Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1898-02-03
cHE CULTURE OF MUSHROOMS
NOT IN SUBURBAN PASTURES BUT CITY
CELLARS.

Edible Fungi.
Don't those look finer" asked q
restaurateur of Washington Star
correspondent, directing attention to a
basket of toothsome and succulent
mushrooms, whose white caps and
Pink bclliee stone in alternating col
or, in one of tho front windows OF his
eatlng house.
"l-ou may he disinclined to believe
what / am going to say, but those
riushrooms wore grown right rer= i'll
Philadelphia. No, not out In some OF
the suburbs, where they are vacant
pastures, ard where they are some
times found in their season-late sum-
mer and early autumn-but In the
thickly populated districts Of the city,
where roomy yards are luxury and a
lot big enuogh for pasturage is un-
known"
Mushroom growing is getting to be
a fad in some parts of Philadelphia.
and those who have experimental in
even q small way find that 1t is not
only an interesting work, though ne
cessitating considerable care, but prof
liable as well. Those mushrooms you
see in the window are West Philadel
phia products, and they were raised
by the wife of man who Is well-to-
do business man down town.
"She was an invalid for a number OF
years, during which time the only d.
version she had was the care Of her
house plants. The first year of her ill
ness she was confined to her bed, and,
obeying the mandate of the good old
family doctor, was compelled to con-
form to diet that excluded the heav-
Ter foods The wife of neighbor who
had just returned from an early morn
ing mushroom hunt in the country.
prepared for her sick friend, while she
was convalescing a dish of the bouil-
lon from the delicious fungi.
"This struck responsive chord IN
the appetite of the invalid, and fresh
mushrooms found a ready market ut
her house every day. When the sea-
son waned she was compelled to de-
pend upon the canned product, which
is imported principally from France.
This did not give satisfaction, as the
bouillon is most delicious and finer
favored when extracted from the fresh
plant.
1T was then the idea of raising
mushrooms at home suggested itself.
II the people or France could grow
them, why could not she do it? she
argued, displaying the characteristic
confidence of her sex. She set about
at once to bring her ideas into tangi-
BILE form. Her husband sent to Lon
don for several bricks of the mycellu-
ma, or spawn, and a carpenter was
called in to make a box for the bed.
The lady corresponded with French
within a few months a portion of the
cellar of her house was transformed
into a veritable mushroom dollhouse.
To-day she has in her cellar per-
haps two dozen beds of mushrooms.
which yield to her during the months
when the plant is out of season a
handsome profit, in addition to salts
flying the wants of her family and her
numerous gifts to the sick Of her ac-
quaintance. Her success in growing
mushrooms has been the means of en-
gaging others in it. / do not mean
that they are in 1t for business, but
that it is found more profitable than
cultivating house plants and requires
little more care, after the beds are
made and the cellar is once placed in
condition.
II think l can safely say there are
fifty cellars in Philadelphia, few of
them in the most fashionable part of
the city, where mushrooms are raised
out of season. They are all the re-
suit of the experiment of the woman
/ spoke of. And in early every case
the beds are looked after by the ma
iron Of the house. 1t is a work that
requires some patience, and we men,
you know, are possessors Of that vir-
tue only in small degree.
1.-THE mushroom beds are made Of
the fermenting manure, built up solid
ly and large enough to maintain heat
Of about 20 degrees Fahrenheit. A
bed being of proper temperature, bits
of an imported brick containing the
spawn are inserted in it at intervals.
and when the spawn is growing rap
idly or runs, about two inches ot
soil is placed on the bed, and it is
then covered with straw. Water Is
applied, If necessary and should he
warmed to the temperature of the bed.
THE mushrooms appear in six to
eight weeks, and are collected in the
button state, as those shown in the
window, as large as required. Yes,
the mushroom growing fad is rapidly
gaining in popularity in Philadelphia.
| In addition to those l have spoken of,
I know of several more persons who
| are going to have mushroom farms
| that is the right name for them-in
| their cellars.
Few people seem to know the value
| of many of tae fungi, and some of
| the very best mushrooms in country
pastures are generally considered
| worthless toadstools. know Of some
progressive farmers in the vicinity OF
| Philadelphia who have been carefully
studying mushroom growing, and are
coming money through their foresight.
| Mushrooms resemble flesh in flavor
more nearly than any other vegetable
and they contain all the particles OF
nourishment that are in beefsteek. A
space about ten feet long in some dark
| u. xxrttI aNtI