As the button stage is reached, the upper part expands into the cap. T — Fungiculture

"If one should take a full-grown mushroom after the under surface of the cap has become exposed by the breaking away of the annulus, twist the stem until it breaks away from its attachment to the cap, or cut it off short, and then place the cap gill surface downward on a sheet of white paper, there will be found in the course of twenty-four hours, more or less, a print. ...The print obtained is a fairly good reproduction of the projected form of the gills, being composed of a mass of brownish-black powder which has fallen from the gills themselves. It is... for the production of this powdery mass that the mushroom, as we know it, is formed. The brown powder consists of innumerable minute simple cells in the form of ovate bodies, termed "spores." ...They are equivalent to the green powdery substance produced by moulds which grow upon bread, cheese, and the like. Their function is that of reproducing the mushroom, but they should not be termed seeds. ...The entire gill surface is the "hymenium," or spore-bearing layer."

"It is often convenient to construct the house over an excavation which may be at least several feet lower than the natural surface. In building houses of this type, however, arrangement should be made for the utmost convenience in unloading the compost and for cleaning out the old beds. The greatest economy is attained by the construction of houses high enough to accommodate the beds in tiers of from two to five."

"When..."spawn" is found in any particular location it may not be easy to name the species from this spawn alone; that is, the "mushroom," or sporophore, is required. True, one may become expert in recognizing kinds of spawn, but the important thing at first is to recognize the mushrooms."

"In selecting manure for mushroom work only that which is recognized as of the highest quality should be taken. It is the general experience that considerable bedding straw should be present with the manure, and if good straw it is not likely to contain too much, but even a small quantity of "weeds" is a nuisance. The straw of the various grains seems to possess distinct advantages over that of other grasses, perhaps on account of a certain resistance to complete fermentation, or decay, yielding a highly porous substratum which maintains an excellent physical condition in the beds."

"Caves or deep cellars have always the advantage of permitting mushroom production during a long period; indeed, frequently throughout the year, but they must offer the possibility of adequate ventilation."

"The use of "mushroom" as the opposite of "toadstool" with respect to edibility is unfortunate,—"mushroom" in this sense denoting any edible species, and "toadstool" all the poisonous ones, or sometimes, indeed, any of the fungi which are not eaten."