CHAPTER XV.
THE PROPER TEMPERATURE.
The best temperature at which to keep the mushroom house or cellar is 55 to 57. But much depends upon the method of growing the esculent; the construction of the house or cellar, and other circ.u.mstances.
Mushrooms can be successfully grown in buildings in which the temperature may be as low as 20 or as high as 65. By covering the beds well with hay or other protecting material they can be kept warm, even in sharp frosty weather, as the London market gardeners do with their outdoor beds in winter; but when the temperature in the structure in which the mushrooms are grown averages as high as 70 we can not hope for success; indeed, 65 is too high.
A high temperature in a close house or cellar is injurious; it hurries in the crop and forces up the mushrooms weak and thin-fleshed and with ungainly, long stems; it soon exhausts the bed. The time when its evil effects are least visible is early in the fall and late in spring when the outside temperature is high, and when the beds are in somewhat airy rather than close quarters. In the Dosoris cellars there is a steady difference of about 5 in the temperature between the end next the boiler, which is kept at 60 precisely, and that of the farther end, which registers 55 steadily. There is very little difference in the weight of crop produced on the beds at either end of these cellars, but what little there is is in favor of the cooler end. At 60 the crop begins to come in in six to seven weeks after sp.a.w.ning, lasts for three to four weeks in heavy bearing and a week or more longer in light bearing, and then it gradually dwindles.
In a temperature of 55 it may be seven weeks after sp.a.w.ning before the mushrooms appear. In a temperature of 50 they may take a few days longer in appearing, but, as a rule, they are firm, heavy, short-stemmed, and perhaps a little furry on top and clammy to the touch, and the beds last in good bearing for two months; indeed, often a whole winter long. But I have failed to find that the whole crop from a bed in a 45 to 50 temperature was any greater than that of a like bed in a 55 to 57 temperature; it is merely a case of getting in six weeks from the warmer house what it takes ten weeks to get from the cooler one.
In a temperature of 50 it is not necessary to cover the beds to increase their warmth, nor is it needful even in one of 45, if there is a fair warmth in the body of the bed to keep the sp.a.w.n working; but if the warmth of the interior of the bed falls under 57, and the atmospheric temperature under 45, the bed should be kept warm by covering with hay, straw, matting, or other material, or better still by boxing it over and laying this covering on the outside of the boxing.
When cold thicken the covering, when warm lessen it.
CHAPTER XVI.
WATERING MUSHROOM BEDS.
If the beds get dry they should be watered, for mushrooms will not grow well in dry beds or in a dry atmosphere. Watering is an operation requiring much care. In properly-made beds the manure should remain moist enough from first to last, and whatever dryness is evident should be in the loam casing of the beds and the atmosphere. In all artificially heated mushroom houses the beds and atmosphere are apt to get too dry at one time or another; in underground houses or cellars this is less apparent than in above-ground structures; in shaded north-facing houses dryness is less troublesome than in houses more openly placed.
Endeavor by all fair means to lessen the necessity for watering the beds, but when water is needed never hesitate to give it freely.
Mulching the beds and maintaining a moist atmosphere are the best preventives. After the beds are sp.a.w.ned and molded it is a good plan to cover them with a light coating of strawy litter or hay to prevent drying, but this mulching should be removed when it is near time for the young mushrooms to appear. A light sprinkling of water over this mulching every few days, but never enough to reach the soil, a.s.sists in preserving enough moisture in the bed under the mulch and also in the atmosphere of the house.
Clean, soft water at a temperature of 80 or 90; a little warmer or a little colder will not hurt, but do not use water higher than 110, as it might injure the little pinheads, nor lower than the average temperature of the house, as it would chill the bed, and this should always be avoided.
Use a small or medium-sized watering pot with a long spout and a fine rose sprinkler. Apply the water in a gentle shower over the bed, mushrooms and all, but never use enough to allow it to settle in pools or run off in little streams. Clean water sprinkled over the mushrooms does not appear to hurt them, but they should never be touched with manure water, as it stains them. Just as soon as the surface of the bed shows signs of dryness give it water, the quant.i.ty depending upon the condition of the bed. Never let a bed get very dry before watering it.
To thoroughly moisten a very dry bed requires a heavy watering; so much, indeed, that the sudden change might injuriously affect the young mushrooms and sp.a.w.n. Give enough water at a time to moderately moisten the soil, not to soak it, but never sufficient to pa.s.s through the soil into the manure. Clean water only should be used until the beds come into bearing, but after that time manure water may be employed with advantage; however, this is not at all imperative; indeed, excellent crops can be and are continually being produced without the aid of manure water at all.
In the case of beds in full bearing, manure water is beneficial to the crop. Apply it from a small watering pot with a long narrow spout but no rose, and pour the liquid on gently over the surface of the bed, running it freely between the clumps but never touching any of the mushrooms.
For this reason a rose should not be used.
I have always used manure water for mushrooms more or less, but during the past two seasons--"87-"88 and "88-"89--I have experimented with it continuously and very carefully, using it in some form or other on part of every bed, and am satisfied that manure water made from fresh horse droppings is the best, and the dark colored liquid, the drainings from manure piles, is the poorest; in fact, this latter is not as good as plain water, for it seems to have a deadening rather than quickening effect upon the beds. Cow manure and sheep manure make a good liquid manure, but still I prefer the horse manure, and although having given hen and pigeon manure and guano fair tests I am not satisfied that they have benefited the crop, and there is always a risk in their use. Liquid manure made from the contents of the barnyard tank has not done much good, but fresh urine from the horse and cow stables diluted twelve to fifteen times its bulk has given favorable results.
Mushrooms not only bear with impunity but appear to enjoy a stronger liquid manure more than do any other cultivated plants, and I am satisfied that the weak liquids usually recommended for pot and garden plants would be barely more efficacious than plain water for mushrooms.
The manure water that has given me most satisfaction is prepared as follows: Dump two bushels of fresh horse droppings into a forty-five gallon barrel and fill up with water; stir it up well and let it settle over night. Drain off the liquid the next day and add a pound of saltpeter to it. For use, to a pailful of this liquid add a pailful of warm water. Water of about 80 to 90 is best for mushroom beds.
Saltpeter is an excellent fertilizer for mushrooms. I use it in two ways, namely: First, powdered and mixed in the soil for casing the beds, at the rate of two ounces of saltpeter to the bushel of earth. Second, dissolved in water at the rate of two ounces of saltpeter to eight gallons of water, and sprinkled over the beds.
Common salt I use as an insecticide and also as a fertilizer, and am satisfied that it proves beneficial in both ways. Sometimes I sprinkle it broadcast on the surface of the beds, always on the bare places, never touching the mushrooms, and leave it there for a day or two, then with a fine, gentle sprinkling of water wash it into the soil. This is to help destroy the anguillulae. As a fertilizer only dissolve four ounces of salt in ten gallons of water, and with this sprinkle the beds.
A too dry atmosphere can be remedied by sprinkling the floors, walls, or litter coverings on the beds with water, not heavily or copiously, but gently and only enough to wet the surfaces; better moisten in this way frequently than drench the place at any one time. But I very much dislike sprinkling the beds in order to moisten the atmosphere. An experienced man can tell in a moment whether or not the atmosphere of the mushroom house is too dry. The air in the mushroom house should always feel moist, at the same time not raw or chilly, and the floor and wall surfaces should present a slow tendency to dry up, and the earth on the beds should retain its dark, moist appearance. The least tendency to dryness should at once be relieved by damping the wall and floor surfaces.
In houses heated by smoke flues, or still more by ordinary stoves and sheet iron pipes, it may be necessary to dampen the floors and walls once or several times a day to maintain a sufficiently moist atmosphere, but where hot water pipes are used and the houses are tight enough to require but little artificial heat, such frequent sprinkling will not be necessary. In the case of beds in unheated structures the ordinary atmosphere is generally moist enough.
=Manure Steam for Moistening the Atmosphere.=--The late James Barnes, of England, a grand old gardener, writing in the London _Garden_, Vol. III, page 486, describes his method of growing mushrooms sixty years ago, and says: "In winter a nice moist heat was maintained by placing hot stable manure inside, and often turning it over." Mr. John G. Gardner, of Jobstown, N. J., is one of Mr. Barnes"s old pupils and a most successful mushroom grower, and he now practices this same method of moistening the atmosphere by hot manure steam. See page 21.
In damping the floors of the mushroom house, as well as the beds, I use a medium-sized watering pot and fine rose; but in sprinkling the walls and other parts not readily accessible by the watering pot I use a common garden syringe.
CHAPTER XVII.
GATHERING AND MARKETING MUSHROOMS.
This is an important point in the cultivation of this esculent, and should be attended to with painstaking discretion.
When mushrooms are fit to pick depends upon several conditions; for instance, whether for market or for home use, and if for the latter, whether they are wanted for soups or stews. For fresh and attractive appearance and best appreciation in the market, pick them when they are plump and fresh and just before the frill connecting the cap with the stem breaks apart. The French mushrooms should always be gathered before the frill bursts; the English mushrooms also look best when gathered at this time, but they are admissible if gathered when the frill begins to burst and before the cap has opened out flat. If the mushrooms display a tendency to produce long stems pick them somewhat earlier, soon enough to get them with short shanks, for long stems are disliked in market; so, too, are dark or discolored or old mushrooms of any sort. Sometimes we may not have enough mushrooms ready at one gathering to make it worth while sending them to market, and are tempted to let them stay ungathered until to-morrow, when they have grown larger and many more shall have grown big enough to gather. This should never be done. It will give an unfavored, unequal lot, some big, some little, some old, some young. Far better pick every one the moment it is ready to gather, and keep all safe in a cool place and covered until some more are ready for use, and in this way have a uniform appearing lot of young produce.
Mushrooms for soups should always be gathered before they burst their gills; indeed, they are mostly gathered when in a b.u.t.ton state; that is, when they are about the size of marbles. In this condition, when cooked, they retain their white appearance and do not discolor the soup.
Immature mushrooms are deficient in flavor.
For home use, for baking, stewing, broiling, or for cooking in any way in which the tenderness of the flesh and the delicious aroma of the mushrooms are desirable in their finest condition, let the mushrooms attain their full size and burst their frills, as seen in Fig. 24, and gather them before the caps open out flat, or the gills lose any of their bright pink color. If you let them get old enough for the gills to turn brown before gathering, the mushrooms will become leathery in texture, and lose in flavor and darken sadly in cooking.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 24. A PERFECT MUSHROOM.]
In picking, always pull the mushrooms out by the root, and never, if practicable to avoid it, cut them over with a knife. In gathering, take hold of the mushrooms and give them a sharp but gentle twist, pressing them down at the same time, and they generally part from the bed without any trouble; then place them in the baskets, root-end down, so as to keep them perfectly clean and free from grit. Sometimes when several mushrooms are joined together in one root-stock and it is impossible to remove one without disturbing the whole, cut it over rather than pull it out. In the case of clumps of young mushrooms, where one can not be pulled out without displacing some of the others also, cut it out rather than pull it. There is a knack in pulling mushrooms, easily attained by practice. And even when they come up in thick bunches and it would appear impossible to pull out the full-grown ones without disturbing the others, a practiced hand will give them a twitch and a pull--they often part from the bed by the gentlest touch--and get them out without unfastening any of the mult.i.tude of small b.u.t.tons that may be growing around them.
The advantages of pulling over cutting are several: It benefits the bed.
If we cut over a mushroom and leave its stump in the ground, in a few days decay sets in and a fluffy or spongy substance grows around the old b.u.t.t, which destroys many of the little mushrooms around it, as well as every thread of mycelium that comes in contact with it. One should be particular to scoop out these stumps with a knife before this condition takes place, and go over the beds every few days to fill up the holes, made in scooping out the old stumps, with fresh loam.
Pulled mushrooms always keep fresh longer than do those that have been cut. In the interest of the market grower they have another advantage.
Mushrooms are bought and sold by weight, and as the stems are always retained to the caps all are weighed together; if part of the stems had been cut off the weight would have been reduced, and, in like proportion, the price; but if the stems are retained entire not only are the mushrooms benefited, but the weight, and with it the price, is also increased.
=Gathering Field or Wild Mushrooms.=--Go in search of them in the morning before the sunshine gets warm and they become too open or old.
If you wish to gather and preserve them in their most perfect condition pull them up by the "roots," carefully remove any soil from them, and then lay them orderly in the basket, the root end down; and by spreading a stout sheet of paper over the layer, another may be arranged above it in the same way, and so on until the basket is full. But if you are not so particular and wish them for immediate use, or for ketchup or drying, the common way of cutting them off and carrying them home in bulk will answer well enough.
=Marketing Mushrooms.=--Most market growers who live immediately around New York City sell direct, and deliver their mushrooms to hotels, restaurants, and fancy fruiterers. But some of them, also most of those who live at a considerable distance from the city, sell their mushrooms through commission merchants in New York; they, in turn, sell in quant.i.ties to suit customers.
Mushrooms are sold by the pound, and come into market in boxes made of strong undressed paper. Some growers have light wooden boxes made that hold from one to four pounds of mushrooms each, and these make convenient and strong packages for shipping by express. They may be sent singly, or, as is the case with the paper boxes, several packed together in crates or boxes. In sending directly to hotels, cheap baskets, holding one or several pounds--Mr. Gardner"s baskets hold twelve pounds--are often used, but in sending to commission merchants, who have to deal them out in quant.i.ties to suit customers, mushrooms should always be packed in one, two, three or four pound boxes or baskets, preferably one pound. Mushrooms are not like potatoes or apples, that can be handled, remeasured, and repacked without damaging them. Each rehandling will certainly discolor and perhaps break a good many of them, rendering them unsalable, if not worthless.
The utmost care in gathering and packing of mushrooms for shipping is of primary importance. Gather them the moment they are in best condition, no matter whether or not they are to be packed and shipped the same day; never let them blow open before gathering them; and never cut off short stems. Long stems have to be shortened, but not until everything is ready to pack them. With a very soft hair brush dust off any earth that may stick to the cap of the mushroom, and with a harder brush or the back of a knife rub the earth off of the root end of the stem. Then sort the mushrooms,--the big ones by themselves, the middle-sized by themselves, the small or b.u.t.ton-sized ones by themselves, and pack each kind by itself. Pack very firmly without bruising, and so as to show the pretty caps to the best advantage. Never pack mushrooms more than two deep without using plenty of soft paper between the layers, and never put a heavy bulk of them into one box or basket. They discolor so easily that, all things considered, about a pound is enough in a box, if we wish them to carry safely and retain their bright, fresh skin without tarnishing.
Mr. Barter, of London, writes me: "The punnets we use for marketing our mushrooms in are the same that are used for strawberries or peaches.
These hold just one pound, but it is becoming more customary now to have little boxes made holding from three to five pounds, as these are better for packing in larger cases for long journeys."
CHAPTER XVIII.