1353 IF la 1?^ -" Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924073871638 Production Note Cornell University Library produced this volume to Tq>lace the irreparably deteriorated original It was scanned at 600 dots per inch resolution and compressed prior to storage using CCiii/mJ Group 4 compression. The digital data were used to create Cornell's replacement volume on paper that meets the ANSI Standard Z39.48- 1992. The production of this volume was supported by the United States Department of Education, Higher Education Act, Tide II-C. Scanned as part of the A. R. Mann Library project to preserve and enhance access to the Core Historical Literature of the Agricultural Sciences. Titles included in this collection are listed in the volumes published by the Cornell University Press in the series The Literature of the Agricultural Sciences, 1991-1996, Wallace C. Olsen, series editor. S6353 !8^k Enteied, according to A.ct of Congress, in the year 1891, by the OKANGE JUDD COMPANY, In the Office ot the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. PKEFACE. Bible. The facts herein presented are the results of my own practical experience and observation, tdgether ■with those obtained by extensive reading, travel and correspondence. To Mr. Charles A. Dana, the proprietor of the Dosoris mnshroom cellars and estate, I am greatly indebted for opportunities to prepare this book. For the past eight years everything has been unstintedly placed at my disposal by him to grow mushrooms in every way I wished, and to experiment to my heart's content. To Mr. William Robinson, editor of The Garden, London, I am especially indebted for many courtesies — permission to quote from The Garden, "Parks and Gar- dens of Paris," and his other works, and to illustrate the chapters in this book on Mushroom-growing in the London market gardens and the Paris caves, with the original beautiful plates from his own books. The recipes given in the chapter on Cooking Mush- rooms, except those prepared for this work by Mrs. Ammersley, although based on the ones given by Mr. Robinson, have been considerably modified by me and repeatedly used in my own family. My thanks are also due to Mr. John F. Barter, of London, the largest grower of mushrooms in England, for information given me regarding his system of culti- vation ; to Mr. John G. Gardner, of Jobstown, N. J., one of the most noted growers for market in this coun- try, for facilities allowed me to examine his method of raising mushrooms ; and to Messrs. A. H. Withington, Samuel Henshaw, George Grant, John CuUen, and other Buccessful growers for assistance kindly rendered. WILLIAM FALCONER. DosoBis, L. I., 1891. PREFACE Mushrooms and their extensiye and profitable culture should concern every one. For home consumption they are a healthful and grateful food, and for market, when successfully grown, they become a most profitable crop. We can have in America the best market in the world for fresh mushrooms ; the demand for them is increas- ing, and the supply has always been inadequate. The price for them here is more than double that paid in any other country, and we have no fear of foreign com- j)etition, for all attempts, so far, to import fresh mush- rooms from Europe have been unsuccessful. In the most prosperous and progressive of all coun- tries, with a population of nearly seventy millions of people alert to every profitable, legitimate business, mushroom-growing, one of the simplest and most re- munerative of industries, is almost unknown. The market grower already engaged in growing mushrooms appreciates his situation and zealously guards his meth- ods of cultivation from the public. This only incites interest and inquisitiveness, and the people are becoming alive to the fact that there is money in mushrooms and an earnest demand has been created for information about growing them. Tlie raising of mushrooms is within the reach of nearly every one. Good materials to work with and careful attention to all practical details should give good returns. The industry is one in which women and children can take part as well as men. It furnishes indoor employment in winter, and there is very little hard labor attaclied to it, while it can be made subsid- iary to almost any other business, arid even a recreation as well as a source of profit. In this book the endeavor has been, even at the risk of repetition, to make the best methods as plain as pos- TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER I.— Those who should grow mushrooms i Market Gardeners — Florists — Private Gardeners— Village Peo- ple and Suburban Residents — Fanners. CHAPTER n.— Gbowing Mushrooms in Cellars 15 I'nderground Cellars— lu Dwelling House— Mr. Gardner's Meth- od — Mr. Denton's Method — Mr. Van Siulen's Method- The Do- soris Mushroom Cellar. CHAPTER HI.— Gbowing mushrooms in mushroom Houses 34 Building the House— Mrs. Osborne's Mushroom House— Inte- rior Arrangement of Hushroom Houses — Mr. Samuel Uen- shaw's Mushroom House. CHAPTER IV.— Growing mushrooms in Sheds 39 The Temperature ot Interior of the Bed— Shelf Beds— The Use of the Term Shed. CHAPTER v.— GBOWING MUSHROOMS IN GREENHOUSES 41 Cool Greenhouses- On Greenhouse Benches— In Frames In the Greenhouses— Orchard Houses— Under Greenhouse Benches— Among Otlier Plants on Greenhouse Benches— Growing Mush- rooms in Rose Houses — Drip from the Benches — Ammonia Arising. CHAPTER VI.— GROWING MUSHROOMS IN THE FIELDS 64 Mushrooms often appear Spontaneously— Wild Mushrooms- Mr. Henshaw's Plan— Brick Spawn in Pastures. CHAPTER VII.— MANURE FOR Mushroom Beds B7 Horse Manure— Fresher the Better— Manure of Mnles— Cellar Manure— City Stable Manure— Baled Manure— Cow Manure- German Peat Moss Stable Manure for Mushroom Beds — Saw- dust Stable Manure for Mushroom Beds— Tree Leaves — Spent Hops. CHAPTER VIII.— Preparation of the Manure 69 Preparing out of Doors — Warm Sunshine — Fire-fang— Guard Against Over Moistening — The Proper Condition of the Manure — ^Loam and Manure Mixed. CHAPTER IX.— MAKING UP THE Mushroom Beds 74 The Thickness of the Beds— Shape of the Beds— Bottom-heat Thermometers— The Proper Temperature— Too High Tempera- ture—Keep the House at 55". TABLE OF COJS'TEJSTS. CHAPTER X.— MUSHROOM SPAWN f* What is Mus)iroom Spawn?— The Mushroom Plant— Spawn Ob- tained at any Seed Store- Imported from Europe— Tlie Great Mushroom-growing Center of the Country— English Spawn— Mill-traelc Mushroom Spawn— Flake or French Spawn— Virgin Spawn— How to Keep Spawn— New Versus Old Spawn— How to Distinguish Good from Poor Spawn— American-made Spawn —How to malie Briclc Spawn— How to make Frencli (flake) Spawn— Making French Virgin Spawn— A Second Method- Third Method— Relative Merits of Flake and Brick Spawn. CHAPTER XI.— Spawning THE Beds 96 Preparing the Spawn— Steeped Spawn— Flake Spawn— Trans- planting Working Spawn. CHAPTER XII.— Loam FOR the Beds 100 Cavities In the Surface of Beds— The Best Kind of Loam— Com- mon Loam— Ordinary Garden Soil— Roadside Dirt — Sandy Soil —Peat Soil or Swamp Muck— Heavy, Clayey Loam— Loam Con- taining Old Manure. CHAPTER Xin.— Earthing Over the Beds 103 I>oam is Indispensable— The Best Soil— Proper Time to Case Beds— Inserting the Spawn— Sifting the Soil— Firming the Soil —Green Sods. CHAPTER XIV.— TOPDRESSING WITH LOAM 107 Beds that are in Full Bearing— Filling up the Holes— Firm- ing the Dress'ing to tlie Bed— Beds in which Black Spot has Appeared. CHAPTER XV.— The Proper Temperature 109 Covering the Beds with Hay— A High Temperature— In a Tem- perature of 80°— In a Temperature of 55°— Boxing Over the Bed. CHAPTER XVI.— Watering Mushroom Beds ill Artificially Healed Mushroom Houses— Sprinkling Water over Mulching — Watering Pots— Manure Water — Preparing Manure Water — Common Salt^-Sprinkling the Floors — Houses Heated by Smoke Flues— Manure Steam for Moistening the At- mosphere. CHAPTER XVIL— Gathering and Marketing Mushrooms lis When MnsliTooms are Fit to Piek— Picking— The Advantages of Pulling over Cntfing— Pulled Mushrooms— Gathering Field or Wild Mushrooms— Marketing Mushrooms. CHAPTER XVIII.— Re-INVIGOBATING OLD BEDS 120 Worn Out Beds— Spurts of Increased Fertility— A Spent Mush- room Bed — Living Spawn. CHAPTER XIX.— INSECT AND Other Enemies 122 Maggots — Blaot and allowed to settle until the next day, when it is beaten solid by the back of a wooden shovel. '.I'hc bed now needs no furtlier eare until the young muslnoums appear, except a light occasional watering should it get dry. In spacious, higli-roofcd caves the mean temperature is about 5:i° F., wJiile in narrow, low-roofed ones it is t«^ •■■JW^. A .« fl(l. 2S. In Till, .MiMllicio.ll (AVKS OK 1'.M!I^<. about C8°. Of course this makes a wide difference in the time of bearing and duratiim of the beds made in the different caves; those in the warm caves come into bearing sooner and sto]) bearing ({uicker than do those in the liigh-roofed caves. On an average the first mush- 148 ML'SHKOOJIS, HOW TO GROW THEM. rooms appear in about forty days after the beds are spawned, 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 farhion 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 tliem in little piles on the bed as he goes along, a woman comes after him and pl.ices 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 auc- tion as they arrive. Or they may be sent to preserved- vegetable manufacturers, who contract for them at an all round price. Proper ventilation is regarded as being of great impor- tance, 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 nai'- row 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 tem- perature and strong draughts, fires, trap doors, and other means employed in assisting the ventilation of coal riC. -^.1. CATllKKINC! Ml SHUOOMS IN TIIK IVVlilS CWKS KOK MAKKKT. 150 MUSHROOMS, HOW TO GROW THEM. mines are adopted. To stop strong draughts, too, in the passages, 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 combus- tion of the lamps would soon so vitiate the atmosphere as to render the caves uninhabitable were they not prop- erly ventilated. Indeed, it frequently occurs that caves in which mushrooms have been grown continuously for some yeare have to be abandoned for a year or two be- cause 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 aEFected by the manure, and ventilated and rested for a year or two, mushrooms can again be grown in them successfully. CHAPTER XXII. COOKIlirG 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 mush- rooms 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 ail- ment, and discard all that have any symptoms of disease. COOKING MUSHROOMS. 151 The small, short-stemmed, white-skinned mushrooms ofEered 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 ofEered for sale is what is known as the English mushroom. The French mushrooms are the most attractive in ap- pearance 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 ten- derness. 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 plump- ness 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 fi-ill 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 mush- rooms are tough, ill-looking, bad-tasting and indigesti- ble, and those infested by insects, although not poison- 152 MUSH BOOMS, HOW TO GROW THEM. ons, are very repugnant, and should not be used. But the dangerous mushroom is the one afEected by "Flock." Mushrooms should be gathered free from grit ; if at all gritty tbey 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 scraped off. The gills should not be removed as they are the most deli- cate meat of the mushroom, but if the mushrooms are old and intended for soup the gills should be scraped out with the Tiew of getting rid of their darkening influence in the soup. In the case of small button mushrooms, which can not be readily skinned, they should be rubbed over with a soft cloth dipped in vin- egar, 60 as to remove the outer part of the skin. While the stems may be retained with the buttons, 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 preseiTcd. 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 butter 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 COOKING MUSHKOOMS. 153 it is secured the true mushroom aroma and taste in their perfection. Stewed Mushrooms — Peel and stem the mush- rooms. I.'ake an enameled saucepan, put a lump of butter 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 butter, as pre- ferred ; spread out upon a hot dish, place the mush- rooms upon the toast, with the gills uppermost, pour the juice over them, and serve hot. Button 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 jnice (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 butter 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 mush- rooms and cook briskly for about ten minutes longer, or until tender. Soyer's Breakfast Mushrooms. — Place some fresh- ly-made toast, divided, on a dish, and put the mush- rooms, stemmed and peeled, gills upward upon it ; add a little pepper and salt and put a small bit of batter 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. 134 MUSHROOMS, HOW TO GEOW THEM. Mushrooms a la Cr^me. — Peel and stem the mush- rooms, roll a lump of butter 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 pronounced 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 butter, 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 teaspoonsfuls 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 butter 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 butter 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. Mushroom Soup. — Take a quantity of fresh young mushrooms, and peel and stem them. Stew them with a little butter, pepper and salt, and some good stock, till tender; take them out and chop them up quite small ; prepare a good stock, as for any other soup, and add it to the mushrooms and the liquor .they have been COOKING MUSHBOOKS. 155 stewed in. Boil all together, and serve. If white soup is required use white button mushrooms and a good veal stock, adding a spoonful of cream or a little milk as the color may require. This is a nice soup and tastes good. If the mushrooms are very young they have but little flavor ; if they are full grown they darken the soup, and if they are brown in the gills when used the soup will be disagreeably dark. If, after preparing, but be- fore cooking the mushroome, you pour some boiling water over them and into this drop a little vinegar or lemon juice, then drain them o£E through a colander, you can prevent, to a great extent, their darkening influ- ence on the soup, but always at the expense of their flavor. Mushroom Stems. — The stems of young, fresh mush- rooms are excellent to eat, but those of old or stale mushrooms are unfit for food. In the case of plump, fresh, full-sized mushrooms, the upper part of the stem, that is, the portion between the frill and the socket in the cap, is used, but the portion below the frill, that is, the "root" end, is discarded. Any part of the stem that is discolored or tough or woody should be rejected, and only the portion that is succulent and brittle and of a clean white color at any time used. The stems are nearly always retained in "button" mushrooms when they are cooked, and the upper or succulent parts of the stems of plump, fresh, full-grown mushrooms are often cooked along with the caps, but when cooking full-grown mushrooms Ave prefer, in all cases, to completely remove the stems from the mushrooms, and cook both separately. The stems are not so tender or deliciously flavored as are the caps, but are excellent for ketchup, or flavoring, or a sauce for eating with boiled fowl. In cooking the stems they should be peeled by scraping, for they can not be skinned like the caps. Potted Mushrooms — Select nice button or nnopen 156 MUSHROOMS, HOW TO GEOW THEM. mushrooms, and to a quart of these add three ounces of fresh butter, and stew gently in an enameled saucepan, shaking them frequently to prevent burning. After a few minutes dust a little finely powdered salt,, a little spice, and a few grains of cayenne over them, and stew until tender. When cooked turn them into a colander standing in a basin, and leave them there until cold ; then press them into small potting-jars, and fill up the jars with warm clarified butter, and cover with paper tied down and brushed over with melted suet to exclude the air. Keep in a cool, dry place. The gravy should be retained for flavoring other gravies, sauces, etc. Gilbert's Breakfast Mushrooms. — Get half grown mushrooms, peel them and lay them, gills-side npward, on a plate ; put to each a small piece of butter, but only one layer thick ; pepper and salt to taste ; add two tablespoonfuls of ketchup and one of water ; press round the rim qt the plate a strip of paste, get another plate of the same size pressed firmly in the paste ; put the whole in a brisk oven for twenty-five minutes. The top plate should be left on until served. Baked Mushrooms. — (A breakfast, luncheon, or supper dish.) Ingredients: Sixteen or twenty mush- room flaps, butter, pepper to taste. Mode. For this mode of cooking the mushroom flaps are better than the buttons, and should not be too large. Cut ofE a portion of stalk, peel the top, and wipe the mushrooms carefully with a piece of flannel and a little fine salt. Pnt them into a tin baking dish, with a very small piece of butter placed on each mushroom ; sprinkle over a little pepper, and let them bake for about twenty minutes, or longer should the mushrooms be very large. Have ready a very hot dish, pile the mushrooms high in the center, pour the gravy round, and send them to table quickly on very hot plates. Broiled Mushrooms — (A breakfast, luncheon, or COOKIKG MUSHROOMS. 1*7 supper dish. ) Ingredients : Mushrooms, pepper and salt to taste, butter, lemon juice. Mode. Cleanse the mushrooms by wiping them with a piece of flannel and a little salt ; cut off a portion of the stalk and peel the tops ; broil them over a clear fire, turning them once, and arrange them on a very hot dish. Put a small piece of butter on each mushroom, season with pepper and salt and squeeze over them a few drops of lemon juice. Place the dish before the fire, and when the butter is melted serve very hot and quickly. Moderate sized flaps are better suited to this mode of cooking than the but- tons ; the latter are better in stews. Mushrooms d la Casse, Tout. — Ingredients : Mushrooms, toast, two ounces of butter, pepper and salt. Mode. Cut a round of bread one-half an inch thick, and toast it nicely ; butter both sides and place it in a clean baking sheet or tin ; cleanse the mushrooms as in preceding recipe, aud place them on the toast, head downwards, lightly pepper and salt them, and place a piece of butter the size of a nut on each mushroom ; cover them with a finger glass and let them cook close to the fire for ten or twelve minutes. Slip the toast into a hot dish, but do not remove the glass cover until they are on the table. All the aroma and flavor of the mushrooms are preserved by this method. The name of this excellent recipe need not deter the careful house- keeper from trying it. With moderate care the glass cover will not crack. In winter it should be rinsed in warm water before using. SteTved Mushrooms. — Ingredients. One pint mush- room buttons, three ounces of fresh butter, white pepper and salt to taste, lemon juice, one teaspoonful of flour, cream or milk, one-fourth teaspoonful of grated nutmeg. Mode. Cat off the ends of the stalks and pare neatly a pint of mushroom buttons ; put them into a basin of water with a little lemon juice as they are done. When 158 UUSHBOOUS, HOW TO QEOW THEM. all are prepared take them from the water with the hands, to avoid the sediment, and put them into a stew- pan with the fresh butter, white pepper, salt, and the juice of one-half a lemon ; cover the pan closely and let the mushrooms stew gently from twenty to twenty-five minutes, then thicken the butter with the above propor- tion of flour, add gradually sufiQcient cream, or cream and milk, to make the sauce of a proper consistency, and put in the grated nutmeg. If the mushrooms are not perfectly tender stew them for five minutes longer, remove every particle of butter which may be floating on the top, and serve. Broiled Beefsteak and Mushrooms. — Ingredi- ents : Two or three dozen small button mushrooms, one ounce of butter, salt and cayenne to taste, one table- spoonful of mushroom ketchup. Mode. Wipe the mushrooms free from grit with a piece of flannel, and salt ; put them in a stewpan with the butter, seasoning, and ketchup; sttr over the fire until the muslirooms are quite done. Have the steak nicely broiled, and pour over. The above is very good with either broiled or stewed steak. To Preserve Mushrooms. — Ingredients : To each quart of mushrooms allow three ounces of butter, pepper and salt to taste, the juice of one lemon, clarified butter. Mode. Peel the mushrooms, put them into cold water, with a little lemon juice ; take them out and dry them very carefully in a cloth. Put the butter into a stewpan capable of holding the mushrooms ; when it is melted add the mushrooms, lemon juice, and a seasoning of pepper and salt ; draw them down over a slow fire, and let them remain until their liquor is boiled away and they have become quite dry, but be careful in not allow- ing them to stick to the bottom of the stewpan. When done put them into pots and pour over the top clarified butter. If wanted for immediate use they will keep COOKIKQ UUSHROOUS. 159 good a few days without being covered over. To re- warm them put the mushrooms into a stewpan, strain the butter from them, and they will be ready for use. Mushroom Powder. — (A valuable addition to sauces and gravies when fresh mushrooms are not ob- tainable.) Ingredients : One-half peck of large mush- rooms, two onions, twelve cloves, one-fourth ounce of pounded mace, two teaspoonfuls of white pepper. Mode. Peel the mushrooms, wipe them perfectly free from grit and dirt, remove the black fur, and reject all those that are at all worm-eaten ; put them into a stewpan with the above ingredients, but without water ; shake them over a clear fire till all the liquor is dried up, and be careful not to let them burn ; arrange them on tins and dry them in a slow oven ; pound them to a fine powder, which put into small dry bottles; cork well, seal the corks, and keep it in a dry place. In using this potvder, add it to the gravy just before serving, when it will re- quire one boil up. The flavor imparted by this means to the gravy ought to be exceedingly good. This should be made in September, or at the beginning of October, and if the mushroom powder bottle in which it is stored away is not perfectly dry it will speedily deteriorate. Mushroom Pow^der.^This is for use as a condi- ment. The finest full-grown mushrooms — which are the best fiavored — should be selected and prepared for drying, and dried as stated under the heading of "Dried Mushrooms," except that it is better to dry them in an oven or drying machine so that they may be dried quickly and become brittle. Grate or otherwise reduce them to a fine powder, and preserve this in tightly- corked bottles. To Dry Mushrooms. — Wipe them clean, take away the brown part and peel off the skin ; lay them on sheets of paper to dry, in a cool oven, when they will shrivel considerably. Keep them in paper bags, which hang in 160 MUSHROOMS, HOW TO GROW THEM. a dry placa. When wanted for use put them into cold gravy, bring them gradually to simmer, and it will be found that they will regain nearly their usual size. Dried Mushrooms — In the flush of the pasture- mushroom season gather a large number of mushrooms of all sizes and see that they are thoroughly clean ; re- move and discard the stems and peel tlie caps. Stir them around for a few minutes in boiling water to which a little lemon juice or vinegar has been added to preyent them from turning dark colored. Some people use plain cold water, or cold water with lemou juice or vinegar in it. But never use salt in preparing mush- rooms for drying, or else the salted mushrooms will absorb moisture from the atmosphere and spoil. Take the mushrooms out of the water and drain them on a sieve, then string them and hang them up to dry and season in an open, airy shed, as one would strings of dry- ing fruit. They may also be dried in a drying machine or oven as one would do with apples or peaches. They are used as a substitute for fresh mushrooms when the latter can not be obtained. In preparing diied mush- rooms for use steep them in tepid water or milk until they become quite soft and plump, then drain them dry and cook them in the same way as fresh mushrooms. While they are a good substitute for the fresh article they are deficient in flavor. Mushroom Ketchup — To each peck of mushrooms add one-half pound of salt ; to each quart of mushroom liquor one-half ounce of allspice, one-half ounce of gin- ger, two blades of pounded mace, one-fourth ounce of cayenne. Choose full-grown mushroom flaps, and be careful that they are perfectly fresh -gathered when the weather is tolerably dry ; for if they are picked during rain the ketchup made from them is liable to get musty, and will not keep long. Put a layer of them in a deep pan. COOKING MUSHKOOMS. 161 sprinkle salt over them, then another layer of mush- rooms and SO on alternately. Let them remain for a few hours, and break them up with the hand ; put them in a cool place for three days, occasionally stirring and mashing them well to extract from them as much juice as possible. Measure the quantity without straining, and to each quart allow the aboye proportion of spices, etc. Put all into a stone jar, cover it up very closely, put it in a saucepan of boiling water, set it over the fire and let it boil for three hours. Have ready a clean stewpan ; turn into it the contents of the jar, and let the whole simmer very gently for half an hour ; pour it into a pitcher, where it should stand in a cool place until the next day ; then pour it off into another pitcher and strain it into very dry clean bottles, and do not squeeze the mushrooms. To each pint of ketchup add a few drops of brandy. Be careful not to shake the contents, but leave all the sediment behind in the pitcher ; cork well, and either seal or rosin the cork, so as to exclude the air perfectly. When a very clear, bright ketchu}] is wanted the liquor must be strained through a very fine hair sieve or flannel bag after it has been very gently poured off ; if the operation is not suc- cessful it must be repeated until you have quite a clear liquor. It sliould be examined occasionally, and if it is spoiling should be reboiled with a few peppercorns. Seasonable from the beginning of September to the mid- dle of October, when this ketchup should be made. Mushroom Ketchup. — This flavoring ingredient, if genuine and well prepared, is one of the most useful store sauces to the experienced cook, and no trouble should be spared in its preparation. Double ketchup is made by reducing the liquor to half the quantity ; for example, one quart must be boiled down to one pint. This goes further than ordinary ketchup, as so little is required to flavor a good quantity of gravy. The sedi- 11 162 MUSHEOOMS, HOW TO GEOW THEM. ment may also be bottled for immediate use, and will be found to answer for flaroring thick soups or gravies. Mushroom Ketchup. — In makiug ketchup use the very best mushrooms, full grown but young and fresh, as it is highly impoiiant to secure fine fiavor, and this we can not get from inferior mushrooms. Take a meas- ure of fine fresh mushrooms and see that they are clean and free from grit ; stem and peel them ; cut them into very thin slices and place a layer of these on the bottom of a deep dish or tureen ; sprinkle this layer with fine salt, then put in another layer and sprinkle with salt as before, and so on until the dish is full. Tlie white suc- culent pait of the stems may also be used in the ketch- up, but never any discolored, tough or stringy part. On the top of all strew a layer of fresh walnut rind cut into small pieces. Place the dish in a cool cellar for four or five days, to allow the contents to macerate. When the whole mass has become nearly liquid pass it through a colander. Then boil down the strained liquor to half of its bulk and add its own weight of calf's-foot jelly ; season with allspice or white pepper and boil down to the consistence of jelly. Pour into stoneware jars and keep in a cool place. Pickled Mushrooms Use sufficient vinegar to cover the mushrooms ; to each quart of mushrooms two blades of pounded mace, one ounce of ground pepper, salt to taste. Choose young button mushrooms for pick- ling, and rub ofE the skin with a piece of flannel and salt, and cut off the stalks ; if very large take out the red gills and reject the black ones, as they are too old. Put them in a stewpan, sprinkle salt over them, with pounded mace and pepper in the above proportion ; shake them well over a clear fire until the liquor flows, and keep them there until it is all dried up again ; then add as much vinegar as will cover them ; let it simmer for one minute, and store it away in stone jars for use. When COOKING MUSHROOMS. 163 cold tie down with bladder and keep in a dry place; they will remain good for a long time., and are generally considered delicious. Make this the same time as ketchup, from the beginning of September to the middle of October. [The above recipes are famished by Mrs. George Amberley, of New York City. INDEX Ammonia Arising, 54 Angullliilae, 1^ In Decaying Vegetation, . 126 Scalding Water to Kill, . . 126 To Destroy, 114 Apparatus, Hot Water, ... 33 Atmosphere, Manure Steam for Moistenin); 114 Remedying a too Dry, . . 114 Bam Cellars, 10 Bedding, Wetted with Urine, . 68 Beds 16 Along3idpaid 1.50 Allen's New American Farm Book. 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The above title well describes the character of the work — " Plain and Prac- tical." The author, a commercial florist and gardener, has endeavored, in this work, to answer the many questions asked by his customers, as to the proper treatment of plants. The book shows all through that its author is a practical man, and he writes as one with a large store of ezperience. The work better meets the wants of the amateur who grows a few plants in the window, or has a small flower Garden, than a larger treatise intended for those who cultivate plants upon a moro extended-scale. Price, post-paid, paper covers 40 Hnsmann's American Orape-Orowing and Wine-Making. By George Husmann of Talcoa vineyards, Napa, California. New and enlarged edition. With contributions from well-known gmpe-growers, giving a wide range of experience. The author of this book is a recognized nthority ou the subject. Cloth, 12mo... 1.50 The Scientific Angler. 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