Historic, Archive Document

Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.

Remember we have a large farm and are growing mushrooms ourselves. Visitors welcome.

RELIABLE information concerning Mushroom, stables, sheds, outhouses

growing in cellars, of all kinds, (including henhouses) greenhouses, boxes, caves, tunnels, mines, etc.

Large profits realized from small beds with triflng expense, both winter and summer and intermediate seasons.

Previous experience not essential. A sensible money making business or a fascinating pastime, for both sexes, young and old.

We have been growing mushrooms successfully and profitably for many years. Our experience is at your service.

ISSUED BY THE

National Spawn and Mushroom Co.

292 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE,

Hyde ParR, Mass.

Copyright 1910, by the National Spawn and Mushroom Co.

W e are not trying to get you into a business which is not practical and profitable or in which we cannot succeed ourselves.

Was Offered $1.50 a Pound for Her Mushrooms.

Thanks to your explicit book of instruc- tions sent me with my spawn I have suc- ceeded in raising a stunning crop of mush- rooms. I submitted them to one of our leading hotels right here in town and was offered $1.50 a pound. Of course this was for the fancy output, but the whole crop was composed of unusually large fine stock. It is a fascinating business and I can see it is bound to be a success

Helen L. F., New York City.

Bed Full of Button Mushrooms.

I am pleased to tell you that my mush- ,2*oom bed is full of small mushrooms just starting. The first came in 40 days after spawning and according to statements in your instruction book this is very good time. On the part of the bed planted with spawn bought of you mushrooms are up but the part spawned with brick spawn is not showing up yet.

I. L. K., Indianapolis, Ind.

I am now nearly ready for more spawn.

I did well last winter for a first trial. I tried another kind of spawn at the same time, but yours was far superior. You may send me enough for 75 square feet C. O. D. MRS. C. W. P., Racine, Wis

Never Saw Better Spawn.

Photo of mushrooms received; thanks, Just as soon as the engravers get through with same I shall send it back to you. Second order of spawn to plant 600 feet just received. I never saw better spawn in my life. J. A. S., Rogers, Ark.

Enclosed find $2.00 for spawn for 50 foot bed. The spawn I got in the winter is doing very well. I think I shall go into the business extensively in a short time.

MRS. H. C. B., Dayton, O.

We received spawn from you some time ago and made the beds exactly as you di- rected. The beds are full of fine meaty mushrooms now. Their flavor is excellent. I am greatly pleased with the success that I have had. Your spawn is all that you claim for it.

MR. G. D. S., Cleveland, O.

I used some of your spawn last winter and though I gave my bed but little care found the spawn O. K.

MR. C. S. H., Batavia, 111.

Mushrooms Bringing- $1.00 to

$2.00 a Pound.

My mushroom bed is doing nicely. In New York last week (June, 1910) mush- rooms were bringing $1.00, $1.50, $1.75 and $2.00 a pound. These figures I got on Berkley and Washington Sts.

H. A. K., Newark, N. J.

I bought spawn from you last fall. Spawned my beds in September. They did well and are still bearing. Later I shall buy more. N. A. REEDER, Ohio.

Delighted at Way Mushrooms are Appearing.

I received my spawn June 17th and spawned the bed July 2d and I must say I am delighted the way the mushrooms are appearing. The surface of the bed is al- most completely covered with mushrooms of all sizes and I am going to pick the largest tomorrow. This is my first experi- ence with mushroom raising and am more than pleased. Mrs. N. S., Alamo, Mich.

Last winter I bought some of your spawn. The bed was delayed in bearing. Since starting, however, we have picked steadily a great many mushrooms. I am desirous of making several beds more in a short time.

MR. G. R. S., Marshall, Mich.

I wish you to express me an order of spawn. Mrs. Boardman, one of my neighbors, gave me your name. She has used your spawn with success. I think the kind you sell is O. K.

MR. W. J. de M., Middletown, Conn.

Some months ago I sent for some of your spawn, sufficient for one bed. The result was most satisfactory, and the quality of the mushrooms fine.

MRS. R. G. A., Syracuse, N. Y.

Imperial Spawn Giving Great Satisfaction.

It gives me great pleasure to be able to state that the Imperial Spawn I purchased , from your company in August has given great satisfaction. My bed is now bearing large, meaty mushrooms and the entire surface is filled with buttons ready to burst forth at any minute.

L. E. L., Taunton, Mass.

Please send me by the National Express Co. $2.00 worth of your mushroom spawn.

I was quite satisfied with the order you j sent me last summer, and will cheerfully recommend your goods to anyone who in- quires about them.

T. C. SABINE, Ohio.

I received the mushroom spawn I or- dered of you last fall and planted half of it for a first experiment and it has done finely. The cellar was rather cool, but I can’t complain as I had a good crop. I have built a mushroom house and have just planted the remainder of the spawn.

DAVID BRADLEY, Canada.

We have tried your mushroom spawn and have found same very satisfactory. Would like to ask your lowest price for 100 pounds C. O. D.

T. G. SCHRADER & SONS, Missouri.

The spawn you sent me was fine and has produced mushrooms all summer. 1 shall build a mushroom cellar soon.

MR. W. S. G.. Big Beaver, Mich.

Money in Mushrooms.

ABOUT OURSELVES.

It may Interest you as a prospective purchaser of our spawn and supplies to know something about us and our experience with the mushroom in- dustry.

We have been growing and selling mushrooms for many years, making our first start in a small way.

Our first mushroom bed was in a piano box and the crop came up in due season, the whole top of the bed being literally loaded with mush- rooms. From this first bed we gath- ered mushrooms continuously for four months. Our first success encouraged us greatly and we made another bed in the cellar of the house. From this bed we also had excellent results, raising many mushrooms, which were consumed right on the place. An- other cellar bed was made the same year and from this bed we sold the crop at wholesale for $2.00 a pound. The first successes both in grow- ing and selling mushrooms brought strongly to our minds the fact that there would be money in this business if properly carried on. At that time there were very few mushrooms grown, they being practi- cally unknown in the markets of the country. Only a few people used them, the demand was limited, and a few pounds would glut the market. People purchasing them would only buy about a quarter of a pound at long intervals. Today they are sold to the private consumer in lots of five or six pounds and hotels, res- taurants, clubs, everywhere use tons of them daily.

After making beds and experiment- ing for five years we knew the prac- tical side of cultivating mushrooms pretty thoroughly. Bear in mind that when we started the art of growing mushrooms was in its in- fancy, there were no printed instruc- tions and each grower used his own Judgment, oftentimes with no success.

Our methods were practically a suc- cess from the first, but we were able to improve them greatly as time went

on so as to increase the size of the crop and the length of time the bed stayed in bearing.

For a time we used cellars for our beds entirely, but later decided that other places also would grow just as good crops. We made beds under the benches of the greenhouse, in the outdoor shed, boarded in the windows of the hen-house for a bed,j besides using house, stable, and barn cellars. We of course did not have all these facilities on our own place, but hired any kind of a building that was in any way suitable and turned it into a mushroom house. We grew mush- rooms in these places, selling large crops at high figures.

Recently we have made numerous changes in our plant, which is lo- cated at Hyde Park, Mass., a town ten miles from Boston, so that at the present time our equipment consists of five buildings 150 feet long by 20 feet wide. One of these buildings was a greenhouse which we made into a mushroom house by covering it over with Vulcanite Roofing Paper. We find there is more money in mush- rooms than flowers and plants. Be- sides these we shall shortly excavate for some large underground cellars.

The picture on page 3 shows one of the 150 foot houses. This house cost to build, $250, and was erected from plans of our own. It is simply a frame work of joists covered over on the roof and sides with Vulvanite rubber roofing, the same as is listed in our price list of supplies. (See supply list on back of booklet.) There is no flooring, the mushroom bed be- ing made on the ground. A walk down the middle enables us to gather the mushrooms and water the bed when necessary.

This house was built in June, 1906, the manure prepared and the bed made during July, and on the first day of August the spawn was put in. A crop was gathered continuously from October 1, 1906, to April 1, 1907, the bed bearing without a break for

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seven months. A clear profit amount- ing to $1,600, over and above the cost of the house, and all expenses was made during this time. We kept an exact account of results from this house.

Next to this mushroom house is a regular greenhouse which we have made into a mushroom house and be- yond the greenhouse is another mush- room house similar to the one shown in the picture. Two of these build- ings are connected at the sides by a space 18 inches high which runs their entire length.

The two buildings that are con- nected are heated by one hot water system. The other has a small heater in it. In this house we usually have our first Fall and Winter crop come up as we can start to heat it first before it is necessary to start the larger and more expensive system.

The other two buildings, making five in all, are also connected and heated by one system. These houses each contain about 2,800 square feet of growing space. Figuring two pounds of mushrooms to each square foot, oui output for one planting is about 28,000 pounds of mushrooms, or four- teen tons. Selling at from 50 cents to $1.00 a pound, one can figure it is a most profitable business. It is not necessary to get such high prices, as mushrooms sold as low as 25 cents a pound yield a handsome income.

We have found practically no limit to the number of mushrooms that can be sold and are able to dispose of a large part of our output right here on the place. We have regular cus- tomers for our mushrooms in the Back Bay of Boston, where the pros- perous class live. We deliver the mushrooms direct to them ourselves. This class of trade pays the highest prices for fresh mushrooms and we get as much as $2.00 a pound at cer- tain seasons of the year from these people. Hotels, restaurants and clubs buy of us and also pay a good price, but not quite as much as the private families. The commission merchants of Boston take many of our mush- rooms for which they get high prices. For selling they charge us a com- mission of 10 per cent., which is de- ducted 'from the proceeds when re- mitting us. Oftentimes they will buy outright, which they did for in- stance last summer, paying us net at

wholesale $1.00 per pound for all we could bring them.

We have a large and growing trade right at our farm for mushrooms. There we deliver mushrooms to cus- tomers who call and we never at any time deliver any for less than $1.00 a pound.

We obtained the bulk of our trade among private families, hotels, clubs and restaurants by simply sending out five hundred circulars to a list of names, stating that we had fresh mushrooms for sale at all seasons. In a short time orders were booked for our entire output.

We recommend this method of get- ting customers to all our patrons. The names of clubs, hotels and res- taurants can be obtained from any city directory. Addresses of private families can be found by taking the street directory and selecting one of the best streets on which you know well-to-do people live. Copy the name and address of the party living in every third or fourth house and mail them one of your circulars. Those who receive them tell their neighbors and friends and in a short time you have a market for all the mushrooms you can raise.

Another good way is to insert a card in the local paper, or better still, call upon the editor and tell him what you are doing. Wait until you have a crop of mushrooms before do- ing this. As a bed of mushrooms is a distinct novelty, most likely he will want to write you up in his paper, because a story of this sort make* good reading and excellent matter for his news column. He probably will print a photograph of you and your beds. A write-up of this kind will bring in more business than you can handle.

Our plant has been photographed and written up free several times by local papers with excellent results for us.

Many of our customers to whom we have sold spawn have written us of their success with this method. It was first tried a number of years ago by a lady in a small sized city, and today she is a large prosperous grower.

Our business has grown to such an extent that we supply our mushrooms mostly in large quantities to our reg- ular customers and are not able to

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take care of all the small orders for one or two pounds that keep coming in over the telephone.

Mushrooms have proved a great money maker for us and there are

steadily increasing every day and the business is in the heyday of

its existence. At present mushrooms are not grown in sufficient quantities to supply the demand, so rapidly are

ONE OF OUR 150-FOOT MUSHROOM HOUSES.

This house cleared $1600 the first year over its cost and all expenses.

others hereabouts who have had suc- cess. Look at the mushroom growers who started in five or ten years ago. Many are prosperous today, owning their places, and enjoying the lux- uries of life. There is just as good if not better chance for those who start now.

The demand for mushrooms is

people becoming acquainted with their food value.

Our country contains eighty millions of inhabitants and not a thousandth part of them ever saw a mushroom, let alone tasted one. It has been estimated that should the supply of mushrooms greatly increase it will be impossible to fully keep pace with the demand for many years.

GROW MUSHROOMS AND MAKE MONEY.

The edible mushroom is in great and increasing demand, especially in the large cities, as the fine hotels and restaurants and great numbers of private families use great quantities of them daily in all kinds of table dishes. It Is a healthful and nutri- tious food, possessing an exquisitely delicate flavor, and is much sought after by epicures and those who like the good things of life.

Mushroom culture has been carried on in Continental Europe and East- ern Asia and surrounding countries for many years, and there thousands

of the inhabitants use them daily as a substantial article of food.

The famous mushroom caves of Paris are noted the world over for their product and afford thousands of thrifty French people a means of livelihood.

These caves are directly under the city of Paris, and from 75 to 125 feet below ground. Originally they were mines which furnished the soft stone that was used in the construction of the buildings of the city. Where the excavation has ceased is now filled with mushroom beds, where thou-

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sands of pounds are raised annually. Most of the canned mushrooms sold in the United States are products of these caves.

Here in America we have the largest market for mushrooms in the world with no fear of foreign com- petition, as all efforts to import fresh mushrooms from abroad have failed. Prices paid here are almost double those paid abroad, with no chance of their declining for many years.

Mushrooms here have been sup-

liable directions are carefully fol- lowed. There is nothing intricate or puzzling about the method of culti- vating mushrooms. It is simply a question of following instructions and using care in the preparation of the bed, watering, etc. We have sold spawn in the United States and Can- ada to both young and old of both sexes, who are growing mushrooms profitably. It is not necessary to give up other occupation to start in this business. The bed can be easily made

OUR THREE UPPER MUSHROOM HOUSES Aggregating 7,000 square feet of beds.

plied by a few enterprising persons who have made money. They have been a selfish lot and have en- deavored to keep down the produc- tion by spreading false statements about, difficulties of cultivation have virtually frightened others away from the business. This, in spite of the evident fact that they have made a success of the business, owning their own plants, and being able to put money in the bank. Most of these prosperous growers started on a small scale, with a bed in a cellar. Other people have now become awakened and are beginning to appreciate the possibilities of this industry.

Anybody with ordinary intelligence of either sex who has a good cellar or other place can successfully grow mushrooms if a few simple and re-

and materials prepared in odd mo- ments and after that the work has ended, with the exception of an occa- sional watering and gathering the crop.

It certainly makes a person very enthusiastic to go down cellar and pick from eight to ten pounds of nice mushrooms which can be sold for from five to ten dollars or more ac- cording to the price paid.

Winter and summer and intermedi- ate seasons mushrooms can be raised and marketed in any number. With the proper place and right materials they can be made a most paying crop.

Even on a small scale mushroom- growing pays. Prom crops raised in the cellar many a housewife has paid

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the family’s grocery bill and other current expenses for the year.

Mushroom culture presents oppor- tunities for making money that come within the reach of nearly every man, woman and child. Do not expect, however, to pick up too many dollars

Price of feed has almost doubled in the last two years. Where is the profit made? Ask the ordinary man who has a small flock of from 50 to 200 birds, and he will tell you that he barely clears expenses without count- ing in his time.

SHELF BEDS IN HOUSE CELLAR.

at once, although the beginner often has as good success as those who have been engaged many years in the business.

Look at the people today in the United States raising hens, chick- ens, ducks, and squabs. Notice the amount of time and care these birds require. See the unsightly building, the dirty yards, and think of the money tied up in stock and buildings.

A small bed of mushrooms, say of 100 square feet, will yield much larger profits in three months under proper conditions than 100 hens would in twice the time and with practically no work after the bed is made. Turn your poultry out and use the build- ings for mushrooms. It will pay you much better.

We are not asking you to try an experiment. We are successfully

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growing mushrooms and what we can do, you can also. You do not have to begin as we did without instruc- tion or advice. The benefit of our experience is free to you, if spawn is bought of us, and with our help and

to the skies with the idea that you cannot fail, but we do know that if one sticks to it and is careful, ob- serving and persevering, success is the inevitable result and no other occupation will be found that will

END SECTION OF ONE OF THE HOUSE CELLAR BEDS. Shows Beds Five Weeks After Spawning and Just Beginning to Bear.

your own good sense success is bound to be yours.

We have today just as much confi- dence in the mushroom industry as we had 15 years ago. We shall go on enlarging our own plant, knowing that the market is waiting for all the mushrooms we can raise. We have no hesitation in advising all those who have the place and facilities to undertake this business. Our desire is not to crack up mushroom growing

pay as well for time and money ex- pended.

Besides this you will find the. work pleasant. To us it is fascinating and the sight of the mushrooms first com- ing up in a new bed gives us today a thrill of pleasure in spite of the many years we have been at it. We will admit that this feeling is partly caused by the reflection of the sordid fact that the crop is worth money, in addition to the gratification of results from work well done.

WHERE TO GROW MUSHROOMS.

No Special Building Necessary — Your Own House Cellar One of the Best Places.

Mushrooms are grown to perfection in cellars, stables, sheds, boxes, greenhouses, caves, and the like.

Many people think that mushrooms can only be grown in a warm, dark, damp place. This is a mistaken idea. Any ordinary place heated or not, where the temperature does not go below 35 degrees in winter, and where the bed can be screened so that the

direct rays of the sun will not fall upon it, will grow large quantities of this delicacy. The bed should be on a dry bottom, it making no dif- ference whether it is a wooden, cemented or earthen foundation.

The beds may be on the floor, on shelves, or both, but no matter where they are, whether in a dwell- ing house cellar or other place, if

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properly made, they emit no odor and are in no way offensive or un- healthful.

First, remember that mushrooms

can be grown all the year, both win- ter and summer. Being under cover, conditions can be made right at all times. There is no off season and it

roof of our houses to keep the atmos- phere moist. We water the beds through the straw and they are thus kept cool and moist. We pick the crop by moving the straw from side to side with a fork.

In a cellar, cement house or cool place there is no need of doing this.

BED IN STABLE CELLAR.

(This is a picture oi one of our first beds and was taken 25 years ago.)

is never too late to start. Beds bear well no matter when they are started, provided of course conditions are right.

During the summer or in hot cli- mates a cellar or cave, cement house, or some place that can be kept mod- erately cool is to be preferred. It Is necessary that the intense heat of the hot months should not strike the mushrooms. In our mushroom houses, which are built on the surface of the ground, we overcome this by plac- ing straw on top of the beds to the depth of a foot and by spraying the

only in unprotected hot sheds where the hot sun beats directly on the root that covers the mushrooms.

We advocate strongly underground cellars or cement houses to those who are starting the business to raise mushrooms for market and who con- template building in addition to other space at hand. Places of this nature are cool in hottest months of summer in any climate, easy to heat in win- ter, are indestructible, need no atten- tion or repairs, and pay for them- selves in a very short time.

Let us not give the idea to the be-

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ginner that he must have an expen- sive or large establishment to make a profit at this business. Just the reverse. No matter where he is lo- cated* whether in a cold or hot cli- mate, he has without doubt at hand a good place to grow mushrooms. That is the beauty of cultivating this crop, it requires no capital to start outside of purchasing the spawn and perhaps the manure and a crop will pay just as big and grow just as well in a cellar, or old shed, stable, etc., at home as in a regularly equipped mushroom plant.

The cultivation of mushrooms is the same wherever the beds are made, and as most everyone has a cellar we will take it for an illustra- tion in which to show how the beds are made and conditions needed for success.

A cellar is one of the best places in which to grow mushrooms, as it usually has a fairly moist atmosphere and a moderate, even temperature.

It can be under a dwelling house, stable, barn, or shed, or any kind of building. It may be either light or dark. The beds can be made on the floor, or if more space is desired one or two tiers of shelves can be put up.

The sides of both can be boarded in so as to keep the materials of the bed from falling out, or in the case of floor beds simply banked up at the sides. These beds can be made so as to fill up the whole cellar, leaving, of course, sufficient space to get in the material and allow watering and picking of the crop. In this way a small cellar can be made to average $30 a week or more during the bear- ing season of the bed.

Some growers spread the beds all over the surface of the cellar and leave no pathway, using raised step- ping boards or raised pathways in caring for the crops. Ordinarily in cases of this kind no shelf beds are constructed.

When the temperature does not go below 40 degrees the mushrooms are grown in beds without any covering. In cool cellars or buildings where the temperature goes down to 35 degrees, the beds are made deeper and are boxed over or covered with hay or straw or any dry litter; the natural heat of the manure keeping the bed at the correct temperature.

If heat is supplied by furnace, hot

water, steam or gas or oil, the beds will need no covering, either before or after the crop appears.

Mushrooms will sometimes be seen coming up with ice on them. After the bed starts to bear they will stand a good deal of cold without injury.

In climates where there are long and severe winters, or in places where the conditions are just the reverse* with long seasons of hot weather, a practical and inexpensive mushroom cellar may be built as follows;

Excavate a cellar six feet deep, lin- ing the sides if desired with cement or stones as in a common house cellar. If the earth is hard or clayey and will stand without caving in, stone sides will not be necessary. Over thie place a roof which may be either flat or pitched according to the materials a£ your disposal. We favor a slanting roof built out of old railroad ties or heavy lumber and made watertight by the use of roofing paper. Then over the roof throw the earth taken from the cellar mounding it up if de- sired. Place the loam on top and sow with grass seed. You now have a cellar frost and heat proof and in which an even temperature can be easily maintained no matter what conditions prevail outside.

Entrance can be made through a bulkhead at one end of the cellar, making a convenient and easy method of getting the materials for the bed both in and out.

Such a mushroom cellar can be built at a slight expense without the help of skilled labor and answers perfectly the purpose for which it is required.

Many of our customers are growing mushrooms in the cellars of their residences, either for market or to supply their own table.

Manure beds in a dwelling house may seem highly improper to many people, but in truth when rightly handled these beds emit no odor and are not the least disagreeable or un- healthy no matter where they are located. The horse dressing should be prepared away from the house and then introduced into the cellar. It is next topped off with one and one-half inches of garden loam and we have a sweet, clean bed that could be handled with safety in any room of the dwelling house. Beds may bo made in boxes in the same manner and placed in any convenient place.

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The majority of people are not aware that mushrooms are profitably grown during cold weather; they imagine that like flowers or truck they must be cultivated during the spring or summer. This idea seems to be deeply rooted, for we receive many letters every fall and winter asking if it is not too late to start a mushroom bed or if it would not be better to wait until spring. As a matter of fact our business is heavier in the spring than in the fall, owing to this popular idea.

Our answer to these enquiries is emphatically, No. Do not wait until spring to begin mushroom growing. Start now, no matter what the month and season.

At Dedham, Mass., Mr. Milliken, proprietor of this company, formerly raised mushrooms in the cellar of his residence all the year without any inconvenience or the least odor.

A hot water heater which supplied the house with warmth kept the cel- lar temperature right during the cold weather.

This is a Southern Home with no Cellar. Mushrooms can be Grown on the Ground, Inside the Lattice Work, Under the House.

On the cellar floor were two large mushroom beds. The horse dressing for the cellar beds were thrown into the cellar through one of the win- dows, the house unfortunately not being equipped with a bulk-head. The floor beds were made on the cemented cellar bottom. When they were taken out after having finished bearing the floor was swept and was then as clean as before the beds were put in.

We bring the fact of Mr. Milliken’s growing mushrooms in the cellar of his house principally because many people believe a mushroom bed in a house cellar cannot be made without disagreeable odors and great incon- venience. As before stated after a bed is properly made there is no smell whatever to offend the most delicate nostrils. There is nothing unhealthy about horse manure and it is a fact that those working about horses are extremely healthy and vigorous.

If mushroom beds are to be made in a place with a wooden floor and it is desirable not to stain or otherwise deface the floor vulcanite rubber roof- ing paper can be laid down and the seams cemented together. The paper should be continued up on the wall for about two feet. When this is done a waterproof bed is the result and the floor and walls are protected from moisture or stain.

Stables and barns have all the facilities of mushroom culture right at hand. Empty stalls, hay lofts and unused portions of the stable or barn floor are among the numerous places a crop can be grown to good advan- tage, and the material for the bed (horse manure) is always near by.

Anyone who has a snug, warm shed, may have a good mushroom house, provided the floor is dry and the roof water-tight. A close shed, such as a tool-house or carriage shed, is better than an open building, but even if the shed is open on the south side and closely walled on the other three sides, it can be made good use of for mushroom beds. This sort of building is good for spring and fall crops, but is not adapted for mush- room cultivation in mid-winter.

A greenhouse makes a capital place for the cultivation of mushrooms, and here the mushrooms are grown In parts of the greenhouse nearly worthless for other purposes, such as under the stages, this place being usually unoccupied or used for stor- ing pots, etc. Why should a florist confine himself to one crop at a time in the greenhouse, when he can grow roses or other plants on the benches and mushrooms underneath, both profitable and neither interferes with the other.

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Out-door Culture.

In some sections of the country open air beds for mushrooms can be successfully made all the year. Parts of the State of California are suited to this method of culture. San Fran- cisco, Eureka, Independence and Red Bluff have the requisite degree of temperature. The average tempera- ture where all the year out-door cul- ture can be carried on should be be- tween 48 and 55 degrees. This degree prevails in other places besides those mentioned above.

Some part of the year all over the United States is suitable for out-door beds if a suitable kind of hot bed frame is used. A hot bed of this sort consists of a square or oblong frame made on the ground twelve or four- teen inches high. The sides are made of old boards, and in many cases old railroad ties are used. The ground inside the frame is tramped down hard and Arm, then over the top of the frame or boards or other material used a cover is laid to keep the sun and rain out. The idea is to keep the bed warm in cool weather and keep the cold out.

In warm weather the bed is kept from drying out and the scorching sun ex- cluded by keeping the top of the frame closed. When raining the same method suffices. On cool days and at night in the warm weather the frame is left open., Fresh air is thus allowed to circulate and any dew that may be falling at night keeps the bed moist and assists mushroom develop- ment.

An out-door bed of this nature can be successfully carried on during the spring, summer and fall according to the temperature in the place where you reside.

We have already spoken of poultry houses of all kinds as being suitable for mushrooms. Don’t overlook them when figuring on this business.

Tunnels, caves, abandoned mines, and many other places will grow great quantities of mushrooms at small expense.

The above are only a few illustra- tions of places in which mushroom cultivation may be successfully un- dertaken; others, too numerous to mention, where the same conditions prevail, we are unable to treat upon for want of available space.

SURPRISING PROFITS.

No Capital Needed to Start.

The profits in the mushroom busi- ness are most satisfactory to the grower. As practically no capital is required and no special building is necessary, and as most everybody has some unused place suitable for their culture wherein they may be profitably grown, the field is open to all, either as a means of livelihood or the source of profitable recreation. Many are, however, held back by the fact that reliable spawn and practical instruction are difficult to obtain, and those already engaged in the business refuse to open mouths or doors, either to give information or to allow inspection of their methods of culti- vation.

We know of growers here in New England who will not admit visitors to their plants and others who are willing to show their beds to callers seeking information, but deliberately give false answers to questions re- garding culture. What is the result?

The mushroom industry records an- other failure from the person thus falsely informed, and the unsuccess- ful grower in many cases starts out to give the business a black eye. This has happened not once but many times to our knowledge. We like to get hold of people who have not made a go of the mushroom busi- ness and we are usually able to con- vince them that with the right in- struction and by using our superior spawn success will crown their ef- forts. Results prove to them that we are right. It is simply a question of having the right facts and materials and applying them in the proper way that begets success.

We have had customers ask us why it is that we are willing to publish our methods of growing when others are so close mouthed. Simply this, the field is broad enough for all and we believe in living and let live. Be- sides we make and sell Imperial

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Spawn and we could not hope for success ourselves unless we made others successful when using it.

Government statistics show that the country people are moving to the cities and that farming and the pro- duction of food products from the soil is diminishing. That is one reason that the cost of living today is so high. Mushroom growing and other

you at most only $4.50 delivered. In many places you can get it free for the asking, if you will take it away. From the bed we will estimate that 100 pounds of mushrooms are gath- ered. This would be but one pound to the square foot of bed and is ex- tremely conservative. A good bed rightly made should yield two pounds of mushrooms to the square foot, or

ASSORTED MUSHROOMS.

All shapes and sizes. Big and little.

agricultural pursuits offer today great opportunities for wide awake men.

The profit of growing may be esti- mated from the following:

Beds made according to our direc- tions and in which Imperial Spawn is planted will yield from one to two pounds of mushrooms to the square foot. The crop will last from two to five months. As fast as a bed is through bearing it is immediately re- made. Beds should be started at in- tervals of a month or so in order to keep a crop coming continuously.

Suppose for instance for a first trial a bed of 100 square feet is prepared and spawned with Imperial Pure Cul- ture Spawn. This amount of spawn will cost $3.75. The horse dressing needed for a bed of this size will cost

200 pounds from a bed of 100 square feet. The average selling price of mushrooms is around or between 50 cents and 75 cents a pound. At cer- tain seasons of the year they will sell for $1.00 and $1.25 a pound. (The aver- age price we get for our mushrooms by the year is 75 cents a pound.) We will infer that the low price of 60 cents a pound is paid you. Viz: 100 pounds of mushrooms at 60 cents a pound is $50.00, less cost of spawn $3.75 and manure $4.50. (Manure may have cost you nothing), which amounts to $8.25, leaving a net profit of $41.75.

Notice we are figuring only on 100 pounds from the bed, sold at the low price of 50 cents. Should you get 200 pounds of mushrooms from the bed and sell them for 75 cents a

12

pound, your profit would be $100 more, or $141.75 net. Figure on the smaller profit, however, and you will be pleasantly disappointed if you make more. A bed 10 feet long by 10 feet wide, containing 100 square feet is a small bed, comparatively speaking. If you have space that will accom-

that can be readily undertaken by either sex.

Women and children can grow mushrooms as easily as flowers and plants and besides the business will yield a handsome profit for time ex- pended. The bed can be made by some masculine member of the family

MANURE READY TO MAKE INTO BED IN ONE OF OUR 150-FOOT HOUSES.

modate larger beds your profits will be greater in proportion.

Do not start too small a bed if you have plenty of space, as the heat of the dressing holds better in a bed of fair size than in a small one and results are more satisfactory.

In what other industry can you in- vest such a small sum that will pay you as well? What other business can you start in without investing capital? Think it over.

The mushroom industry is not crowded and the supply is not equal to the demand.

Remember this is an occupation

and after that they can do all the work themselves. If there, however, is no one to do this a man could be hired at small expense as the opera- tion only consists of watering and heaping the horse dressing and put- ting it in the bed. It is a most simple process fully and plainly explained in the book of instructions sent with the spawn. After that it is nothing hard or dirty to do.

No lady in the land would hesitate to pick mushrooms in the open fields. How much less, then, should she hesitate to gather the fresh mush-

INTERIOR OF ONE OF OUR 150-FOOT MUSHROOM HOUSES.

( I his is a photograph taken by the Boston Globe for one of their write-ups on our business.)

14

rooms from the clean beds in her own cellar.

Many people are content to plod along: in the same old rut and dislike to undertake anything new. They wait and keep putting off and finally when they awake the chance is gone. You know the old adage, “Oppor- tunity knocks but once at each man’s door.” This may be your chance. Don’t let it go by.

One man in a suburb of Boston sold

a three months’ crop for $1,000, and made extensive additions to his plant. Another grower was offered $1,200 for his crop, still to come, but preferred to wait and increase his profits. Sim- ilar profits, only ©mailer, from smaller investments, occur daily, but pass unnoticed because unknown. This publication of the facts by us is for the purpose of making people ac- quainted with the wonderful possi- bilities of this business.

MARKETS.

How and Where to Sell What You Raise.

Mushrooms are sold to hotels, clubs, restaurants and private families or to the commission merchant. In every city there are produce dealers and commission merchants who buy and sell all kinds of vegetables out- right or on commission. Their cus- tomers may be near by or from 200

crop and are prepared to show a sample. The best way is to wait un- til you have grown some mushrooms and then take a sample pound and explain the amount you are prepared to ship ea,ch day or week. Then the dealer can talk intelligently and hav- ing seen the superior article you are

MUSHROOM AND COFFEE CUP. Comparatively small specimen from our beds

to 500 miles away. Mushrooms can be disposed of at a good price, for the demand is large and daily in- creasing. It is a profitable crop for the merchant to handle on this ac- count as the commissions are propor- tionately large. He will often times buy mushrooms outright when a cus- tomer is waiting, but usually they are sent on consignment. That is, the mushroom grower sends by ex- press or otherwise, what he wishes to market and the commission merchant sells the mushrooms to his customers and remits the grower the proceeds, less 10 per cent., which he deducts as his commission.

When you wish to ascertain what mushrooms are selling for go to your nearest commission dealer and offer to buy some mushrooms. Never ask what he will pay unless you have a

producing, will be anxious to do busi- ness with you.

Commission men, produce dealers, restaurant managers and hotel stew- ards are being continually bothered by prospective mushroom grower©. Most of them pay scant attention to curiosity-seekers or letters from to- be cultivators, but are ready and will- ing to talk business with a person who has mushrooms to sell. The dealers will look you up when they hear you are producing a good crop and will be anxious for a chance to handle your output.

Dispose of your crop whenever pos- sible direct to the consumer. The profits will be much larger than when the mushrooms are handled through a middleman. Hotels, club©, restaurants and the private consumer are the best customers and in fact

15

the grower in dealing with them can dictate his own price and it should not be low.

Mushrooms are salable all the year, summer and winter, and intermediate seasons. The question with the trade is not can we sell our mushrooms, but can we get enough to supply our customers. All that are raised are •napped up at once and many are disappointed because of the lack of supply. Anybody who can entertain doubts that mushrooms or garden produce cannot be sold had better not

try the business. They cannot b# enterprising and have not the gump- tion or go to succeed. We speak on this subject plainly because it is try- ing to receive letters from people who fear that they will not be able to sell what they raise or express the opinion that the market will be flooded and the price go down.

The selling price of mushrooms for the last 20 years has varied but little and there appears little prospect of its varying, from present indications, for some time to come.

LIST OF MARKETS.

Sent Free When You Order Mushroom Spawn.

We receive many letters from our customers throughout the United States and Canada requesting infor- mation as to where they can profit- ably market what mushrooms they raise. Many of these requests come from the large cities where there is a big demand, but the person who writes is not familiar with the whole- sale markets or does not know where to find the commission merchants. For the benefit of these and those in the country some distance from mar- ket we have compiled a list of com- mission merchants, produce dealers and hotels in the large cities of the United States and also some in Canada.

In making out this list and corre- sponding with the various dealers, hotels, etc., in regard to demand, sup- ply, price paid, etc., even we, familiar as we are with this business, were surprised at the answers received. There seemed hardly a limit to the amount of mushrooms that could be •old or used and the average selling price was much higher than we dreamed of. The price paid for mushrooms throughout the country varies from 40 cents to $1.50 per pound, according to season, supply and qual- ity of the product. In fact, as one large dealer wrote us, “the highest and lowest prices were seldom touched, an average price of between 50 cents and $1.00 being the rule." Good quality mushrooms rarely sell for less than 40 cents to the commis- sion dealer, while to Clubs, Hotels, Private Families, etc., 75 cents per pound is easily realized.

We are talking facts and not the- orizing, as we have the letters right here in this office on file from com- mission merchants and hotels, stating in black and white that the above prices prevail.

During the SUMMER SEASON es- pecially, the market is short of mush- rooms and the prices paid are ex- tremely profitable to the grower.

We print below three sample letters from commission merchants, one in New York, one in Chicago, and one in San Francisco. We print these three for being far apart, one on the Atlantic Coast, one on the Pacific Coast, and one in the centre of the country, they are a good sample of the whole. We have many more just as good all over the country.

CHICAGO.

Replying to your favor of the 9th, beg to state that we are heavy han- dlers of mushrooms. They have sold this season all the way from $1.25 per lb. down to 60 cents a lb. However, very few sales have been affected at $1.25 or 60 cents, sales mostly made from 75 to 80 cents. We are in posi- tion to take care of any and all ship- ments THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

H. W. & C.

SAN FRANCISCO.

The San Francisco market is a very profitable one for mushrooms. Even in the height of the season when the wild ones are plentiful, the cultivated mushroom brings seldom below 60 cents per lb. Other times they sell for $1.00 and $1.25 a pound. There is

16

always a good demand and good firm stock will always sell for from 50 cents to $1.35 per lb.

D. E. H. & CO.

NEW YORK.

We handle lots of mushrooms and dispose of all that we receive. At this writing (February, a rather poor season), they are selling in range from 50 to 65 cents per lb. We sell on a commission basis, which is 10 per cent, of gross sales. It is certainly advisable for a grower to raise steady crops all the year, especially in the summer. Cultivated mushrooms in the summer sell for high prices. Last summer we sold mushrooms for $1.00 per lb. and that was during July and August. There is never any difficulty in disposing of good stock.

J. P. S. CO.

In deference to the above Commis- sion Merchants we do not print here, in our free advertising matter, their name and address, but they appear in full in our MARKET LIST, which we send you free when you order Im- perial Pure Culture Spawn.

OUR NEW AND COMPLETE LIST OF MARKETS WE SEND TO YOU FREE WHEN YOU ORDER IM- PERIAL MUSHROOM SPAWN. It contains a list of Commission Mer- chants, Produce Dealers and Hotels in nearly all the large cities of the United States and some in Canada. The places, of which we give you addresses, are markets where you can sell the mushrooms you raise. They are reliable and through them you will get a square deal. They want mushrooms, plenty of them and will buy outright or else sell on com- mission all you raise at a good price. They wish to get in touch with our customers, want a sample of the mushrooms they grow, for they can dispose of good crops to mutual advantage.

Make a start, raise the mushrooms, then write them and they will do the rest.

Our MARKET LIST we print solely for our own customers who use IM- PERIAL PURE CULTURE SPAWN. It is not for free distribution and will not be given away except to those who buy mushroom spawn or us. It is given free with each order of spawn, together with the instruction

book, “How We Grow and Sell Mush- rooms."

The mushrooms will keep a week, therefore can safely be shipped to distant points. This is of value to the producer who lives in the country distant from the market. Sent by express or fast market freight, they arrive in perfect condition.

Mushrooms will not freeze in cold weather in the bed or during trans- portation, yielding a sort of oil which protects them and does not allow the frost to penetrate.

SPECIAL.

We can handle here almost any quantity of good fresh mushrooms. If you live East of the Mississippi River and are unable to dispose of your crop, ship them to us by express, CHARGES PREPAID, and we will

2 Lbs. of Mushrooms in Folding Cardboard Box.

sell them for you at the highest pre- vailing market price. We cannot guarantee any certain figure but will do the best we can for you, deducting 7 1/2 per cent, from the proceeds for our part of the transaction.

We know, however, that you can sell your mushrooms at home if you follow our selling methods, or in the nearest large city. Use us as your sales agent only as a last resort, for we make this offer only as an accom- modation and not because there is any money in it for us.

17

MUSHROOM SPAWN. WHAT IT IS?

Mushrooms are grown from spawn or in scientific language, mycelium. It Is not a seed but a mouldy looking substance which develops into a fine white thread-like fibre. This white fibre is really what may be termed the vegetation of the fungi.

Fresh spawn at the proper develop- ment for planting should not show a great amount of white fibre but should appear as a whitish mould sometimes barely discernible and which in some cases can hardly be seen by the layman.

Common brick spawn such as is usually sold shows a network of the white fibre almost yellow, which is prima facie evidence that it has de- veloped too far and if it grows at all will produce but a few mushrooms. No matter how good the spawn may have been when first made, after be- ing dried and pressed into bricks and stored for some time it loses much of its vitality and fertility. In many cases the spawn in the bricks starts to grow before reaching the cus- tomer. In this case it is spoiled, for once growth starts and then stops the life is gone forever and it is worth- less.

Poor spawn in a mushroom bed is a waste of time and labor, and we re- gret to say that a great deal of the

spawn on the market is in this con- dition. It is very discouraging to make a bed, plant the spawn and then wait four to eight weeks without results. The loss is severe, not In first cost of materials or spawn, but in the loss of profits that should have been made had the spawn proved fertile.

A knowledge of the life history and anatomy of the mushroom is not nec- essary to the cultivator, though he should be positive of the freshness and life giving quality of the spawn which he purchases.

We cannot make this assertion too strong and the answer is, buy Im- perial Pure Culture Mushroom Spawn.

We were the first to advertise and boom mushroom growing, £nd have been selling spawn direct to the con- sumer for over 8 years. We grow mushrooms ourselves, raising and selling tons each year. Unlike others who sell spawn, we have had practi- cal experience and our methods of growing are tried and proved ones. In dealing with us you can feel as- sured that our interest in you does not end with the sale of the spawn. We want you to succeed the same as we have.

Our Imperial Pure Culture Mushroom Spawn. Positively Fresh. Direct From Our Plant to You.

Imperial Pure Culture Mushroom Spawn is manufactured solely by us. It is spawn in its virgin state made by the Pure Culture and Tissue Culture methods direct from large, heavy, meaty mushrooms carefully selected for their superior quality. This spawn is not dried and pressed into bricks but is shipped in its natu- ral state. It is run into a composi- tion so that it can be handled and shipped. This composition is damp and smells just like the mushrooms themselves. The spawn spreads quickly when planted and needs no soaking in water to help bring it to life.

Our Imperial Pure Culture Spawn is propagated from the finest mush- rooms. Our method is the result of

much study and experimenting and the spawn produces mushrooms of the Agaricus Campestris species of the finest texture and most superior eat- ing qualities. They bring the highest prices wherever displayed for sale. In the preparation of this spawn the greatest care and pains are taken and its use makes the mushroom business a most profitable commercial venture. It will produce nothing but an edible mushroom, there being no danger of poisonous growth.

Our Imperial Pure Culture Spawn is kept at its highest state of vitality in especially prepared beds in our propagating houses. Shipment is made direct from there to you. The spawn does not stand around and

18

deteriorate but is at its highest state of efficiency when sent to you.

We make new cultures and start new spawn in our propagating house at frequent intervals so that our sup- ply is always fresh and in the best of condition. It is shipped when in its prime, being full of vigor and life and will spread freely and quickly and bear abundantly of fine heavy mushrooms.

We use only the best of stock in making our spawn, which is manufac- tured from the largest and finest mushrooms. The result is that the crop produced will be of the same high standard.

We pack the spawn for shipment In wooden boxes and guarantee it will reach you in good condition.

The smallest order is sufficient to plant 50 square feet of beds, wbtch Is a bed 10 feet long by 5 feet wide, or its equivalent. To plant a bed ot this size it brick spawn was used eight or nine bricks would be need- ed. That which we send you for this amount of space contains as much pure spawn as would be found in ten to twelve bricks.

A CLUMP OF MUSHROOMS.

19

In making brick spawn the myce- . hum, otherwise spawn, rarely spreads to the edge of the cake, so that some- times one-quarter of it is worthless. This reduces the amount available that will produce results, although the purchaser has to pay for all this waste sterile material.

Most of the total failures today in growing mushrooms can be laid to the spawn. By total failures we mean cases where not a single mush- room comes up. Others more fortu- nate get the mushrooms up in good shape but do not get a paying crop as the spawn has no vitality and after the first spurt the crop dies away.

REMEMBER.

The spawn we sell to you is ex- actly the same as we use in our own beds, and which we could not afford to use unless it produced the best of results. Each lot is made under our personal supervision and is tested before it is sent out

We guarantee Imperial Pure Cul- ture Spawn to be fresh, fertile and full of life when it reaches you. It will retain its fertility for eight to ten weeks if stored in a cool place. It should not however, stand around longer than is necessary. It can be obtained only from us. There is no other spawn like it on the market.

PRICE LIST IMPERIAL PURE CULTURE MUSHROOM SPAWN.

Guaranteed Fresh and Fertile.)

Spawn sufficient for (Trial Order) Bed of

50 square feet . . (10 feet long x 5 feet wide or its equivalent) $2.00

Bed of 100 square feet	(10 “	<(	x 10	<<	44	44	tt	3.75
44	200	44	<<	(20 “	<<	x 10	tt	44	44	a	5.00
<4	300	44	c«	(30 “	<<	x 10	««	44	44	it	6.25
44	400	44	<«	(40 “	<c	x 10	«<	4 4	44	tt	7.25
44	500	44	<(	(50 “	<(	x 10	a	44	44	ft	8.00-
	600	44	«(	(60 “	<«	x 10	a	44	44	a	8.75
44	700	44	<«	(70 “	<(	x 10	a	44	44	tt	9.50
44	800	44	u	(80 “	<<	x 10	a	44	44	tt	10.25
44	900	44	(c	(90 “	<(	x 10	it	44	44	tt	11.00
44	1000	44	<<	(100 “	<(	x 10	tt	44	44	tt	11.50

If it is desired that the spawn be shipped by freight add 25c to the above price for cartage to railroad station.

Quotations on larger amounts on request. Spawn can be shipped at all seasons of the year, hot or cold, without injury. We guarantee safe delivery. Bid

Please order Imperial Spawn in lots as given above in the price list. We have no facilities for shipping orders calling for spawn to be delivered in odd amounts. Our boxes are made in sizes neccessary to ship orders of 50 square feet, 100 square feet, 200 square feet and so on. Therefore for illustration, if your bed measures 180 square feet order Imperial Spawn for 200 square feet and follow the same rules on other odd space

The Spawn will Retain its Fertility 8 to 10 weeks. Store in a Cool, Dry Place.

MUSHROOMS FROM OUR OWN BEDS.

Grown From Imperial Pure Culture Spawn.

Mushroom beds can be made any length and any desired width. A long stick with a crook on the end enables the grower to gather mushrooms off a bed 8 or 10 feet wide without the use of pathways. The crook is simply inserted under the cap of the mush- room and it is gently lifted out of the ground.

20

OUR NEW 75-PAGE ILLUSTRATED INSTRUCTION BOOK “HOW WE GROW AND SELL MUSHROOMS.”

Sent Free With Imperial Spawn.

With each first order of Imperial Mushroom Spawn we send free of charge our new, large 70-page illus- trated book of instructions “How We Grow and Sell Mushrooms,” which contains complete instructions on mushroom growing, together with the fitting out of the cellar, mushroom house or other place wherein they are to he cultivated, from beginning to end.

This book tells what to do and what not to do and detailed instruc- tions are given on every phase of the business, nothing being left to guess at. It is written in plain every-day language that a child could under- stand.

The book contains some fine pic- tures showing how to perform the different operations pertaining to the business. Each illustration has be- neath it a full, clear description so that anyone cannot but help under- stand exactly what is being done.

This book has just been revised and rewritten and much new and up to date matter and pictures added. The information in the book alone is worth more than the price you pay for a small order of spawn.

HOW WE GROW AND SELL MUSHROOMS embodies methods that we have successfully practiced our- selves for many years, and are using today 'in making our mushroom beds and disposing of our crops. No previous experience is necessary and with this book a beginner can start in with information that will enable him to be as successful as we are in cultivating this profitable crop. The benefit of all our experience is at your service and you learn simply by reading the book what it has taken us many years to acquire by costly experimenting.

Do not confound our book with the IS or 16 page pamphlets given or sold to the purchasers of spawn by deal- ers purporting to start you success- fully growing mushrooms. Their ob- ject is simply to sell the spawn, after which their interest in your welfare ends.

HOW WE GROW AND SELL MUSHROOMS contains 70 pages of

printing and illustrations, the leaves being exactly the same size as this booklet. It is printed on good heavy paper and attractively bound. Only one copy is given to each purchaser of Imperial Spawn. Extra copies GO cents each.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

The Mushroom.

Where to Grow Mushrooms.

Cellar Beds.

Cultivation in Sheds and Stables. Cultivation in Greenhouses.

Cultivation in the Mushroom House. Out Door Beds in a Covered Frame. Where we Grow Our Mushrooms. Manure for Mushroom Beds.

Preparing the Manure.

How to Make the Beds.

Mushroom Spawn.

Spawning the Beds.

Loaming the Beds.

Watering.

Temperature.

Gathering the Crop.

Sorting and Packing.

How and Where to Sell What you Raise.

Markets.

A. Commission Merchants and Prod- uce Dealers.

B. Hotels.

Insects.

What to do if Your Bed Does Not Produce Mushrooms.

Recipes for Preserving Mushrooms. Recipes for Cooking Mushrooms. Questions and Answers.

NOTE:— This book is intended solely for our customers who use Imperial Mushroom Spawn. If ordered sep- arately without spawn the price is 60 cents postpaid. If desired you can send us the amount that you wish to invest in Imperial Mushroom Spawn and we will forward the instruction book at once and hold the spawn un- til you are ready for it.

However this is not necessary un- less you expect to be long delayed in preparing your beds.

OUR INSTRUCTION BOOK BEST ON THE MARKET.

Received your book, “How We Grow and Sell Mushrooms.” Have read it through and think it is the best book

21

on the subject on the market and think it well worth the price and a great deal more.

E. T. H., New York, N. Y.

BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS VERY PLAIN.

I received the spawn all right and have composited my manure and shall make the bed the noon of the 13th. Everything is going nicely. The book, “How We Grow and Sell Mush-

rooms,” is great, making everything very plain. With it I certainly ought to have the best of success.

J. A. W., No. Weare, N. H.

INSTRUCTION BOOK BEST EVER SEEN.

Your book of instructions given free with the Imperial Spawn is the most complete and comprehensive of Its kind I have ever seen.

J. H. C., Phila., Pa.

OUTLINE DIRECTIONS FOR PREPARING MUSHROOM BED.

Make a bed of the size you desire to spawn and place in it fresh horse dressing to the depth of twelve inches. Tramp this down with the feet, a brick or a shovel, the result being a bed nine inches deep. Insert the spawn two inches deep and then cover the bed over with one and one-half inches of common garden loam. Water when dry with warm water. The mushrooms will appear in about six weeks and thereafter are gathered for market every day. A bed will bear mushrooms two to five months and often longer without renewal.

THERE IS POSITIVELY NO ODOR FROM THE BED.

Our book, “How We Grow and Sell Mushrooms,” sent with each first order of spawn, contains in detail complete information for making the beds, etc. DO NOT MAKE YOUR BED UNTIL YOU GET IT WITH THE SPAWN.

The instruction book is not boxed with the spawn but is mailed you at the time the spawn is shipped.

To the average person a bed in a cellar under a dwelling house In which horse dressing is used as part of its composition seems unhealthy. Not being familiar with the method of preparing a bed for mushrooms they cannot understand why there Is no odor.

From a mushroom bed properly pre- pared with horse dressing, in its proper proportion, and then topped off with a covering of one and one- half inches deep of clean garden loam, not the least odor will be ex- perienced, and a bed of this sort can be taken into any room of a house without the least offence.

N. B.— Cow manure or a mixture of horse and cow manure may be used when horse dressing cannot be ob- tained in quantity. It makes no dif- ference what kind of bedding is mixed with the manure, whether straw, leaves, saw dust, or shavings. That containing straw or hay is, how- ever, to be preferred.

OUR PROPOSITION

The object of this booklet is three fold.

First. To introduce ourselves to you.

Second. To make you acquainted with the possibilities of the mush- room business.

Third. To present to you clearly and concisely the advantages to be derived by the use of our Imperial Pure Culture Mushroom Spawn.

We hope we have covered the sub- ject thoroughly, but should there be any points upon which you wish fur-

ther advice write us a letter enclosing a two-cent stamp for reply. We think, however, that if you read this booklet carefully you will find that we have anticipated your question.

We know that you will be satisfied with the results you will get from the spawn we send you, so that you will become a regular buyer. Our interest does not end with the sale of spawn to you. Your success is our success and we believe a satisfied customer is the best of all advertising medi- ums. We are glad to help you at any

22

time with suggestions or advice and will appreciate photographs of your beds and letters describing results.

FARM NOTICE.

Prospective customers wishing to see our beds and farm may do so on any week day from 9 A. M. to 4 P. M. On Sundays and Holidays we cannot extend this privilege.

Inquirers will of course understand that they are welcome to see our plant, but we cannot spare the time to explain the details of mushroom growing to them. This information can be obtained by reading our in- struction book, ‘'How We Grow and

Sell Mushrooms.” If, however, after reading the book there is anything not perfectly understood we will gladly make it clear, either by letter or otherwise.

We are glad to extend every cour- tesy to those who mean business and contemplate mushroom culture, but as we are very busy we cannot give up our work to show around persons who come out of mere curiosity.

IMPERIAL MUSHROOM SPAWN AND SUPPLIES can be purchased direct at the farm by those who call to see the beds.

Mushrooms for sale at all times. Price $1.00 per pound.

HOW TO MAKE A START.

Figure out the size of the bed that you intend to make. If it is ten feet long by ten feet wide, it will contain 100 square feet and the spawn that you will need will cost $3.75. If your bed is larger or smaller, estimate the number of square feet that it con- tains and then turn to page 19, on which you will find the price list of Imperial Spawn in quantities suffi- cient to plant from 50 to 1,000 square feet of beds.

The preparation of the bed will take but little time and you will need only some common garden soil and fer- tilizer (ordinary horse manure either mixed or not with bedding) easily ob- tainable in your neighborhood at little or no expense.

Fill out the order blank herewith (which we save and file away for fu- ture reference), place it with your re- mittance in our addressed return en- velope, and mail it to us. Imme- diately on its receipt we will send you by express or freight the amount of Imperial Spawn and supplies that your order calls for.

With our spawn we send free of charge our special Market List, here- in described and our 70-page book, “How We Grow and Sell Mush- rooms,” which contains full and com- plete instruction on all points neces- sary for the successful cultivation and the profitable marketing of the mushroom. By following our sim- plified method of culture as pro- pounded in this work and which re-

quires no previous experience in mushroom growing, our patrons are assured the production of mushrooms of great excellence.

Under proper conditions this spawn will produce mushrooms from two to five months.

This growth is a greater return than from ordinary plant seeds, ex- plainable from the phenomenally rapid maturing of the mushroom and the remarkable vitality of the spawn.

If you are dissatisfied with the box of spawn when you get it, send it right back to us and we will cheer- fully return your money.

Can any offer be fairer? Try it and be convinced.

References: The Adams Express

Co., National Express Co., American Express Co., Wells Fargo Express Co.; our many customers (names upon application), also bank reference if desired.

Notice.— Spawn is received and for- warded by the express companies at a special rate, which is about 25 to 50 per cent, less than the regular charge.

Canadian points, duty free.

Make remittance by postoffice or express money order, or cash by reg- istered mail. If you send a personal check add 10c., cost of collecting it. If desired we will accept one or two- cent stamps for amounts less than $1.00. Stamps of larger denomination we have to sell at a loss. We will ship promptly the same day we get your order. Address:

National Spawn & Mushroom Co., Hyde Park, Mass.

23

Unsolicited Letters from Satisfied Customers.

I* r Readtfiese letters t^^^hTthey^n^interest^^^urprisFyouT^What'otSe^haye done you can do also. Anybody , young and old of both sexes, can undertake this busi. ness and make a big thing out of it. You have the assurance that when you buy mush- room spawn of us j^ou will be treated right, the same as these customers were. We have had lots of imitators since we started business. Some even have gone as far as to almost exactly reproduce our booklet word for word. None of them lasted long. A few months and their advertisements appeared no more and they dropped silently out of sight. They were able to copy parts of our literature but could not copy our spawn and were unable to make good to their few customers.

We were the first to advertise and place fresh mushroom spawn in the hands of the grower.

Deal with an old and reliable firm. We were one of the first to grow mushrooms, have been raising them steadily for many years, and were the first to advertise spawn and place it direct in the hands of the grower. We are originators not imitators.

READ WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS SAY. YOU CAN EASILY DO AS WELL.

The following testimonials are reproductions of letters from our customers. They are on file at our office. We will forfeit $100 to any person who will prove that we can- not produce the original. As it would entail much trouble and correspondence to our customers we do not print here, in our advertising matter, their full name and address.

Imperial Spawn Much Better than Brick Spawn.

Enclosed please find money for more Imperial Spawn. Send me the same kind you did In the first order. Now, my dear friend, I want to tell you something about Imperial Mushroom Spawn. Some people who claim they have grown mushrooms came to my house and told me I would never get results from the kind of spawn you sell, that the largest crops were all grown from brick spawn. So I sent to a firm in Illinois and got some brick spawn, to plant a bed of 50 square feet. From this spawn I raised and sold Just $3.00 worth of mushrooms. From the Imperial Spawn I got from you, for which I paid $3.75 for a bed of 100 square feet, I sold just $53.00 worth of mushrooms at 50 cents a pound. Quite a difference. I like to give praise where praise is due and after having such poor luck with brick spawn thought it only fair to write and tell you what your Imperial Spawn did. One day I pulled a pound of mushrooms from one clump. Another day I pulled one that weighed half a pound.

S. G. B., Carnegie, Fa.

Spawn Jnst as Good as Claimed.

I am very happy to say that the Im- perial Spawn we got of your company was Just as good as you claim. We had our first mushrooms in eight weeks after •pawning. The bed is in a stable cellar.

Mrs. W. R. L., Brooklyn, N. Y.

Been SeUing Mushrooms for Four Weeks for 75 and 80 Cents per Pound.

Well I believe it is about time for me to write* you in regard to my success in mushroom raising. I have been picking mushrooms for about four weeks and have •old them for from 75 to 90 cents per pound, which I think was a pretty good price for the season. The spawn when I

got it smelt just like mushrooms and it spread finely through the beds. My ex- perience so far has been perfectly satis- factory. Today I picked three that weighed six ounces. Selling at the rate of 80 cents a pound, that means about tf cents apiece. They are fine mushrooms with short stems.

T. A., Green Bay, Wis.

Mushrooms Sell In Ottawa, Canada, for $1.00 and $1.25 per Pound. Enclosed please find an order for more Imperial Spawn. There is money to be made here growing mushrooms. They sell for $1.00 and $1.25 per pound.

Mushrooms Coming Up So Thick They are on Top of Each Other.

Last February I got Imperial Spawn of you to plant 100 square feet of bed, and as I could not give the bed and manure the care I wanted to did not expect much of a crop, but I want to tell you that they are now coming up so thick that some of the large ones have small ones on top of them and I cannot pick the large ones without disturbing the small ones.

E. T, H., Brookfield, Mo.

Note:— We do not quite understand how in E. T. H.’s bed the small mushrooms can be on top of the large. It is possible for the large ones to overlap the small, but we have never seen any results as above described. The idea conveyed, how- ever, is that the mushrooms are so thick that they appear one on top of another.

N. S. & M. CO.

Mushrooms Selling in Toledo, O., fo* $2.00 per Pound.

Enclosed find $3.75 for Imperial Mush- room Spawn. I went to a store here, the largest one in Toledo, and priced mush- rooms. They were selling for 55 cents for 1/4 pound and $2.00 for a pound.

MISS G. w., Toledo, O.

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Sold Fifty Pounds of Mushroom* for $1.00 and $1.50 per Pound.

Enclosed please find $3.75 for spawn to plant 100 square feet of bed. I had very good success with my last little bed, sell- ing over 50 pounds for from $1.00 to $1.50 per pound. G. L. D., Hanison, N. Y.

Beds All Bearing.

The Imperial Spawn you sent me was planted on July 5th and July 25th. The beds are all bearing at the present time. This business looks very promising.

J. A. W., Chicago, 111.

Made Enough from a Small Bed to Build a Mushroom House.

The Imperial Spawn I bought of you a year ago has net me enough to build a mushroom house. My house is going to be 5 by 50 feet. You will hear from me again in a short time.

W. S., So. Des Moines, la.

A Friend Told Him Our Imperial Spawn was Fine.

I saw a friend of mine the other day and he told me about your Imperial Spawn. He said I had better write you people and get some of your spawn. He said it was fine.

B. B. B., Cleveland, O.

Bed Been Bearing a Month.

The bed that I spawned some time ago is doing fine and I have been picking mushrooms for over a month. The spawn was perfectly satisfactory.

J. W. B., Plymouth, Mass.

Marvelous Results from a Small Bed.

I have two beds planted with Imperial Spawn and they are doing finely. We have the beds down in the cellar and have followed your book to the letter and the results are really marvelous. Every day we get about two pounds of the finest I have ever seen. We use them right here in our own cafe. For instance, this even- ing we had chicken friccasee with mush- rooms.

C. W. L., New York, N. Y.

Beds Doing Finely.

I sent to you some time ago for some Imperial Spawn. I received it promptly and have had such good success and the beds are doing so fine that I am going to Rochester to put in a bed for my brother. I want spawn for 100 square feet. Please send soon as possible.

J. P., Rochester, N. Y.

Got Two Bushels of Mushrooms at One Picking.

Our mushroom bed has been bearing finely. Yesterday we had nearly two bushels of mushrooms from it. We are selling them right here in town.

Mrs. W. H. M., Boulder, Col.

Mushrooms Coming Up in All Directions.

My bed is bearing magnificently of mushrooms. They are coming up in groups in all directions. I am a clergy- man and my salary is not large, but now I believe I can make over $200 a year. I can get all the manure I need for noth- ing and the expense will be simply for the spawn and a few extras. I want to thank you for the explicit directions you set forth in your book of instructions, for I owe my success to the clear way in which the instructions are put. I can sell all my mushrooms right here.

Rev. A. S. A., Hornell, N. Y.

First Bed a Success.

I enclose herewith money order for more Imperial Spawn. The first bed I planted proved a success. I sold the mushrooms for 75 cents a pound. I have second bed ready now and will have a third in about a month. I have to go slow as my capital is not large.

R. McC., McKeesrocks, Pa.

Can Sell All the Mushrooms He Can Raise.

My mushroom bed is doing fine. It started to bear in just six weeks. I am gathering mushrooms every day. I shall soon start more beds, as I am told by re- liable commission men that I can sell all I can raise G. C., Council Bluffs, la.

Can Sell Mushrooms for $1.25 a Pound in Allentown, Pa.

Please send my spawn at once. I can sell all the mushrooms I can raise here in Allentown for $1.25 a pound. I can also get as good prices in Reading and Philadelphia, but Allentown has all the market I need.

C. H. L.., Allentown, Pa.

A Mushroom from Imperial Spawa Weighed Two and One-Half Pounds.

Please send me at your earliest con- venience $3.75 worth of your Imperial Spawn. A patron of yours in this village raised a mushroom in his crop that weighed two and one-half pounds. I must have some.

Miss S. A. D.( La Jolla, Cal.

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Bed Just White with Mushrooms.

The spawn which you sent me in Sep- tember was the best I have ever received and it brought mushrooms in just six weeks. The bed is just white with them. I brought some of my friends in to see them and you would laugh to see them when they looked the beds over as they nearly had a fit when they saw so many mushrooms. As I am so well pleased with the spawn you sent me I thought I would write you and let you know Just how the beds were doing. There are people here who are trying to get me to use the

Spawn Co. goods, but as it is in

brick form I do not care to use it. I have handled a great many mushrooms in my time. C. P. D., Pittsburg, Pa.

Raised One Hundred Pounds of Mushrooms.

We raised 100 pounds of mushrooms from a small bed planted with your Im- parial Spawn. We consider it perfectly satisfactory. F. H. G., York, Pa.

Has Just Visited a Man Who Used Our Spawn with Fine Results.

Today I have just visited a party who has used your spawn with satisfactory re- sults. Had just ordered spawn before I saw your advertisement. Think I have spoiled the bed not having had. proper in- structions. I am going to start compost- ing tomorrow for a new bed. We are not at all satisfied with the spawn we just got nor with the way the dressing has been composted, although we followed di- rections sent us. After seeing one of your successful growers from your spawn and instructions we are going to trade with you hereafter.

W. T. W., Wilmington, Del.

Bed was a Fine Success.

Sirs: It is with great pleasure that I

write you. Last year I had spawn from you and planted it the last »f the old year. I am glad to say that I had very good success. The crop was about seven weeks in coming up and they have been coming ever since.

W. L., Cleveland, O.

Friend Had Mushrooms Galore.

My old friend, Dr. John H. G., tells me that you have enabled him to grow mush- rooms galore. Hence I send you my check, for which respond by sending me spawn and book of instructions.

N- J. K., New York, N. Y.

Bed Bearing: Very Heavily.

Please find enclosed $5.00, for which send me Imperial Spawn to plant 200 square feet. My first bed is bearing very heavily, i have a bed of 50 square feet

and have picked from it already over M pounds. I am selling them for 75 cents s pound.

Mushrooms Large as Saucers.

Enclosed find order for more Imperial Spawn. The spawn I got from you a few months ago is doing finely. I pulled ths first mess in five weeks after planting. Some were as big as saucers.

W. J. R., Allegheny, Pa.

Clump of Mushrooms from a Customer’s Bed.

Highly Pleased with Results.

I thought I would write and let you know that I b<ia fine success with my mushroom bed. I enclose a picture of the bed, showing some of the largest bunches. I lent my books to a couple of friends and they will send you an order soon. C. W. E., Wilkes Barre, Pa.

Imperial Better than French Spawn.

I feel it my duty to inform you of re- sults from small quantity of spawn I got of you. It was planted March 26th, and has done finely. I also tried some French with hardly any results.

R. C. L., New York, N. Y.

Spawn was First Class.

Enclosed please find $5.00 for more spawn. The spawn you sent me last sea- son was first class. It came up within four weeks of the time it was put in the bed. C. A. B., Plainville, Conn.

Imperial Spawn Met All Expecta- tions.

Referring to your recent letter ac- knowledging my second order for Imperial Spawn, would say that I have found your spawn to meet all expectations. I planted the first lot of spawn on the 1st of March and on the 8th day of May I picked the first lot of mushrooms, and on the 15th had a good mess of nice large mushrooms, some of them measuring 3 1/2 inches in diameter, and am now picking them every day.

C. W. H., Passaic, N. J.

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Has Mushrooms Four Inches in Diameter.

An I presume you always hear all the failures and disappointments, I think it is only fair to write you of the grand success I am having with my mushrooms. I am quite crazy about them and the family suggest that I take my sewing machine down in the cellar so that I can stay there all the time. Some of the mushrooms are 3 1/2 inches in diameter and one I have picked was four inches across. One weighed five ounces and six mushrooms weighed 15 ounces. There are over a hundred of the white patches of the cunning little white buttons dotted all about and it is so interesting to watch their development.

Mrs. E. E. C., Buffalo, N. Y.

Got a Newspaper Write Up.

I feel pressed to write you about the grand display and success I have had with the mushroom beds. Well we had three crops and I thought them fine. I am sending you cutting from our city newspaper to show you what the neigh- bors thought of them. [Extract follows ] H. C., Opie, Minn.

The write-up:

Raise Delicious Mushrooms.

There are mushrooms now raised in this city for the markets and they are as safe as they are delicious. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Opie of East street, in the Fourth ward, are the proprietors of the mushroom industry, and those who have used the product say they are the finest they have ever eaten. The work of mak- ing the mushroom beds was started last spring and eight weeks ago* the first spawn was sown. This spawn is of two varieties, one from France and the other from Boston. Now the crop is most flourishing and more beds are to be made.

The industry is in the collar of the house and consists of six beds each 18 feet long and five feet wide. Four beds are bearing, the other two to be started later. It Is ^ very pretty and interesting sight to see these vegetables growing. They look good enough to eat without cooking.

Two Pounds of Mushrooms from a Bed of Fifty Square Feet at First Picking.

I am much pleased with the crop of mushrooms grown from Imperial Spawn bought of you last July. The first picking yielded two pounds and I use all for my family and some friends of mine. I have made another bed and want enough spawn for 60 square feet, for which find $2.00. I shall go into this business largely as soon as I find a place.

C. L., Paterson, N. J.

Good Market in Rochester, N. Y.

Enclosed find check for $7.35 for Im- perial Spawn to plant 400 square feet of beds. I find good market here and am in a hurry to get started in order to get the profits.

B. F. C., Rochester, N. Y.

Bed Alive with Mushrooms.

The bed I planted from your Imperial Pure Culture Spawn about three months ago Is commencing to bear and is alive in almost every portion with buttons and pinheads (young mushrooms). I have so far picked 80 mushrooms, the largest being about two inches in diameter. Am now preparing 250 square feet of space more and hope to build a shed before long. R. A. L., Springfield, 111.

Imperial Spawn Five Times as Gocl as Any Other.

That spawn I got of you was fine and dandy. Some of my mushrooms have weighed from five ounces to half a pound. I am more than pleased with your spawn, which is perhaps best shown by my intention to build a house at once 100 by 20 feet in which to make a good start at growing for market. I will say I have tried three kinds of brick spawn and found Imperial three times as good as one and five times as good as the other.

R. W. S., Newton Centre, Mass.

Two Letters from the Same Person* Mushrooms Pronounced Best Ever Seen.

I feel It my duty to inform you as to the progress I am making with my mush- room bed. It Is doing fine. The spawn produced In Just nine weeks, when I picked the first lot of a pound and a half. They were very large and fleshy. I had a friend come and look at the bed and he was much pleased with the results and pronounced the mushrooms the best he had ever seen. You will hear from m# again later.

F. J. F., Massillon, O.

Results Tell the Story.

Second letter, a month later:

Kindly send me as soon as possible spawn for another bed. My first one Is fine. F. J. F., Massillon, O.

Mushrooms Four Inches In Diam- eter. Grown In a Stable.

I spawned a mushroom bed in a box stall In the stable on July 6. Today, Sept. 14, I have Just picked 22 fine mush- rooms. Six or nine were about four Inches In diameter. Eleven good ones, all sizes, weighed a pound. The bed Is full of the crop.

C. B. M., Waterbury, * Conn.

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Says Our Spawn is Exactly as Represented.

Please ship balance of spawn amounting to enough to plant 200 square feet as or- dered last August. I have two beds that are growing nicely. I have gathered some fine mushrooms and they began to come up in eight weeks. I acknowledge your spawn to be exactly as you represent and if planted and cared for as directed In your book success will be achieved.

J. A. B., W. Phila., Pa.

Mushrooms Grow Finely in Canada.

Enclosed find money order for folding boxes In which to pack my mushrooms. My crop is coming up nicely. In looking over the bed I find it just full of mush- rooms. F. L., Hamilton, Canada.

Fine Mushrooms in Denver, Col.

My trial bed is a success. Mushrooms have appeared thickly and are most deli- cious in taste. I shall send for more •pawn in about three weeks.

MRS. C. W. D., Denver, Col.

Enclosed please find $4.00 for which please send me some of your best mush- room spawn. I tried some of your spawn last March which proved satisfactory, so will try it again. JOS. ZELUS, Mass.

Tried Fonr Kinds of Spawn. Im- perial the Only Kind that Produced.

The spawn that I bought of you last June is doing nicely and produces first- class mushrooms. It is the first and only spawn I have succeeded in getting mush- rooms from, although I have tried four times before and failed entirely. I should live to visit your plant some time this fall. C. A. B., Plainville, Conn.

Market Encouraging? In Philadel- phia.

Enclosed find order for spawn for 100 square feet. The market here is very encouraging. Mushrooms bring from 80 cents to $1.00 per pound and I can sell all I can raise.

A. R. C., Philadelphia, Pa.

Grows Fine Mushrooms in Perfectly Dark Cellar.

The trial order of Imperial Mushroom Spawn that I bought of you has done finely. It came up in ten weeks and one day after I planted it. I only had room for 25 square feet and yesterday I picked */4 of a pound. It was the first picking. They measured from 2 to 3 1/4 inches across. They have grown in the cellar where It is very dark and are a nice light color. G. W. G., Meriden, Conn.

Been Picking Mushrooms Already Two Months from Small Bed.

Last spring I bought Imperial Spawn from you for a 50 square foot bed. Have been picking mushrooms since July and am pleased with the business. Expect to make a larger bed a little later.

A. B. T., Palmyra, N. Y.

Imperial Spawn Better than Brick Spawn.

The spawn I purchased from you wa» satisfactory in every way and gave a fine, generous yield of mushrooms, far su- perior to that of some English Brick Spawn which I had previously tried. I have just entered into a partnership for going more extensively into the business.

A. M. M., Royersford, Pa.

Has Sold Twelve Pounds of Mush- rooms from Bed Just Started.

Enclosed find $3.75 for another order of Imperial Mushroom Spawn. Up to date we have sold 12 pounds of mushrooms at 50 cents a pound and the bed has just started to bear.

E. E. M., Washington, D. C.

Mushrooms Coming Up Fast*

Please hurry me some boxes in which to pack my mushrooms. My bear is bear- ing fast. I want to take a picture of it and will send you one.

MRS. W. A. T., S. Snow Hill, Md.

Bed Been in Bearing Seven Months*

I spawned my bed on Sept. 6, 1907, and It began to bear the third week in No- vember. It has been bearing ever since. The results speak plainly for the spawn* W. O. S., Kansas City, Mo.

Imperial Spawn O. K.

Spawn sent me was O. K., but on ao- count of temperature I waited 13 weeks, but mushrooms are coming up now. Note enclosed order. Spawn to come about the 10th. (This letter also speaks for itself.)

G. P. B., Boston, Mass.

Made Mushroom Beds in Fish Boxes.

Spawn was received about the 17th of March. Had the beds ready, consisting of six fish boxes, measuring 2 by 4 feet. Just four weeks after spawning I picked my first mushrooms. I have picked ten to a dozen several times. Now I see hundreds of young buttons coming as large as the end of your finger.

I. B., Newark, N. J.

Note:— We advise making one large bed rather than a number of small ones. Re- sults will be better as the bed will hold the heat longer. N. S. & M. CO.

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Mushroom Growing a Rare Pleasure.

1st letter, May 8, 1908.

I have been rewarded this morning by finding my bed covered with small mush- rooms ^ white as snow. I am charmed with my success and find it a rare pleas- ure and fascination In seeing the mush- rooms appear, and each step is full of interest.

2d letter, May 20, 1908.

I wrote you a while ago about my mushroom bed; how splendidly they were coming and how I was bubbling over with enthusiasm. I have since sold mushrooms to my grocer for 60 cents a pound, he selling them for 75 cents.

MBS. W. J. D., Chattanooga, Tenn.

Mushrooms Up in Seven Weeks.

The spawn you sent me arrived March f and I planted part of It two days later. Now after seven weeks am getting the first mushrooms, several of which are i 1/2 inches in diameter and of light color. There are hundreds of smaller mushrooms.

C. H. K., St. Louis, Mo.

Can Sell All the Mushrooms He Can Raise in Springfield, O.

I have a bed of mushrooms from Im- perial Mushroom Spawn in my cellar. I cannot begin to raise enough to supply people in my city.

W. A., Springfield, O.

Cannot Praise Our Spawn Too Highly.

I am pleased to state my opinion as to the efficiency of your Imperial Mushroom Spawn. I cannot praise the spawn too highly. It produced a heavy crop of mushrooms large and uniform which 1 had no trouble in disposing of. I hope in the near future to send you another large order.

MRS. E. L., Philadelphia, Pa.

Raised Very Pine Mushrooms Last February.

Last February I sent you an order for Imperial Spawn from which I raised some very fine mushrooms. I want enough for 50 square feet more.

R. F., Jr., Philllpsburg, N. J.

Notice that our testimonials are from all parts of the country, north, south, east and west. Mushrooms are grown successfully in any cli- mate, hot or cold.

I received spawn from you last May for which I paid $3.75. I planted it in my cellar according to directions and have had fine results, having already sold $60 worth of mushrooms and they are still coming. Your statements about this busi- ness are all perfectly true and not ex- aggerated, in fact I will have made al- most double what you said I would. This is my first experience raising mushrooms and all my information was obtained from the book of instructions that you sent me free with the spawn. Your method of culture is very simple and effective. I market all I can raise without trouble and get from $1.00 to $1.50 per pound for them. MR. A. S., Dark Harbor, Me.

Please find enclosed another order for spawn. This additional amount we need to fill out another bed. We intend to build new houses and will need more spawn to plant them. The spawn you sent is all O. K. In fact, it was some- what disappointing in coming up so promptly within four weeks after casing the beds. Being in a salt sea location we are compelled to use sandy loam on our beds, although advised not to do so. We find, however, that it works well and the mushrooms are fine solid ones. Instruc- tions from practical growers such as you give us are the best to follow, but we find one must not get careless and go art. it in a haphazard fashion. We are selling our mushrooms for 50 cents per pound at a good profit. The spawn we got from you last February was not put in the ground until some time after it was received, but it appears to be full of life and all right in every way. When we get under way we will give you a good write up that may do you good in this part of the coun- try. Southerners as a rule do not know what mushrooms are, but those whom we have given spawn with instructions how to prepare the beds are going wild over them. MR. G. L. M., Hampton, Va.

Enclosed find $11.50 for spawn enough for 1,000 square feet. I had first class re- sults from the spawn you previously sent me. You sent me some to Bay Ridge last spring and the results were A No. 1. I sold my stock to Acker, Merrill & Condit and got $1.00 a pound net. I am doing business with them and expect to become an extensive grower.

M. & M., New York City.

Two years ago I saw your advertisement in the papers. I sent for your booklet but have not thought much about growing mushrooms until lately. A friend of mine has been using your spawn for some time and is doing a fine business. Am going to make a start now.

A. L., Chicago, 111.

I have just watered my bed and now have over 70 mushrooms coming, some big enough to eat now. I am sending

29

herewith an order for $2.00 worth more of

spawn.

MISS L. A. B., Pecatonica, 111.

Please send me fifty folding: boxes. My mushrooms are coming: up very nicely. Yesterday I sent a sample to a Mr. Keeler of Albany and he said they were fine. L. M. B., East Chatham, N. Y.

My mushrooms are coming: up fine.

MARGARET E., Clinton, Mich.

Enclosed find $3.76, the cost of spawa enough to plant 100 square feet of bed. Please send It soon as possible. I hare had good results from the spawn I’got of you some time ago.

A. F. A., Washington, D. C.

PREPARING DRESSING FOR OUR BEDS.

The spawn I had from you last year was excellent and I had splendid crops of mushrooms from It. From one bed I picked considerably over a pound to the square foot of large, solid mushrooms. I had occasion to buy a small quantity in New York, but results were not nearly as good. H. B., East Orange, N. J.

Will you please send me on receipt of this $2.00 worth of your mushroom spawn. We have found your goods very satisfac- tory and hope this order will be equally as good, this being our third order from you.

MRS. C. C. H., Georgetown, Mass.

Some time ago I sent for some of your spawn and things have come out first class. I am much pleased.

J. C., Hudson, Mass.

Enclosed find $5.00 for spawn enough to plant 200 square feet of bed. I am well pleased with the spawn I received of you some time ago. The mushrooms are com- ing up fine.

MRS. Y. B., Chicago, 111.

Please send me $5.00 worth of your spawn. I raised about 200 pounds from the spawn I got last year.

W. E. C., Ottumwa, la.

30

I have had success with the spawn I purchased of you.

J. A. B., San Francisco, Cal.

I write you these few lines to let you know that the mushrooms have appeared and that we have eaten about three pounds. I am going to sell the rest to a hotel here in Camden. Your spawn is the best of all. I am going into the business now with a partner.

J. F., Camden, N. J.

The mushroom spawn ordered of you last November has proved very satisfac- tory. It was planted in a cold cellar and although the temperature was often down to 20 degrees (the bed was an experi- mental one) the mushrooms came up well under the most adverse conditions. I am having more beds built and will order more spawn shortly. I have many orders ahead for what I raise. This is my first experiment. I am perfectly satisfied with the spawn and have recommended it to a number of prospective mushroom growers.

MRS. E. L., Perth Amboy, N. J.

Last year we ordered some spawn of you which we planted with good success. We have produced enough to supply our table and give pleasure to our friends. Am now contemplating entering the field in a small way for market, therefore find en- closed P. O. order for $6.25.

J. A. B., Dimond, Cal.

I take pleasure in writing you that my mushroom bed is now bearing nicely. We have eaten some of them and they are a fine dish. E. W., Millville, N. J.

I write to tell you that the spawn I got of you eight weeks ago Is doing finely. I planted according to directions and have had some fine ones about two inches in diameter. I am delighted with the re- sults and will send for some more spawn soon. You may publish this if you wish.

MRS. N., Springfield, 111.

Some time ago I purchased from you a small quantity of spawn from which I cultivated some excellent mushrooms. Since then I bought some spawn from a local market with no success at all. En- closed please find order for $5.00 worth more of spawn.

A. S., Brooklyn, N. Y.

Please send me spawn enough to plant 50 square feet, costing $2.00. Mushrooms here at present are selling for $1.25 a pound. J. N., Plainfield, N. J.

Send me spawn for 50 square feet. En- closed Is $2.00. The last spawn you sent me was all right.

J. A. W., Ryde, Cal.

^Please send at once spawn enough to .-plant 1,000 square feet of beds. It has -been about three years since I sent my

last order. We had good success with the other. B. A. C., Davenport, la.

The $2.00 order of spawn I received from you was very satisfactory. We are now getting the benefits, only the bed being small, not enough. Please send me at once enough to plant 200 square feet.

E. M. H., Daytona, Fla.

Enclosed is an order for some of your spawn. I hope it will be as good as the last I received. I have already picked ten pounds from a 25 square foot bed, and ex- pect many more. W. S. D., York, Pa.

The mushrooms from the spawn I got of you are Just beginning to come up. I showed them to a friend of mine and he is going to start a bed. I am perfectly satisfied. J. K., Watertown, Mass.

I take pleasure in informing you of my success raising mushrooms from your spawn. I have picked 12 dozen mush- rooms and they are coming in great shape. I must say your spawn is all right. Any- body following your directions can’t help but make a success.

T. T. T., New Britain, Conn.

Please send a trial package of your spawn to Mrs. C. Jensen, Chicago, 111., for which I enclose $2.00. I received my spawn in good order and the mushrooms are just showing up.

MRS. M. Lu, Chicago, 111.

I bought some spawn of you and must say that I have got as fine a lot of mush- rooms as you ever saw. I have got a market for all I can grow at 50 cents per pound. Please find herewith P. O. order for $3.75 for 100 square feet.

A. I. W., Chicago, 111.

31

Your spawn is very satisfactory.

MRS. F. C. G., New Rochelle, N. Y.

Enclosed find postal order for $3.75 for which ship to my address spawn to plant 100 square feet. The first lot you shipped arrived in good shape and is bearing very nicely, having gathered several pounds since they first made their appearance. We have sold quite a lot to private par- ties, besides having sold to some of the large restaurants. One or two of the larger firms say they will take all we can raise if we can give them what they want, and if they do as they say we shall have to enlarge the number of our beds. I am in hopes it will be the means of in- creasing our trade with you. I was amused at one party who keeps a large boarding house. I asked her if she could use any; she said she was afraid they would poisen her boarders. We have used them ourselves ever since they came up and are still living. About everyone we have sold to pronounces them the finest they have ever tasted, which speaks well for the spawn.

W. B. B., Alameda, Cal.

Last fall I received some of your mush- room spawn through a Mr. Lochvinler, who purchased the same of you. It was indeed very satisfactory. My beds this year are larger. Please send me another price list giving cost of large amounts.

MR. GEO. T., Detroit, Mich.

Enclosed finfld $11.50, for which send me spawn for 1,000 feet of beds. Two years ago I sent you for enough for 50 square feet, found it all right, and now have room in cellars for 5,000 or 6,000 feet. I intend to make a business of it.

Yours truly,

L. C. B., Pontiac, Mich.

I bought some of your spawn last winter and am pleased to say it gave me perfect satisfaction. Now I am going in with a partner. We have rented a barn and will send you a large order in about three weeks. MR. GEO. Q., Cleveland, O.

Last January I bought some spawn of you and had some very fine mushrooms.

KATE T., Carbondale, 111.

Since writing my last letter to you I have been eating mushrooms until mush- roc ms are coming out on top of my head. I should Judge that there are no less than 500 mushrooms in my bed at present. They are of fine quality. This is my first experience In mushroom raising and I am highly pleased with the results, so much so that I think I shall now raise them for profit. MR. F. O., Muskegon, Mich.

Enclosed please find $3.75 for enough spawn to plant 100 square feet. I bought enough for 100 feet last fall and it turned out to be all right. I have gathered about 50 pounds of mushrooms so far. The beds are in full bearing now. I shall go into the business in about a month or two ex- clusively. You will hear from me again later. MR. J. B. S., Chester, N. Y.

Please send me the price of enough of your spawn to plant 700 square feet. I had some of it last spring and it turned out very satisfactory. I am now going into the business extensively.

MR. T. T. P., Philadelphia, Pa.

Please send to my address mushroom spawn to plant 300 square feet of beds. I have no complaint to make with the las?t consignment that you sent me. You may depend upon my continual patronage. I only commenced to grow mushrooms last summer. I intend to enter pretty largely in the cultivation of mushrooms and will only purchase spawn from your firm.

MR. C. V., Blenheim, Ont., Can.

♦

IMPORTANT.

Office, Manufactory and Mushroom Houses at

292 Fairmont Avenue, Hyde Park, Mass.

Address all correspondence and orders to the above address. We have discontinued our Boston office. Our entire business is now located in Hyde Park.

PRICE LIST

SUPPLIES.

Hot Bed Thermometers.

|Made with a pointed brass end with holes so that it can be in- serted in a hot bed and accurate temperature taken. Invaluable to mushroom growers in mak- ing the bed and planting the spawn. Tested for accuracy and of high workmanship.

Price, each $1.50. Mailed for 8 cents additional.

Cannot be packed with the spawn.

Card Board Boxes.

Folding, capacity, 1 lb. Mush- rooms, $1.25 per hundred.

Folding, capacity, 2 lbs. Mush- rooms, $1.50 per hundred Regular heavy cardboard (made to order) capacity 1 lb. Mushrooms, $3.00 per hundred.

Regular heavy cardboard (made to order) capacity 2 lbs. Mushrooms, $4.50 per hundred.

Not less than 50 of either style sold.

Garden Hose (Rubber).

Our hose is made out of best qualitv rubber and canvas and is superior to most hose in the market. It cannot be equalled at the figures we name. In these days whe i rubber is high and scarce, there is much poor hose on the m irket, most of it con- taining no rubber at all. Ours is best quality, and we stand back of it.

Extra. 7 ply , for extra heavy pressure,

Y in., 18c. per foot.

Extra. 7 ply, for extra heavy pressure,

X in., 21c. per foot. Reliable. 6 ply, for heavy pressure,

Yt in., 15c. per foot. Reliable. 6 ply, for heavy pressure,

X in., 14c. per foot.

Allston. 6 ply, for ordinary pressure,

Y. in., 14c. per foot.

Allston. 6 ply, for ordinary pressure,

X in., 13c. per foot. Newton. 5 ply, light K in., 11c. per foot. Newton. 5 ply, light X in., 12c. per foot Sent by express or freight.

Hose Nozzles, “ New Boston ” 35c. each

(By mail 10c. extra.)

Reliable Insecticide.

Mushrooms, like all growing plants, are subject to the depredations of insects. If proper precautions are taken there is little danger to the crop. Our Reliable Insecticide exterminates at once all pests of this kind and prevents their return. It is a fertilizer as well as an insecticide and is good for the beds.

For use on Mushroom Beds. Exter- minates Maggots, Flies, Sow§*Bugs, Snails, Wood Lice, and other insects. nls odorless, non poisonous, does not in- jure the growing mushrooms nor affect the flavor. Evaporates soon after being applied.

Invaluable in warm climates where in- sects abound.

Reliable Insecticide is a jelly soluble in water, and is a secret preparation and can be obtained only from us. The X lb. size is dissolved in 15 gallons of water and is sufficient to spray a bed 5 feet wide by 10 feet long, containing: 50 square feet, for 3 months. The Y lb. size is dissolved in 30 gallons of water and is sufficient to spray a bed containing 100 square feet for 3 months.

PRICE.

X lb. Can (makes 15 gals, of liquid) J 65c Postage 8c. extra.

Y lb. Can (makes 30 gals, of liquid)] $1.00 Postage 13c. extra.

1 lb. Can (makes 60 gals, of liquid) $1.50 Postage 22c. extra.

Cannot be packed with the spawn. Directions for use : Spray over the bed once every 3 days. Apply in a watering pot, sprayer, or any convenient method.

Kills and drives away all flies and ex- terminates all insects, eggs, etc., that may be in]the mushroom bed.

Oil Heaters.

By the use of an oil stove mush- rooms can be grown in a cold shed or outhouse all winter. They burn but little fuel and the ex- pense is hardly worth mention- ing when com- pared with the profits from the bed. These stoves are made from stamped steel through- out. They are light, being easily moved about by means of the handles. Top is remov- able so that water can be heated, etc. 8- in. wick, height 27 inches, weight crated 18 lbs., net weight 10 lbs.

Price, Black with Nickel Trimmings, $4.50 “ All Nickel . . . . . 5^0

Sent by express or freight.

Insect Sprayer.

For use with Reliable Insecticide. It is more economical to use than a watering pot, giving a finer spray and does not use as much insecticide. It is made of heavy tin. Price 75 cts. each. By mail 28c. extra.

Watering Pots.

Heavy Galvanized Iron.

6 qt each .70

8 “ “ .80

10 “ “ .90

12 “ “ $1.15

Sent by express or freight.

Vulcanite Rubber Roofing

For Mushroom Houses.

Vulcanite Rubber Roofing is extremely durable and is not affected by heat or cold. Does not need annual painting and will not dry out or oxidize. It is weather- proof, rot proof and fire-proof. It is the best roofing for all buildings where econo- my and durability are required. It is made in three thicknesses: y% ply light, 1 ply medium and 2 ply heavy. We recommend 1 ply or 2 ply for mushroom houses. It is put up in rolls containing 108 square feet, 40 feet 6 inches long, and 32 inches wide, with sufficient nails and cement for laying and full directions.

yz ply, weight 27 lbs. per sq. $1.75 per roll

1 “ « 84 “ “ 2 25 “ “

2 “ “ 44 “ “ 3.00 “ “

Shipped by freight or express.

We sell the Amatite and also the Vulca- nite Asphalt Roofing.

Columbia Family Seale.

These scales weigh up to 24 lbs. by ounces. Made o f sheet steel. Finish- ed in black enamel, decorated in gilt. Regulated by brass screw on top. White enamel dial. Aou- rate and will last a life-time. Just the thing for weighing mushrooms. Price with top plate (like cut) $1.50 ; with scoop, $2.00. Sent by express or freight.

Mo.2 No, 3 Nd.^ Nd.5

Mushroom Baskets.

Baskets for shipping Mushrooms to market. Returned by Express empty for 10 cents. H

PRICE.

Size.

Co,

No.	1.	$ .75 each
No.	2.	.65 “
No.	3.	.55 “
No.	4.	.45 “
No.	5.	.40 “
No.	6.	.35 “

Packed yz dozen in a bundle

20 x 10 x 10 inches. 17 X x 9 x 9 15X x 8 x 8 13X x 7 x 7 12 x 6X x 6X 10 x 6 x 6 Shipped by express.

e CE--^ e make no charge for packing or boxing of orders. If goods are not

^mediately and money will be refunded. If your order is to go by freight send 25c. additional for cartage to freight station. Address

NATIONAL SPAWN AND MUSHROOfl CO.,

HYDE PARK, MASS,

) A

Mushroom House Plan, $1.50

have had made up by a prominent architect a plan of a wooden house such as we use for the cultivation of mushrooms.

This plan gives all the details of construction of a mushroom house showing size and thickness of boards and rafters, heating apparatus, and gives all necessary information so that a contractor can go ahead and put up a building exactlythe same as we grow our crop in.

This architects’ drawing or blue print, was made especially for us, and would ordinarily sell for $10.00 or $15.00 according to the stand- ing and prominence of the designer.

For the benefit of our customers we have set the price at || gQ

Sent by mail, post paid, in a neat mailing tube.

Combination Offer. Book— How We Grow and Sell Mushrooms and Mushroom House plan $1.75.

MANURE

FORKS

Tin©

Used for heaping and turning manure in prepar- ation for mushroom beds. A necessary article for all who contemplate mush- room growing.

SHORT HANDLE

^LIKE CUT

$1.35 each

LONG HANDLE

$1.30 each

SPRAYING

PUMPS

Designed for spraying mushroom beds and for other light sprinkling purposes. Constructed of brass so that any acids used, will not affect the pump. Will throw a con- tinuous stream 12 feet. The work is all done in the down stroke making it very handy in operation. Can he used to spray from pail or other con- venient source.

Price $5.00 each.

HYGROMETER

PRICE, . . . $1.50

POSTAGE, . . .05 EXTRA

Patent Hygrometer Scale denoting humidity of the air. Automatic Hand gives the reading. Nickle plated, highly polished.

This instrument is hung up in mushroom houses to ascertain the amount of moisture in the air. Mushrooms do not do well where it is too dry. By using a Hy- grometer the crop can be largely increased as the humid- ity can be kept just right. rl he Hygrometer will pay for itself in a short time in increased profits from the bed. A Hygrometer and Thermometer are necessary adjuncts for successful mushroom culture.