Mushrooms: how to grow them Part 9

Brick sp.a.w.n is always used. Some of those who make a specialty of mushrooms also make sp.a.w.n for sale as well as for their own use; but the majority of the gardeners prefer to buy rather than make their own sp.a.w.n.

When the heat has fallen to between 80 and 90 the ridges are sp.a.w.ned, the pieces inserted in three rows along each side, leaving about nine inches between the pieces. A dibber should not be used on any account.

The sp.a.w.n is put in tightly with the hand and the manure pressed down.

It should be put in level with the face of the bed, so that the mold may just touch it when the bed is cased. In the event of cold or wet weather, just as soon as the beds are sp.a.w.ned a slight covering of rank litter is laid over them. After a few days this is removed and the beds are molded over with mold from ground to which manure has not been applied for some time. But the general market gardeners do not make this distinction; they use the earth from between the ridges, which has been manured regularly every year for a couple of hundred years or more. The mold is put on evenly with the spade and is about two inches thick at the base of the ridge and one inch thick at top, and well firmed by beating with the back of the spade; indeed, the ridges are now commonly watered through a water-pot rose, again beaten very firmly and the surface left smooth and even. This smooth surface readily sheds rain water, but I question if it has any advantage over a well-firmed unglazed surface. After molding the beds are covered with litter, that is, the rankest straw that had been shaken out of the manure, to a depth of four, six, eight, or ten inches, according to the state of the bed and weather; if the bed is inclined to be cool or if the weather is cold, thicken the covering.

Drenching or long drizzling rains are more injurious to the beds than is cold, and in order to ward them off old Russia mats and any other sort of cloth or carpet covering obtainable is laid over the litter on the beds and weighted down with poles, boards, stones, or anything else that is convenient. Do not disturb this covering for about four weeks, and then on a dry day strip it off and shake up the litter loosely so as to dry it. If there is any white mold on the surface of the soil take a handful of straw and rub it off. If the bed is rather cold put a layer of clean, dry hay next the bed, and on top of this replace the littery covering.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 27. THE COVERED RIDGES.]

The first beds are made in August, and one or more every month after till March, just as time, convenience and material permit. Summer beds are not attempted unless in exceptional cases. The bulk of the beds are generally put in in September and October. In early fall, also in spring, beds yield mushrooms in about six weeks after sp.a.w.ning; in winter they take eight or nine weeks or more, much depending on the weather.

In cold weather the mushrooms are gathered at noon-day; if the weather is windy and it is possible to postpone gathering for another day this is done, as the litter can not be replaced satisfactorily in windy weather. In gathering the mushrooms one man carefully pulls the straw down from the top of the bed, rolling it toward him; another gathers the mushrooms (pulling them out by the roots, never cutting them) into baskets, and a third man covers up the bed. In this way the three men go up one side of the ridge and down the other, and the work is done expeditiously and well, without exposing any part of the bed more than a minute or two at a time. It is necessary that the uncovering be done by rolling the straw down from the top of the ridge; if it were rolled up the covering on the other side of the ridge would be sure to slip down a little, and break off many small mushrooms. The mushrooms as gathered are of three grades; the large or wide-spread ones are called "broilers," the full-sized ones whose neck frill is merely broken about half an inch wide are "cups," and the small white ones whose frills are not broken at all are termed "b.u.t.tons." All of these are kept separate.

They are marketed in different ways, but the growers who make mushrooms a specialty a.s.sort and pack them in chip baskets, boxes, or otherwise, as the metropolitan and provincial markets demand or suggest. Mr. John F. Barter, writing to me from London, says: "As to punnetts, we use the same as for strawberries or peaches" (the abundance of peaches we have in America is unknown over there), "they hold just one pound. But it is getting more general now to have little boxes made to hold say three to five pounds each; these are better for packing in larger cases for long journeys."

The first cutting is a light one. After this the bed is cut twice a week for three weeks in mild weather, or once a week in inclement weather.

The last two or three pickings are thin and only secured once a week.

Altogether ten or eleven good pickings are gathered from each bed.

I never knew of a single instance in which any attempt was made to renovate an old or worn-out bed. But when the beds become so dry as to need watering a small handful of salt is dissolved in a large pailful of water and with this solution the beds are freely watered over the straw covering, but never, to my knowledge, under it.

My old friends, George Steele and Mr. Bagley, of Fulham Fields, used to run part of their beds east and west, not only for convenience sake so far as the beds themselves were concerned, but with the view of growing early tomatoes against the south side of these beds in summer, and here they got their finest and earliest crops, for the London gardeners can not grow tomatoes out of doors in the open fields as we can in America.

Other gardeners clear away the manure for use elsewhere in their fields, and as it is so well rotted it is in capital condition for cauliflower, lettuces, snap beans, and other crops. But as the mushroom growers who restrict themselves entirely to mushrooms, and who, after the mushroom beds have finished bearing, have no further use for the manure in the spent beds, are always able to dispose of it at one-half the cost price.

It is excellent for garden crops and as a topdressing for lawns, on account of its fineness and freedom from all rubbish as sticks, stones, old bottles, old shoes, and the like, is in much demand.

CHAPTER XXI.

MUSHROOM GROWING IN THE PARIS CAVES.

In caves and subterranean pa.s.sages underneath the city of Paris and its environs, thousands of tons of mushrooms are artificially produced every year. These underground caves and tunnels are abandoned quarries from which white building stone and plaster have been excavated, and as the veins of stone permeated through the bowels of the earth, 40 to 125 feet deep, so were they quarried, and the blocks brought to the surface through vertical shafts. It is these tunnels, varying in height and width as the veins of stone varied, that are now used for mushroom-growing. M. Lachaume, in his book, _The Cave Mushroom_, tells us: "In the Department of the Seine there are 3000 quarries; those which have been abandoned and which are situated close to Paris at Montrouge, Bagneux, Vaugirard, Mery, Chatillon, Vitry, Honilles, and St. Denis, are used by the 250 mushroom-growers of the Department. There are several of these quarries with horizontal galleries driven into the calcareous rock from the level of the road, which are mostly large enough to accommodate a good sized cart, but the majority can only be entered, like many coal mines, by vertical shafts 100 to 125 feet deep, down which everything has to pa.s.s. The laborers climb up and down a ladder, and the fresh manure is shoveled down the shaft from above, the waste stuff and mushrooms being hauled up in baskets from beneath by means of a windla.s.s."

The manure used is obtained from the Paris stables and furnished by contractors, with whom the mushroom growers make special bargains because they are very particular about the kind and quality of the manure they use. Some of these growers use as much as 2000 to 3500 tons of manure each a year for their mushroom beds. To the caves in the immediate neighborhood of Paris the manure is hauled out in carts, but to Mery and other places too far distant to be within easy carting distance it is sent by rail. The mushroom growers consider that the manure from animals that are worked hard and abundantly fed on dry, good food is the best; the droppings from these are always dry and rich in ammonia, nitrogen and phosphates. The manure from entire horses that are worked hard they regard as the best, and, next in value, that from mules. The manure from horses kept for pleasure, such as carriage and riding horses, is regarded as poor, notwithstanding the high feeding of these animals, and the manure from horses fed on gra.s.s or roots, also that of cows, as worthless. Stress is laid on the importance of having a good deal of urine-soaked straw in the manure, and this is another reason why manure from draught horses is preferred to that from animals kept for pleasure, as the bedding of the former is not apt to be kept so clean as that in aristocratic stables.

The preparation of the manure is conducted near the mouth of the caves or shafts on a level, dry piece of ground, and altogether out of doors.

As soon as sufficient manure for a pile is obtained it is forked over, thoroughly shaken up and intermixed, divested of all extraneous matter such as sticks, stones, bottles, sc.r.a.p iron, old shoes, and the like we find in city stable manure, and any dry straw is moistened with water.

It is then squared off into a heap forty inches high and trodden down to thirty inches high. In this state it is left for about six days, when it is turned, shaken up loosely, the outside turned to the inside, and all dry parts watered; the same shallow square form is retained, and it is again trodden down firm. In about six days more it is again turned, shaken up, watered, squared off, and trodden as before. In about three days after this it should be fit for use and may be turned, shaken up loosely, and dumped down the shaft into the cave and carried to the spot where the beds are to be formed. Of course these operations must be modified according to circ.u.mstances and the condition of the manure.

In making the beds the ground is first marked off. The first bed is made alongside of the wall, and rounded to the front; the other beds run parallel with this and may be straight, crooked, or wavy, as the interior of the cave may suggest. The beds are all ridge-shaped, eighteen to twenty inches wide at the base, eighteen to twenty inches high in the middle, six inches wide at top, and the sides sloping.

Pathways twelve inches wide run between the beds. The workmen build the beds by piece-work and receive one-half cent per running foot. A good workman can make 240 feet a day (_Lachaume_). The beds are built neatly and firmly and with much nicety as regards size and proportions. But the workmen do not use a fork or any other tool in the construction of the beds; they lift, shake up, spread and build the manure with their naked hands and pack it firm with their knees.

The sp.a.w.n is obtained from the working beds and is what the mushroom growers there call "virgin" sp.a.w.n, though not at all what we know by that term. As a succession of beds is kept up all the year round it is an easy matter for the growers to get their sp.a.w.n at any time. The best time to get the sp.a.w.n is when the young mushrooms are first appearing. A bed or part of a bed in capital working order is selected and broken up and the cakes of manure thoroughly matted up with the active mycelium are selected for sp.a.w.ning the fresh beds. It is a.s.serted that from this active sp.a.w.n crops of mushrooms appear in twenty days' less time than if dry sp.a.w.n were used.

The French sp.a.w.n is used. Somewhere between the seventh and fourteenth day after making the bed it will be in condition for sp.a.w.ning. Break the sp.a.w.n into pieces between two and three inches long, two inches wide, and three-fourths of an inch thick, and insert these pieces in two rows along the sides of the ridges; the first row eight inches above the ground, the second row eight inches above the first, and the pieces put in quincunx fashion eight inches apart in the row. The manure is firmly packed in upon the sp.a.w.n, the surface left smooth and even and without being further disturbed until earthing time.

Much stress is laid upon stratifying the sp.a.w.n before using, when dry sp.a.w.n is employed. About eight days before a bed is to be sp.a.w.ned the dry sp.a.w.n is spread out in a row on the floor of the cave or cellar so that it may absorb moisture and the mycelium begin to run. At sp.a.w.ning time these cakes or flakes are broken up and used in the ordinary way, and, it is claimed, with a week's difference in favor of the early appearing of the mushrooms. But no more sp.a.w.n than is necessary for immediate use should be stratified, for it will not bear being dried and damped again.

The chips and powder of the stone which has been taken out of the quarry and which can be had in abundance on the floor of the quarry or on the surface of the ground around the shaft, are sifted, and the finer part saved and mixed with earth in the proportion of three parts of stone dust to one of earth, and with this the beds are molded over. The powdered stone is strongly impregnated with salts, so advantageous to the mushrooms.

In seven to nine days after sp.a.w.ning, the beds are ready for earthing over. This depends upon the condition of the sp.a.w.n and how well it has run in the manure. Before being earthed over the outside surface of the beds should be covered with white filaments radiating in all directions which give to the beds a bluish appearance. When the bed is in the proper state for being covered with earth the mold is laid on equally and firmly over the surface about three-fourths of an inch deep. It is then thoroughly watered through a fine-rosed watering pot and allowed to settle until the next day, when it is beaten solid by the back of a wooden shovel. The bed now needs no further care until the young mushrooms appear, except a light occasional watering should it get dry.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 28. IN THE MUSHROOM CAVES OF PARIS.]

In s.p.a.cious, high-roofed caves the mean temperature is about 52 F., while in narrow, low-roofed ones it is about 68. Of course this makes a wide difference in the time of bearing and duration of the beds made in the different caves; those in the warm caves come into bearing sooner and stop bearing quicker than do those in the high-roofed caves. On an average the first mushrooms appear in about forty days after the beds are sp.a.w.ned, and the beds continue bearing for forty or sixty days, but toward the end of that time the yield diminishes very rapidly.

They are gathered once a day, usually about midnight, so that they may reach the Paris market early in the morning. In size the mushrooms range from three-fourths to one and five-eighths inches in diameter of top, and are pure white in color. The workmen always gather the mushrooms by plucking them out by the roots, and never by cutting them; the gatherers have two baskets, carried knapsack fashion on their back; one is to receive the mushrooms as they are picked, the other contains mold with which to fill in the little holes made by pulling the mushrooms out of the bed. In some caves one man gathers the mushrooms and leaves them in little piles on the bed as he goes along, a woman comes after him and places them in a basket, and a man follows her and fills up the holes with earth. Before bringing the mushrooms up out of the caves they are covered over with a cloth to avoid contact with the outer air, which is apt to turn them brown. They are then placed in baskets that contain twenty-three to twenty-five pounds and sent to market, where they are sold at auction as they arrive. Or they may be sent to preserved-vegetable manufacturers, who contract for them at an all round price.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 29. GATHERING MUSHROOMS IN THE PARIS CAVES FOR MARKET.]

Proper ventilation is regarded as being of great importance, not only for the sake of the workmen, but also for the mushrooms, which will not thrive in an impure atmosphere. Ventilation is afforded by means of narrow shafts surmounted by tall wooden chimneys whose upper ends are cut at an angle so that the beveled side faces north. In order to avoid sudden changes of temperature and strong draughts, fires, trap doors, and other means employed in a.s.sisting the ventilation of coal mines are adopted. To stop strong draughts, too, in the pa.s.sages, tall, straw-thatched hurdles are set up. In narrow caves the breath of the workmen, the gases given off by fermentation, and the products of combustion of the lamps would soon so vitiate the atmosphere as to render the caves uninhabitable were they not properly ventilated.

Indeed, it frequently occurs that caves in which mushrooms have been grown continuously for some years have to be abandoned for a year or two because the crop has ceased to prosper in them. But after they have been thoroughly cleared of all beds and the surface soil that would have been likely to be touched or affected by the manure, and ventilated and rested for a year or two, mushrooms can again be grown in them successfully.

CHAPTER XXII.

COOKING MUSHROOMS.

Fresh mushrooms, well cooked and well served, are one of the most delicious of all vegetables. If we grow our own mushrooms we can gather them in their finest form, cook them as we please, and enjoy them in their most delightful condition. If we are dependent upon the fields we should be careful to gather only such mushrooms as are young, plump, and fresh, and reject all that are old or discolored, or betray any signs of the presence of disease or insects. And in the case of store mushrooms, that is, the ones we get at the fruiterer's or other provision store, we should examine them critically before using them to see that they are perfectly free from "flock," "black spot," "maggots," or other ailment, and discard all that have any symptoms of disease.

The small, short-stemmed, white-skinned mushrooms offered for sale are of the variety known as French mushrooms, and on account of their white appearance are preferred by many; the longer-stemmed, broader-headed, and darker-colored kind that we also find offered for sale is what is known as the English mushroom. The French mushrooms are the most attractive in appearance and preferred in the market, but the English variety is the best flavored and generally the most liked for home use.

As soon as the frill around the neck breaks apart the mushroom is fit to gather; keeping it longer may add to its size a little, but surely will detract from its tenderness. The gills of the mushrooms will retain their pink tinge for a day after the frill breaks open, but they soon grow browner and blacker, until in a few days they are unfit for food.

In gathering, the mushrooms should be pulled and never cut, and kept in this way until ready to prepare them for cooking. By retaining the stem uncut the mushroom holds its freshness and plumpness much longer than it would were the stems removed. Keep them in a cool, dark place, and in an earthenware vessel with a cover or a thick, damp cloth thrown over it; this will preserve their plumpness. If the frill is broken wide apart when the mushrooms are gathered, the caps are apt to open out flat in a day or two, and the gills darken and spread their spores, just as if the mushrooms were still unsevered from the ground.

Carefully inspect the mushrooms before cooking them. If the gills are black and the mushrooms are too old do not use them; if the cap is perforated by insects discard it, as it is very likely there are maggots inside; or if there are dark brown spots ("black spot") on the top of the caps throw the mushrooms away. Old mushrooms are tough, ill-looking, bad-tasting and indigestible, and those infested by insects, although not poisonous, are very repugnant, and should not be used. But the dangerous mushroom is the one affected by "Flock."

Mushrooms should be gathered free from grit; if at all gritty they require washing, which spoils them. All large mushrooms should be peeled before they are cooked; the skin of the cap parts freely from the flesh, but the skin of the stem must be rubbed or sc.r.a.ped off. The gills should not be removed as they are the most delicate meat of the mushroom, but if the mushrooms are old and intended for soup the gills should be sc.r.a.ped out with the view of getting rid of their darkening influence in the soup. In the case of small b.u.t.ton mushrooms, which can not be readily skinned, they should be rubbed over with a soft cloth dipped in vinegar, so as to remove the outer part of the skin. While the stems may be retained with the b.u.t.tons, they should always be removed from the full-grown mushrooms.

Mushrooms should always be served hot, and they should be eaten as soon as cooked. In the case of baked mushrooms and others prepared in a somewhat similar way they should be covered in the oven by an inverted dish, soup plate, basin, or the like, and if possible brought to the table in this way and without the cover removed. Set the tin upon a mat or cold plate upon the table, then uncover and serve on hot plates. By this means the delicious aroma is preserved.

=Baked Mushrooms.=--Peel and stem the mushrooms, rub and sprinkle a little salt on the gills, and lay the mushrooms, gills up, on a shallow baking tin and put a small piece of b.u.t.ter on each mushroom. Place an inverted saucer or deep plate over them in the tin, and put them into a brisk oven for about twenty minutes. Then take them out and serve upon a hot plate, without spilling any of the juice that has collected in the middle of each mushroom. Send to table and eat at once. This is the common way of cooking mushrooms, and by it is secured the true mushroom aroma and taste in their perfection.

=Stewed Mushrooms.=--Peel and stem the mushrooms. Take an enameled saucepan, put a lump of b.u.t.ter in it and melt it, then put in the mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper and a small piece of pounded mace (if you like it), then cover the saucepan tightly and stew the mushrooms gently until they are tender, which will be in about half an hour. Have ready some toast, either dry or fried in b.u.t.ter, as preferred; spread out upon a hot dish, place the mushrooms upon the toast, with the gills uppermost, pour the juice over them, and serve hot. b.u.t.ton mushrooms are the ones usually selected for stewing, but while nicer and whiter they are not so finely flavored as the full sized ones.

Another way of preparing stewed mushrooms is to stem and peel them; dip in water containing lemon juice (this is to prevent their becoming dark-colored in cooking, or giving a dark color to the stew), and drain them dry. Put them into a stewpan, with a good-sized lump of b.u.t.ter and some nice gravy, and let them stew for about ten minutes. Take a little stock or cream, beat up some flour in it quite smooth, and add a little lemon juice and grated nutmeg. Add this to the mushrooms and cook briskly for about ten minutes longer, or until tender.

=Soyer's Breakfast Mushrooms.=--Place some freshly-made toast, divided, on a dish, and put the mushrooms, stemmed and peeled, gills upward upon it; add a little pepper and salt and put a small bit of b.u.t.ter in the middle of each mushroom. Pour a teaspoonful of cream over each, and add one clove for the whole dish. Put an inverted basin over the whole. Bake for twenty or twenty-five minutes, and do not remove the basin until the dish is brought to the table, so as to preserve the grateful aroma. A delightful dish.

=Mushrooms a la Creme.=--Peel and stem the mushrooms, roll a lump of b.u.t.ter in flour and put it into the saucepan, then add the mushrooms and some salt, white pepper, a little sugar and finely chopped parsley. Stew for ten minutes. Take the yolks of two eggs beaten up with two large spoonfuls of cream, and add the mixture gradually to the stew; cook for a few minutes longer, and serve hot. This is a delicious dish, but the fine mushroom flavor is not as p.r.o.nounced in it as it is in the plain bake or stew.

=Curried Mushrooms.=--Peel and stem a pound of mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, add a little b.u.t.ter, and stew gently for fifteen or twenty minutes in a little good stock or gravy. Then add four tablespoonfuls of cream and one teaspoonful of good curry powder previously well mixed with two teaspoonfuls of wheat flour. Mix carefully and cook for five or ten minutes longer, and serve on hot toast on hot plates. A capital dish much enjoyed by those who like curry.

=Broiled Mushrooms.=--Select large, open, fresh mushrooms, stem and peel them. Put them on the gridiron, stem side down, over a bright but not very hot fire, and cook for three minutes. Then turn them and put a small piece of b.u.t.ter in the middle of each, and broil for about ten minutes longer. Put them in hot plates, gills upward, and place another small piece of b.u.t.ter on each mushroom, together with a little pepper and salt, and flavor with lemon juice or Chili vinegar, and put them into the oven for a minute or two. Then send them to table.