The herald., 1897-04-09
About Mushrooms

To the Editor of the Los Angeles Her
aid: Those who read the Los Angeles
Times of March % undoubtedly OBJ
served an article headed "A Mushroom
Farm" Being a man of some years
standing in the study of edible and poi
sonous fungi and also one who has spent
considerable time on the practical
growth of "agraricus campestris," COM
monty speaking, the meadow mushroom,
I esteem it duty and pleasure to offer
the citizens of our Angel city some crit
icisms on the amateur-like remarks
made by these young Englishmen in
the article above referred to-
In the first place, the writer is laboring
under grave delusion when he states
that all attempts to produce cultivated
mushrooms in Southern California
have ended in failure, as am
we'll acquainted with at least three
growers in this portion of our hemis-
phere
Secondly this gentleman states that
he had cultivated mushrooms for pas
time IL England, and had Aperiinented
in the production of this fungi until he
felt sure of success. Now, can any one
inform me of the relationship between
growing mushrooms in England and in
Southern California? / think not. 1
grant this gentleman that an idea of this
growth in the British isles would GER
tainly aid one desirous of becoming a
grower in the country above mentioned,
but the climate, food of animals and ma
ture of soil are so totally different from
that met with in the isles of which the
gentlemen in question are natives, that
it seems to me utterly absurd to en-
deavor to grow this succulent fungus
here on a basis of experiments made in
England.
The writer says, first, that brick
spawn. sold at all seed stores in almost
every part of the world is impregnated
with spawn taken from old beds. Those
who have read the writings of any au-
thority on the making of brick spawn
are aware of the fact that these bricks
are spawned with virgin spawn; will
some one, therefore, kindly inform me
as to whether or not anything is virgin
after having been worked?
Secondly-The writer. who has evil
IDENTIFY seen little or none of this work
carried on, states that this compound is
impregnated with spawn before being
formed into bricks. Here. again, a want of
Is QiSPldyc Gu ny cAPOsAho MS 6iOSS 40
norance in our American papers, as it
is absolutely necessary that the mass
should first be cut into the brick form
in order that the hot-bed process used
in this industry for the purpose of i'm
pregnating may be carried to a success
full issue.
Thirdly-He states that when ready
for use, the only sign of the spawn is
a white mould that runs through the
brick. / do not know this gentleman,
but it seems to me that he must indeed
be very backward in his education on
this subject, as a brick exhibiting a
white mould to the eye of professional
would, without a second thought, be re-
iected, the white mould being an indi-
cation that the myestium is dead. Any
mould or cobweb-like appearance should
be of blush white.
Fourthly-The writer states falsely
that the spawn makers of Europe are
unwilling to part with their bricks.
This being so, why do they make so
many thousands of them yearly to ship
to all parts of the globe and for the pur-
pose of encouraging the growth of this
esculent? 1 do not for one moment
doubt the remark that the English
mushroom farm at Boyle Heights is
little, but for the good of the community
at large 1 render this advice.
PRACTICAL OBSERVER