sand should be perfectly
fresh and clean. but not too moist AS
| inches. The sand should be perfectly
sprinkle it with a solution composed Of
l2o grains of saltpeter to 10 liters OF
water; sprinkle lightly. At the end OF
about forty days the crop Of mushrooms
will appear
This method is very inexpensive and
the production continuous.
ANIMAL AND INSECT ENEMIES
Rats and mice love mushrooms and
are the betes noire of the growers. All
sorts of devices have been tried to guard
against these pests, but without sue
cess. except, perhaps. by poisoning
them. The great difficulty is that thev
prefer the mushrooms to the poison.
Slugs or black snails are also very
fond of mushrooms, but, happily. they
are more fond of cabbage leaves. and
If the latter be placed about the beds
when traces of snails are found the
mushrooms will escape damage.
Wood lice eat not only the mush-
rooms, but the beds themselves. There
Is. however, a simple remedy: Strew
sliced apples about the beds and the
lice Will feast on these. Slaughter the
lice every morning.
Coleopteres-the leaves of two in
sects-which attack the mushr-ons and
the beds fam. Lemelilcorues, s. Scar
apeldes, and Dermeste tessellatusl
They attack the bricks and break the
filaments. causing great loss to the
growers everywhere in France. There
is absolutely no Known remedy against
this pest.
The fumes arising from the beds at
tract millions of gnats which deposit
their eggs in the beds, causing the
'goptage' to become a mere powder
Several methods have been devised for
their obstruction. One is to place in
the cave large tub of water with
lighted lamp floating on the surface
The gnats are attracted by the light
burn their wings, fall into the water and
are drowned. Another method is to
put tub of soapsuds near the he'd
The odor attracts the gnats and tbet,
plunge into the suds. I have s11egested
combination of these two ideas To
CHAMPIONSHIPS here, and thew have
tfleo II with success. j. e., an open lamp
1lOat1ng IN a large tub Of SOan uyo+ar.