Fred Atkins' book Mushroom Growing To-Day helped Pieter Solve Yellow Mold & False Truffle Problem

 

Mushroom Growing

To-Day

Fred C. 

Atkins

Being a student at the Wageningen University & Research, Pieter frequented this bookstore in Wageningen. They stocked mainly horticultural books.

That was the very FIRST book about mushrooms that Pieter laid his hands on and it helped him solve a major problem early on.

The first pioneering Dutch A.B.C. mushroom growers (in special growing rooms); B. Ambrosius, P. Broekmans  and J. Christiaans, had terrible molds that caused enormous production losses. Pieter found in Fred Atkins' book that it was yellow mold and (false) truffle. He then was able to solve their problem! 

Printed in the Dutch mushroom journal Champignoncultuur 1957-3 on page 36 uploaded by the ISMS as Pdf.

WHAT TO STEAM WITH IN MUSHROOM CULTIVATION?

By P. J. C. Vedder, assistent State Horticulture Information Service.

~

Pieter was officially still an Assistent at State Horticulture Information Service, specialized in Asparagus.

But Fred Atkins' book kind of changed Pieter's destiny forever!

The 1955 version

J

AUTHOR'S NOTE, Yaxley, July 1955

Mentioning other mushroom growers and authors of books and articles: B. A. Noble, Stanley Middlebrook, Coryn Luxmoore, André Sarazin (see mention of blog post below), Guy de Man (see mention of blog post below), Dr. R. L. Edwards, Dr. J. W. Sinden, Dr. E. Hauser, Dr. E. B. Lambert and Dr. A. M. Kligman, McGregor Bulloch, John Stewart-Wood, S. A. F. Sampson, Raymond Thompson etc.

This is Pieter at the time being that Assistent at State Horticulture Information Service. Wearing his Plus Fours to a wedding reception of one of his colleagues.

AbeBooks is offering the very book, only an earlier 1952 version...

In the Dutch Champignoncultuur 1958-6 on page 159 the mushroom farm of Noble-Atkins in Yaxley, UK is shown as they had an excursion from The Netherlands.

In Champignoncultuur 1958-7 on page 180 is a story written by Fred Atkins, translated into Dutch.

My life with the mushrooms

A piece of history of the mushroom cultivation in England

My first contact with growing I had twenty years ago. My father had just invested money in Ben Noble to allow him to build six mushroom houses in Yaxley, a village near Peterborough in the Midlands. The first shot was, of course, a hit; a good harvest! But a period of humid weather had the appearance of a small difficulty as a result, which was shown to me, only as a peculiarity. Six months later, 'the little difficulty' had spread to such an extent that I was asked to join the firm, in the hope that a fresh look would reveal what caused it and how it could be suppressed.

I hesitated because I didn't know anything about mushrooms. Later, I would discover that few people in England knew more about it. I discussed the problem with the spawn manufacturers and with traders in all kinds of horticultural products, but the most valuable help came from the late Dr. W. M. Ware, of Wye College, Kent.

You will wonder what this has to do with the general situation in the mushroom industry in Great Brittain? If you allow me some vanity: I believe it has a lot to do with it, because Ware gave me a copy of his wonderful article about the cause of our disease: Verticillium.

A mycological dictionary and a lot of correspondence with Ware and other people of science opened my eyes and my mind to the wondrous world of microscopic small organisms I had entered.

This in turn aroused the desire for me to talk to other growers about it, but in fact  I did not meet a second mushroom grower in the next five years: so fantastic in those days was the mystery that surrounded us. When I finally met two or three other growers, we were overwhelmed by a passionate desire to do something that would bring all growers together. My own company had lost a lot of money because there was no organized contact between the growers and the scientists, and because there was no coordinated research and experiments. 

Page 181

Within a year we had formed the Mushroom Growers' Association for the Mushroom Industry. We were walking around with plans for the MGA Bulletin (Mushroom Growers' Association)...

Page 183

For just over 90,000 Dutch Guilders we received a very satisfactory publicity last year, mainly because the growers are enthusiastic and because we have one grower on our daily board, who is a journalist by profession and another who is a first class cook, whose mushroom pie is so delicious, that he does not dare to advertise it.

Fred C. Atkins (the journalist!)...

Message by Fred C. Atkins in the 1979-9 The Mushroom Journal

Loyal and active till almost to his death...

ATKINS, Fred (1913-1983)

Chairman, Noble Mushrooms, Yaxley, Cambs. Founder member of Mushroom Growers Association of Great Britain and N. Ireland. President, International Commission on Mushroom Science (ISMS).

Times 28 Jan. 1983.

An OBE is a British honor awarded by the Queen to recognize extraordinary contributions to the country.

It is the second-highest ranking in the Order of the British Empire honors.

Obituary as printed in The Mushroom Journal, March 1983

In 2018 Pieter got gifted by one of his Campbell Colleagues this book about COMMERCIAL MUSHROOM GROWING by M.H. Pinkerton

1954 and Printed in Great Britain

Pinkerton mentions some more mushroom industry pioneers such as Dr. James W. Sinden (will mention him next)...

Dr. C. A. Thomas and Dr. E. B. Lambert

Dr. A. M. Kligman, Dr. R. L. Edwards and Mr. F. C. Atkins bottom left. Editor of the M.G.A. Bulletin, an indefatigable writer, whose many books, pamphlets, and articles have kept the British Mushroom Growers abreast with all the newest advances in the science of Mushroom Culture.

Dr. James W. Sinden reviews Guide to Muhroom Growing by Fred C. Atkins

Published in The Mushroom Journal, January 1975

The Mushroom Journal 1978-10 click link

Mac also did the cartoon for husband Pieter in 1971 at Imperial College in London, see link below post. 

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F. C. Atkins deserves a lot of honor as he accomplished so much!

Pieter counted him among his very special friends. 

Above is a letter, received after Pieter sent him a copy of his newly released English book.

Fred had an excellent and very polished writing style; using great courtesy.

Something the younger generation(s) are lacking nowadays...

I myself, have not had the honor of meeting or knowing him in person...

P.J.C. Vedder's 1987 Design for NEW COMPOSTING SYSTEM (Phase I) | mention of Pieter's grades at wur.nl - Wageningen University & Research 

Husband Pieter met with Darlington Spawn Makers and Fred Atkins in England | previous post

Visiting A.G. Linfield Mushroom Compost Facility in England | previous post that mentions Pieter being still Assistent at State Horticulture Information Service specialized in Asparagus

1982 Sinden Award for Pieter at The Hotel Majestic, Harrogate, England | 1st non British to receive this prestigious award

1965 Pieter visiting French Mushroom Grower André Sarazin near Historic Compiègne | Together with Belgian spawn representative Guy de Man Pieter visited André Sarazin

1978 - P.J.C. Vedder's Modern Mushroom Growing Book Published in English | letter from Fred C. Atkins upon receiving Pieter's English book with inscription and Mac's cartoon from husband Pieter