Mushroom Culture Part 4

If the sp.a.w.n be inserted soon after the beds are made, or at any convenient time in early summer, the beds will come into bearing in due course. Perhaps they may do so when mushrooms are found abundantly in the fields; but there are thousands of persons possessing gardens who have no fields in which to cull mushrooms, and who would like to gather them fresh in summer or autumn, if they could not afford to grow them in any covered structure in winter. And this is but one way in which they may be grown with summer garden crops, as will appear from the following communication, by Mr. Ayres, to the _Field_:--

"The finest crop and the best mushrooms I ever saw were grown in the open ground, and without any protection at all. I will tell you how it happened. Some years back I had the charge of the garden of a noted hunting establishment in Northamptonshire, one of the aids to success being that the manure of an average of nearly fifty highly-fed horses went to the garden, the owner remarking that, whatever other things I might run short of, there would be plenty of 'muck.' Well, the best of the hunters during the summer were soiled in loose boxes, princ.i.p.ally under cover, and in these boxes the manure was allowed to acc.u.mulate until it began to grow too hot for the feet of the horses; then it was indispensable that it should be removed. About midsummer it so happened that nearly three acres of ground had been cleared of the spring crop, spinach, early peas, beans, &c., and I had determined to devote the whole plot to winter bra.s.sicas, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, &c. The ground was brashy and very poor, and consequently I determined to clear the boxes and put the whole of the manure upon it. It was carted away so rich in ammonia that the men who loaded it shed tears, not from sentiment, but from compulsion; and when the manure was spread upon the surface it was nothing less than a foot thick--so thick, that the proprietor said it was impossible for it to be dug into the ground.

However, clearing a trench at one end of the piece, thirty inches wide and nearly a foot deep, the subsoil was broken up with strong steel forks, and upon that the dung covering the next strip was placed, and covered with the surface soil of the next trench; and so the work proceeded until the manure was put out of sight. I may remark that the dung, especially that around the walls, contained evidence of being strongly impregnated with mushroom sp.a.w.n, though this was not regarded as being likely to produce a crop of the esculent. A soaking rain falling, the ground was immediately planted with bra.s.sicas, which grew as if they could not help growing--and in fact they could not.

"We had not planted for mushrooms, nor were mushrooms expected; but, walking round one morning early in September, a bunch of splendid fellows presented themselves, so large and thick and solid, that when I took them in for breakfast my _chef de cuisine_ and 'better half' had grave doubts as to whether they were 'the real thing.' However, they were eaten, and the present writing is a proof that they did not poison me. Returning to the plot, I found the bunch gathered was not a solitary one--on the contrary, the ground was literally paved with mushrooms, many of them so large that bushels were gathered for ketchup within a few hours; while the retainers of a large establishment, down to the lowest labourer, were in a fortnight positively sick of them, and cartloads rotted upon the ground.

"The evidence of this unexpected success demonstrated two things--first, that if the ground is freely manured with _fresh_ dung from well-fed horses, mushrooms are almost sure to be produced; and, secondly, that the more the ground is covered with the foliage of plants, the more certain will be the crop. Thus we found more mushrooms under savoys and broccoli than under Brussels sprouts--the former no doubt protecting the crop from heavy drenches of rain, which we know are very injurious to the mushroom crop. Since this example of mushroom-growing turned up, nearly fifteen years ago, I have frequently concentrated the fresh manure under a row of savoys or broccoli, throwing in at the same time a dust of mushroom sp.a.w.n or the dung of a spent mushroom bed; and, except in very wet seasons, I have rarely failed to have a fine supply during the months of September and October. One point of success I believe to be essentially necessary, and that is, that water shall have a free pa.s.sage through the ground at all times; hence the necessity of trenching the ground, if you expect mushrooms as well as bra.s.sicas."

Even in gardens where mushrooms are well grown in enclosed structures such results in early autumn will often be desirable; while in numbers of places where there are few or no opportunities of gathering them in abundance under other circ.u.mstances, crops in the garden will be very welcome. Therefore utilise the old mushroom-beds!

CHAPTER IX.

MUSHROOM CULTURE IN PASTURES, ETC.

NOTWITHSTANDING the extreme abundance of the common mushroom in the meadows and pastures of the British islands, and probably in similar positions all the world over, it is scarce in many situations, and, it may be, not a few persons would be willing to make it of more frequent occurrence in their fields. There is an opinion not uncommon that this cannot be done; that the mushroom is, to a great extent, a creature of chance, and that it cannot be cultivated. This is not a philosophical notion: there can be no doubt that the mushroom has to abide the results of the struggle for life as well as any other species of plant.

Considering that we have taken the sp.a.w.n from the fields and cultivated it with great success in all sorts of positions, none of which it could ever inhabit naturally, it is absurd to suppose that we cannot induce it to grow in positions exactly similar to its native habitat. Found in open, sunny meadows and pastures, and avoiding the shade of trees, it is grown, as we have seen, in dark and deep mines; yet people suppose it cannot be grown in those pastures in which it happens not to be found.

It is erroneously inferred that there is something in its const.i.tution or habit which causes it to occur in certain spots exclusively; but as well might we say this of any other plant. We know well that hundreds of native plants are hardy enough to grow almost anywhere, yet how many of them are but locally distributed and rare! Again, many plants are weeds in one district and unknown in another, perhaps, neighbouring one.

As the Rev. M. J. Berkeley remarks:--"It is almost useless to advert to the notion, though a very common one, which would regard these productions as the creatures of chance or of a happy concurrence of circ.u.mstances favourable to their growth from inorganic elements. It is true they often occur in unexpected situations, and from their extreme rapidity of development seem as if they could not have originated from anything like seed. But, as accurate inquiry has now thrown much light on the mystery in which the origin of intestinal worms was lately involved, so the phenomena which attend the growth of fungi are gradually receiving light, and they are found to follow essentially the same laws as more perfect vegetables." It is, in fact, quite fair to conclude that mushrooms, like most other plants, occupy but a small s.p.a.ce in the vast expanse of soil and site which are naturally adapted for their growth. I read in a gardening journal that "it is impossible to command a crop of out-door mushrooms." I am positive that it can be done with almost as much certainty as any other crop, provided we take into consideration certain conditions. Of course, we must remember its natural wants; the more we do so, the more certain of success we may be.

We know that it grows most abundantly in rich, upland pastures where water does not lie, a.s.sociated with the meadow foxtail, meadow and hard fescue and c.o.c.k's-foot gra.s.ses, clovers, cowslips, daisies, yarrow, &c., and also with the thistles (_Cnicus lanceolatus_ and _C. arvensis_), and other plants fond of similar soils. We know that it is rarely found where the marsh plume-thistle (_Cnicus pal.u.s.tris_), tufted hair-gra.s.s, and other marsh gra.s.ses and plants abound, and from the presence or absence of these plants we may easily make up our minds as to the positions that suit it best. Now, it has long since been proved in gardens that it is quite possible to cultivate plants to a much higher degree of perfection than they ever attain in a wild state, under conditions entirely different, and it is not improbable that we should be able to grow the common mushroom in soils and positions far removed from those in which it naturally occurs. But there is no occasion for anything of the kind. It loves well-drained and dry pastures and meadows, and is not the country covered with such?

After selecting the position in which we wish to propagate mushrooms, and no moderately dry pastureland need be without them, the next thing to consider is the providing of the sp.a.w.n. Hitherto this has probably been the great difficulty. When nearly 20_l._ worth of mushroom sp.a.w.n was annually used in the mushroom-houses of a large garden, the expense necessary to sp.a.w.n a large pasture might well alarm the richest of mushroom-loving landholders; but there is not the slightest occasion for purchasing the sp.a.w.n for this purpose. Every farmer and country gentleman can make it as easily as, or more easily than, the sp.a.w.n-manufacturer, without any expense or inconvenience, the essential thing being a quant.i.ty of rather short stable-manure.

Where this is gathered in large heaps it will be easy to obtain the requisite materials at once. Where it is not so, a few loads of stable manure unmixed with long straw may be thrown together in the open air and prepared for the purpose. There is no occasion to place it in a shed of any kind, though if there be one at hand so much the better. If prepared in the open air it should be on a dry place; the materials should be subjected to exactly the same preparation as when used for making a mushroom-bed, before described. They should be made into a potato-pit-shaped bed, and sp.a.w.ned in the usual manner. For this sp.a.w.ning it is of course necessary to obtain a little sp.a.w.n, whether home-made or bought from the seedsman, or found in what the French call "a virgin condition" in the dunghill. In any case it will not be found difficult to sp.a.w.n one or more beds in this way, particularly as there is nothing to prevent people drying as much home-made sp.a.w.n at one time as will suffice for a year or more. The sp.a.w.n should be allowed to run through this bed, which should be covered with a slight sprinkling of earth, and beaten pretty firm. When it has penetrated through the bed, it should, just before it arrives at a bearing condition, be ready to be used as sp.a.w.n. The number of beds to be sp.a.w.ned in this way may be limited according to the extent of ground on which it is proposed to grow the mushrooms. This sp.a.w.n may be inserted in the meadows in early summer, the most suitable time is in genial weather in May, and the sp.a.w.n should be inserted in holes from six to ten feet apart.

The most expeditious and best way of inserting it is that termed T-planting, striking the spade in the line represented by the perpendicular of the T, and then in the horizontal one on the top, pressing the spade back when in the last position, so as to readily admit of the insertion of one or more pieces of sp.a.w.n. The kind of sp.a.w.n made as I have recommended usually falls into small pieces, more likely to impregnate the earth quickly than the stiff, brick-like pieces of nursery sp.a.w.n. The ground, after the insertion of the sp.a.w.n, should be pressed firm with the foot. As to the depth at which the sp.a.w.n should be deposited, it would be better not to put it at any given depth, but so that while one piece of a flake may be at a depth of six inches or nearly so, others may touch the very surface. This, it need hardly be pointed out, would allow of the sp.a.w.n vegetating at the depth and temperature most congenial to it. It would be most desirable to sp.a.w.n at slightly different times, and, if possible, with different samples of sp.a.w.n: thus, for example, it would be well to use a mixture of old and dried sp.a.w.n with that taken fresh from one of the beds alluded to. If this were not convenient, some part of the large bed of sp.a.w.n might be laid by to dry, and used a week or two afterwards. Probably the most economical way of doing this on a large scale would be by employing a number of boys, guided by an experienced workman.

It is scarcely desirable to attempt the culture in kept lawns, as no matter how suitable these are for it, the appearance of a large crop of mushrooms would have anything but a tendency to beautify the carpet of turf, and would probably become offensive from their odour.

The preceding refers to the cultivation of mushrooms in pastures, meadows, &c. There is not the slightest reason why a similar course of culture would not succeed in fields amongst green crops. As large crops of mushrooms have been produced in gardens under broccoli, &c., there is no reason whatever why they might not be grown in the same manner under field-turnips, mangold-wurtzel, &c. The sp.a.w.n which could be so easily prepared by any farmer, could be readily inserted in the sides of the drills in which these crops are usually grown, the slight elevation of which, by preserving the sp.a.w.n from excessive wet, will favour its development, and it would take possession of, and impregnate the manure in the drill. In fact, prodigious quant.i.ties might be raised in this and similar ways, with but little trouble; and should the fields be afterwards laid down, as is not uncommonly the case, the pasture or meadow would probably become a regular mushroom-ground.

CHAPTER X.

THE COMMON MUSHROOMS.

_Agaricus campestris_ (True Meadow Mushroom).

THE common meadow mushroom varies considerably, but, "common to all are a fleshy _pileus_, which is sometimes smooth, sometimes scaly, in colour white, or of different shades of tawny, fuliginous, or brown; _gills_ free, at first pallid, then flesh-coloured, then pink, next purple, at length tawny-black; the _stem_ white, full, firm, varying in shape, furnished with a white persistent ring; the _spores_ brown-black, and a volva which is very _fugacious_."--_Badham's Esculent Funguses of England._

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 28. _Agaricus campestris_ (the True Meadow Mushroom). Pastures, autumn; colour, white or pale brown; gills, salmon, at length black; diameter, 3 to 6 inches. The spores are magnified 700 diameters.]

There is scarcely any one in England who does not feel himself competent to decide on the genuineness of a mushroom; its pink gills easily distinguish it from a kindred fungus, _Ag. arvensis_, the gills of which are of a flesh-coloured grey, and out of the pickings of ten thousand hands, a mistake is of rare occurrence; and yet no fungus presents itself under such a variety of forms, or such singular diversities of aspect! The inference is plain; less discrimination than that employed to distinguish this would enable anyone who should take the trouble to recognise at a glance many of those esculent species, which every spring and autumn fill our plantations and pastures with plenteousness.

Neither is this left to be a mere matter of inference; it is corroborated in a singular manner by what takes place at Rome; there, whilst many hundred baskets of what we call toadstools are carried home for the table, almost the only one condemned to be thrown into the Tiber, by the inspector of the fungus market, is our own mushroom; indeed, in such dread is this held in the Papal States, that no one knowingly would touch it. "It is reckoned one of the fiercest imprecations," writes Professor Sanguinetti, "amongst our lower orders, infamous for the horrible nature of their oaths, to pray that one may die of a _Pratiolo_;" and although it has been some years registered among the esculent funguses of Milan and Pavia (on the authority of Vittadini), it has not yet found its way into those markets. Mr.

Worthington G. Smith, in his "Mushrooms and Toad-stools," qualifies this statement of Dr. Badham.

_Agaricus campestris_ is not generally appreciated in Italy, and indeed is seldom eaten, and never appears in the markets, for the simple reason that there would be no sale for it. There is an edict in existence ordering certain fungi to be thrown into the Tiber, but it is now, and has long been altogether effete; and whilst there is an abundance of _A.

Caesareus_ (avowedly the most delicious of all fungi) for the markets of Italy, it is not to be expected the consumption will be given up for another and little known species.

_The Modes of Cooking this Species._--"The mushroom, having the same proximate principles as meat, requires, like meat, to be cooked before these become changed. The _Ag. campestris_ may be prepared in a great variety of ways: they give a fine flavour to soup, and greatly improve beef-tea; where arrowroot and weak broths are distasteful to the patient, the simple seasoning of a little ketchup will frequently form an agreeable change. Some roast them, basting with melted b.u.t.ter and white (French) wine sauce. In patties and _vols-au-vent_ they are equally excellent; in frica.s.sees, as everybody knows, they are the important element of the dish. Roques recommends in all cases the removal of the gills before dressing, which though it secures a more elegant-looking _entremets_, is only flattering the eye at the expense of the palate."--_Badham._

_Agaricus arvensis_ (Horse-Mushroom).

"_Pileus_ fleshy, obtusely conico-campanulate, then expanded, at first floccose, then smooth, even, or rivulose; _stem_ hollow, with a floccose pith; _ring_ broad, pendulous, double, the outer split in rays; _gills_ free, wider in front, at first dirty white, then brown, tinged with pink."--_Berkeley's Outlines of British Fungology._

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 29. _Agaricus arvensis_ (Horse-Mushroom). Pastures, in autumn; colour, yellowish; gills pallid, at length black; diameter, 6 to 24 in.]

"This species is very nearly allied to the meadow mushroom, and frequently grows with it, but it is coa.r.s.er, and has not the delicious flavour. It is usually much larger, often attaining enormous dimensions; it turns a brownish yellow as soon as broken or bruised. The top in good specimens is smooth, and snowy white; the gills are not the pure pink of the meadow mushroom, but dirty brownish white, ultimately becoming brown-black. It has a big, ragged, floccose ring, and the pithy stem is inclined to be hollow. It is _the_ species exposed for sale in Covent Garden Market. Indeed, after knowing the market for many years, I have rarely seen any other species there; when the true mushroom, however, _is_ there, it is frequently mingled with horse mushrooms, which seems to show that the dealers do not know one from the other. In the wet days of autumn, children, idlers, and beggars go a few miles from town into the meadows to gather whatever they can find in the mushroom line; they then bring their dirty stock to market, where it is sold to fashionable purchasers; stale, vapid, and without taste--unless it be a bad one.

"When young and fresh, the horse mushroom is a most desirable addition to the bill of fare: it yields an abundant gravy, and the flesh is firm and delicious. It is a valuable plant when freshly gathered, but when stale it becomes tough and leathery, and without aroma or juice.

"There is a curious, large, brown, hairy variety, of rather uncommon occurrence, similar to the hairy variety of the meadow mushroom, the _A.

villaticus_ of Dr. Badham. It is a splendid form, but, I think, very rare. I have only seen it once.

"Many country-folk readily distinguish the meadow from the horse mushroom, and show antipathy to the latter, although they are always willing to put it into the jar as one of the ingredients of ketchup.

Opinions appear to differ greatly regarding the excellence of this species. Mr. Penrose writes:--'I think young, and especially b.u.t.ton, specimens of this very indigestible; until they are well opened out, they are unfit for use.' Such, however, I must say, is not my experience of b.u.t.ton specimens.

"There is a strong odour attached both to the fungus and the sp.a.w.n, the ground just below the surface being frequently white with the latter; or if horse-dung be kicked aside in a rich meadow frequented by graminivorous animals, the earth will frequently present a snowy whiteness from the sp.a.w.n of this species, from which the young individuals may be seen springing up.

"I once saw a sheep eat a large specimen with great apparent gusto, although the fungus was full of maggots."--_Worthington G. Smith._

CHAPTER XI.

MODES OF COOKING THE COMMON MUSHROOMS.

The following modes of cooking mushrooms may prove useful to some:--

_To Stew Mushrooms._--Trim and rub clean half a pint of large b.u.t.ton mushrooms; put into a stew-pan two ounces of b.u.t.ter, shake it over the fire till thoroughly melted; put in the mushrooms, a tea-spoonful of salt, half as much pepper, and a blade of mace pounded; stew till the mushrooms are tender, then serve them on a hot dish. They are usually sent in as a breakfast dish, thus prepared in b.u.t.ter.

_Mushrooms a la Creme._--Trim and rub half a pint of b.u.t.ton mushrooms, dissolve two ounces of b.u.t.ter rolled in flour in a stew-pan; then put in the mushrooms, a bunch of parsley, a tea-spoonful of salt, half a tea-spoonful each of white pepper and of powdered sugar, shake the pan round for ten minutes, then beat up the yolks of two eggs, with two table-spoonfuls of cream, and add by degrees to the mushrooms; in two or three minutes you can serve them in the sauce.

_Mushrooms on Toast._--Put a pint of mushrooms into a stew-pan, with two ounces of b.u.t.ter rolled in flour; add a tea-spoonful of salt, half a tea-spoonful of white pepper, a blade of mace powdered, and half a tea-spoonful of grated lemon; stew till the b.u.t.ter is all absorbed, then add as much white _roux_ as will moisten the mushrooms; fry a slice of bread in b.u.t.ter, to fit the dish, and as soon as the mushrooms are tender serve them on the toast.

_To Pot Mushrooms._--The small open mushrooms suit best for potting.

Trim and rub them; put into a stew-pan a quart of mushrooms, three ounces of b.u.t.ter, two tea-spoonfuls of salt, and half a tea-spoonful of Cayenne and mace mixed, and stew for ten or fifteen minutes, or till the mushrooms are tender; take them carefully out and drain them perfectly on a sloping dish, and when cold press them into small pots, and pour clarified b.u.t.ter over them, in which state they will keep for a week or two. If required to be longer preserved, put writing paper over the b.u.t.ter, and over that melted suet, which will effectually preserve them for many weeks, if kept in a dry, cool place.

_To Pickle Mushrooms._--Select a number of small, sound, pasture mushrooms as nearly as possible alike in size; throw them for a few minutes into cold water; then drain them; cut off the stalks, and gently rub off the outer skin with a moist flannel dipped in salt; then boil the vinegar, adding to each quart two ounces of salt, half a nutmeg sliced, a drachm of mace, and an ounce of white pepper-corns; put the mushrooms into the vinegar for ten minutes over the fire; then pour the whole into small jars, taking care that the spices are equally divided; let them stand a day, then cover them.