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Show MUSHROOM FARM DEEP UNDERGROUND Operating a mushroom farm 100 feet under the surface of tho earth is the pleasant and profitable experience of William Krumlaugb, an Ohio farmer. Here is an extract from tho account about Krumlaugh's farm: "Two years ago he began growing mushrooms In 'beds located in the worked-out rooms and ontries of a small coal mine on his farm. The mushrooms net more than tho coal during tho winter months. First he planted 150 square feet to test out the plan. Now he has 1000 squaro feet of mushroom beds. "They mix fresh manure with straw, wet it down and lot it stand four or five weeks. Spawn is then broken up in small pieces and mixed with the manure and straw. Then it is piled into coal cars and hauled 400 yards into the mine to the bods which are 100 feet under the ground. Leaf mold is placed on top of the manure and spawn to a depth of 1 1-2 Inches. "Within ten weeks tho mushrooms raise themselves above tho loam. Their delicately fmgilo .plhk-and-white-ness "blooms weirdly In the darkness These beds form what Is believed to be the only strictly subterranean farm in existence "The 'mushrooms arc picked when they are threo inches high. Every two or three days a new crop is ready for market. They are packed in boxes and are sold to restaurants and hotels. Tho nearest market pays 35 cents a pound. The mushrooms marketed in Pittsburgh and Chicago bring nearly twice that price." oo |