a a cao sheen] ir tts Hive ae a) ui a Pee es aee te Bante lait Sarr sot es mi Vin beer o ALBERT R. MANN ' LIBRARY AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY ur edible toadstools and mushrooms and DVL [i sie dl fag oe” THE DEADLY AMANITA. Our Edible Toadstools and Mushrooms and How to Distinguish Them A Selection of Thirty Native Food Varieties Easily Recognizable by their Marked Indi- vidualities, with Simple Rules for the Identification of Poisonous Species By W. HAMILTON GIBSON WITH THIRTY COLORED PLATES AND FIFTY-SEVEN OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR NEW YORK AND LONDON HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 1903 te ’ THE WORKS OF W. HAMILTON GIBSON. ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR, ‘SHARP EYES. A Rambler’s Calendar among Birds, Insects, and Flowers, 8vo, $5 00. ge are AND BYWAYS; or, Saunterings in New England. 4to, $7 50. STROLLS BY STARLIGHT AND SUNSHINE. Royal 8vo, $3 50. HAPPY HUNTING-GROUNDS. A Tribute to the Woods and Fields. 4to, $7 50. PASTORAL DAYS; or, Memories of a New England Year. 4to, $7 50. CAMP LIFE IN ‘THE WOODS, and the Tricks of Trapping and Trap-making. 16mo, $1 00. NEW YORK AND LONDON: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS. @ 20% to Copyright, 1895, by HARPER & BROTHERS, All rights reserved. ‘‘For those who do hunger after the earthlie excrescences called mushrooms. ’’—GERARDE. PAGE 1. The Deadly ‘‘ Amanita’. . . . . . . « Frontispiece 2. Mycelium, and early vegetation of a mushroom. . . 45 3. Amanita vernus—development . . ..... . . 49 4. Agaricus (Amanita) muscarius. . . . . ... . 55 5. Agaricus campestris. . . .. . ee re ate O3 6. Agaricus campestris—various forms of eek SOO) FoASATICUSHSAMDOSUS 4. eS i. Gee se hw OO 8. Marasmius oreades. ‘‘Fairy-ring’” . . . . . . . 105 g. Poisonous Champignons. M. urens—M. peronatus. . . It LOLBA CAnIGUSaPlOGELUS sm ks) ts Gt tel cat Ge as. ess Ah as ce LLY, 11. Agaricus (Russula) virescens . . . «123 12. Edible Russule. R. heterophylla—R. ek. fabian eT 3L 13: -Russula emética . s 3 6 & # e « e . ee = « 130 Ws Agaricus, ostreatus. Go ss a a ce ew el ew AS 15: Agaricus: ulmarius . 2 «© 3 «© 6 * 6 = «© «© = © 151 TOM Goprinusucomatuss. ju aoe alt we wy 6 4 4 157 17. Coprinus atramentarius. . ... . 163 18. Lactatius deliciosus » < . . » « « « « « » = » 169 1g. Cantharellus cibarius . 2. «© «© 2 2 © «© © «© + + 175 20. Boletus edulis . - - .... ; > 187 2ruiBoletusescaber =. 6 22 8s ce eo re 6 Ss, 5 103 WwWwwiw iw vw N Ow fw ww oO LIST OF PLATES . Edible Boleti. 8. subtomentosus—B. chrysenteron . . Strobilomyces strobilaceus . 24. Suspicious Boleti. 8. fe//eus—B. alveolatus . Fistulina hepatica . . Polyporus sulphureus . Hydnum repandum . Hydnum caput-meduse . : . Hydnum caput-medusz—habitat . Clavaria formosa . : . Various forms of Clavaria . Morchella esculenta . Helvella crispa . . A group of Puff-balls Aes . Spore-surface and spore-print of Agaricus . Spore-surface and spore-print of Polyporus (Boletus) . Spore-print of Amanita muscarius . . Action of slight draught on spores - 253 - 250 . 265 The Spurned Harvest a “Whole hundred- BSN weights of rich, whole- ‘gf ~— some diet rotting under the 3 E97 trees; woods teeming with =< {<< food and not one hand to gather it; and this, perhaps, in A the midst of poverty-and all e manner of privations and » & public prayers against imminent famine.’ C. D. BADHAM #3 Sntcoduction | PROMINENT botanical authority con- nected with one of our universities, upon learning of my intention of per- petrating a popular work on our ed- ible mushrooms and toadstools, was inclined to take issue with me on the wisdom of such publication, giving as his reasons that, owing to the extreme difficulty of imparting exact scientific knowledge to the “general reader,” such a work, in its presumably imperfect interpretation by the very individuals it is intended to benefit, would only result, in many instances, in supplanting the popular wholesome distrust of all mushrooms with a rash over-confidence which would tend to increase the labors of the family physician and the coroner. And, to a certain extent, in its appreciation of the difficulty of imparting exact science to the lay mind, his criticism was entirely reasonable, and would cer- tainly apply to any treatise on edible mushrooms for popular circulation which contemplated a too exten- sive field, involving subtle botanical analysis and nice differentiation between species. I 2 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS But when we realize the fact—now generally con- ceded—that most of the fatalities consequent upon mushroom-eating are directly trace- ica gna able to one particular tempting group fatal spaclés of fungi, and that this group is more- over so distinctly marked that a tyro could /earz to distinguish it, might not such a pop- ular work, in its emphasis by careful portraiture and pictorial analysis of this deadly genus—placarding it so clearly and unmistakably as to make it readily recognizable—might not such a work, to that extent at least, accomplish a public service? Moreover, even the most conservative mycologist will certainly admit that out of the hundred and fifty of our admittedly esculent species of Conservative fungi there might be segregated a few mycology which bear such conspicuous charac- ters of outward form and other unique individual features—such as color of spores, gills, and tubes, taste, odor, surface character, color of milky juice, etc—as to render them easily recogniz- able even by the “ general reader.” It is in the positive, affirmative assumption of these premises that the present work is prepared, com- prising as it does a selection of a score or more, as it were, self-placarded esculent species of fungi, while putting the reader safely on guard against the fatal species and a few other more or less poisonous or suspicious varieties which remote possibility might confound with them. Since the publication of a recent magazine article on this topic, and which became the basis of the pres- INTRODUCTION 3 ent elaboration, I have been favored with a numerous and almost continuous correspondence upon mush- rooms, including letters from every eee State in the Union, to say nothing of mushrooms Canada and New Mexico, evincing the wide-spread interest in the fungus from the gustatory point of view. The cautious tone of most of these letters, in the main from neo- phyte mycologists, is gratifying in its demonstration of the wisdom of my position in this volume, or, as one of my correspondents puts it, “the frightening of one to death at the outset while extending an invita- tion to the feast.” “ Death was often a consequence of toadstool eating,” my friend continued, “but I never before realized that it was a cer¢fazw result with any particular mushroom, and to the extent of this information I am profoundly thankful.” While, then, from the point of view of desired popu- larity of my book, the grim greeting of a death’s-head upon the frontispiece might be consid- Caution at ered as something of a handicap, the the threshold aythor confesses that this attitude is the result of “malice prepense” and deliberation, realizing that he is not offering to the “Jay public,” for mere intellectual profit, this scientific analysis of certain fungus species. Were this alone the raison d’étre or the logical outcome of the work —mere zdentification of edible and poisonous species —the grewsome symbol which is so conspicuous on two of my pages might have been spared. But when it is remembered that with the selected list of escu- lent mushrooms herein offered is implied also an in- 4 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS vitation and a recommendation to the feast thereof, with the author as the host—that the digestive func- tions of his confiding friends or guests are to be made the final arbiters of the correctness of his bo- tanical identification—the ban of bane may as well be pronounced at the threshold. Let the too eager epicurean be “scared to death at the outset,” on the general principle pro bonx0 publico, and to the concilia- tion of the author’s conscience. The oft-repeated queries of other correspondents suggest the wisdom of a clearer definition of the limitations of the present work. Sev- To corre- eral individuals have written in surprise spondents of their discovery of a new toadstool which I “did not include in my pict- ured magazine list,” with accompaniment of more or less inadequate description and somewhat enigmatical sketches, and desiring the name of the species and judgment upon its esculent qualities. Such corre- spondence is a pleasing tribute to an author, and is ' herewith gratefully acknowledged as to the past and, with some mental reservations, welcomed as to the future. The number of these communications — oc- casionally several in a day, and with consequent rapid accumulation — renders it absolutely impossible for a busy man to give them the prompt personal atten- tion which courtesy would dictate. My “mushroom” pigeon-hole, therefore, is still plethoric with the un- honored correspondence of many weeks; and _ inas- much as the continual accession more than balances the number of my responses, a fulfilment of my obli- gations in this direction seems hopeless in contem- INTRODUCTION 5 plation. I would therefore beg the indulgence of such of my friends as have awaited in vain for my reply to their kind communications, even though the future should bring no tidings from me. All of these letters have been received, and are herewith acknowledged: many of them, too, if I may be par- doned what would seem to be a most ungracious comment, for which the “dead-letter” office would have been the more appropriate destination. I refer to the correspondence “with accompany- ing specimens,” the letter occasionally enclosed in the same box with the said specimens, Consider the which, upon its arrival, arouses a protest recipient = =from the local postal authorities, and calls for a liberal use of disinfectants —a disreputable-looking parcel, which, indeed, would appear more consistently referable to the health- board than to the mycologist. So frequent did this embarrassing episode become that it finally necessi- tated the establishment of a morgue for the benefit of my mushroom correspondents, or rather for their “specimens,” usually accompanied with the queries, “What is the name of this mushroom? Is it ed- ible?” I have been obliged to write to several of my friends that identification of the remains was impos- sible, that the remnant was more interesting ento- mologically than botanically, and begging that in the future all such similar tokens shall be forwarded in alcohol or packed in ice. “First impressions are lasting” and “a word to the wise is sufficient.” I would suggest that corre- spondents hereafter consider the hazard of an intro- 6 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS duction under such questionable auspices. Most spe- cies of mushrooms are extremely perishable, and their “animal” character, chemically : considered, and their tendency to rapid Ree decomposition, render them unfit for transportation for any distance, unless hermetically sealed, or their decay otherwise antici- pated. In the possibility of a continuance of this corre- spondence, consequent upon the publication of this present book, the writer, in order to forefend a pre- sumably generous proportion of such correspondence, would here emphasize the fact that he is by no means the authority on mycology, or the science of fungi, which the attitude of his inquiring friends would imply. Indeed, his knowledge of species is quite limited. An early fascination, it is true, was humored with considerable zeal to the accumulation of a portfolio of water-colors and other drawings of various fungi— microscopic, curious, edible, and _poi- sonous—and this collection has been subsequently added to at intervals during his regular professional -work, More than one of the originals of the accompany- ing colored plates have been hidden in this portfolio for over twenty years, and a larger number for ten or fifteen years, awaiting the further accumulation of that knowledge and experience, especially with refer- ence to the edibility of species, which should warrant the utterance of the long-contemplated book. The reader will therefore kindly remember that out of the approximate 1000 odd species of fungi en- INTRODUCTION 7 titled by their dimensions to the dignity of “toad- stools” or ‘mushrooms ”—after separating the 2000 moulds, mildews, rusts, smuts, blights, ee yeasts, “ mother,” and other microscopic species | species—and out of the 150 recom- mended edible species, the present work includes only about thirty. This selection has dzrect reference to popular utzlity, only such species having been included as offer some striking or other indi- vidual peculiarity by which they may be simply iden- tified, even without so-called scientific knowledge. The addition of color to the present list enables its extension somewhat beyond the scope of a series printed only in black and white, as in the distinction " of mere form alone an uncolored drawing of a certain species might serve to the popular eye as a common portrait of a number of allied species, possibly includ- ing a poisonous variety. While the study of “ fungi” has a host of devotees, the mysteries which involve the origin of life in this great order of the cryptogamza having Mycology and had fascinating attractions to micro- mycophagy scopical students and specialists, the study of economic mycology has been al- most without a champion in the United States. Thus we have many learned treatises on the nature, struct- ure, and habits of fungi—vegetative methods, chem- ical constituents, specific characters, classification— learned dissertations on the microscopical moulds, mildews, rusts and smuts, blights and ferments, to say nothing of the medico-scientific and awe-inspiring potentialities of the sensational microbe, bacterium 35 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS bacillus, etc., which are daily bringing humanity with- in their spell and revolutionizing the science of medi- cine. But among all the various mycological publi- cations we look in vain for the great desideratum of the practical hand-book on the economzc fungus— the mushroom as food! The mycologist who has been courageous enough to submit his chemical analysis and his botanical knowledge of Need of fungi to the test of esculence in his own a practical f 7 ‘ % work being is a vara avis among them; in- deed, a well-known authority states that “one may number on the fingers of his two hands the entire list of mycophagists in the United States.” The absence of such works upon the mushroom and “toadstool,” greatly desired for reference at an early period of my career, and little better supplied to- day, led to a resolve of which this volume is but an imperfect fulfilment. The special character of my volume, then—the collateral consideration of the fungus as food—will be sufficient excuse for the omission of Limitations of a merely technical discourse upon the this volume structure, classification, and vegetation of fungi as a class—a field so fully cov- ered by other authors more competent to discuss these lines of special science, and to a selection of whose works the reader is referred in the list here with appended, to a number of which I am indebted for occasional quotations. A general idea of the methods of dissemination and habitats of fungi will be found in the final chapter on “ spore-prints,” while under the discussion of the “ Amanita,” A varicus INTRODUCTION 9 campestris, and the “ Fairy Ring” the reader is re- ferred to a condensed account of the methods of veg- etation and growth of fungi sufficient for present purposes. Other references of similar character will be noted under “ Fungi,” in Index. The most conspicuous disciple of mycophagy—al- most the pioneer, indeed, in America — was the late Rev. M. A. Curtis, of North Carolina, pie anes whose name heads the bibliography on mycophagist page 325. For the benefit of those of my readers who may wish to follow the subject further than my pages will lead them, I append the list of edible species of fungi contained in Curtis’s Catalogue, each group alphabetically ar- ranged, the esculent qualities of many of which he himself discovered and attested by personal experi- ment. The favorite habitat of each fungus is also given, and to avoid any possibility of confusion in scientific nomenclature or synonymes, the authority for the scientific name is also given in each instance: LIST OF EDIBLE AMERICAN MUSHROOMS FROM THE CATALOGUE OF DR. M. A. CURTIS Agaricus albellus. DeCandolle. Damp woods. A.(amanita) Caesarea. Scopoli. In oak forests. A. (amanita) rubescens. Persoon. Damp woods. — . (amanita) strobiliformis. Vittadini. Common in woods. amygdalinus. M. A.Curtis. Rich grounds, woods, and lanes, . arvensis. Schaeffer. Fields and pastures. bombicinus. Schaeffer. Earth and carious wood. campestris. Linneus. Fields and pastures. castus. M. A. Curtis. Grassy old fields. . cespitosus. M. A. Curtis. Base of stumps. . columbetta. Fries. Woods. consociatus. Pine woods. RAR AR RAR D se) EDIBLE MUSHROOMS Agaricus cretaceus. Fries. Earth and wood. A. esculentus. Jacquin. Dense woods. A. excoriatus, Fries. Grassy lands. A. frumentaceous. Bulliard. Pine woods. . giganteus. Sowerby. Borders of pine woods. . glandulosus. Bulliard. Dead trunks. . Aypopithyus. M. A. Curtis. Pine logs. mastoideus. Fries. Woods. melleus. Walmy. About stumps and logs. mutabilis. Schaeffer. Trunks. nebularis. Batsch. Damp woods. vdorus. Bulliard. Woods. ostreatus, Jacquin. Dead trunks. personatus. M.A. Curtis. Near rotten logs. pometi, Fries. Carious wood. procerus, Scopoli. Woods and fields. prunulus. Scopoli. Damp woods. rachodes. Vittadini. Base of stumps and trees. radicatus. Bulliard. Woods. (russula). Schaeffer. Among leaves in woods. salignus. Persoon. On trunks and stumps. speciosus. Fries. Grassy land. sguamosus. Muller. Oak stumps. . sylvaticus. Schaeffer. Woods. . tesselatus. Bulliard. Pine trunks. .ulmarius. Sowerby. Dead trunks. Boletus bovinus. Linneeus. Pine woods, B. castaneus. Bulliard. Woods. B. collinitus. Fries. Pine woods. B. edulis. Bulliard. Woods. B. elegans. Fries. Earth in woods. B. flavidus. Fries. Damp woods. B. granulatus. Linnaeus. Woods and fields. B. luteus. WLinneus. Pine woods. B. scaber. Bulliard. Sandy woods. B. subtomentosus. Linneus. Earth in woods. B. versipellis. Fries. Woods. Bovista nigrescens. Persoon. Grassy fields. B. plumbea. Persoon. Grassy fields. Cantharellus cibarius. Fries. Woods. Clavaria aurea. Schaeffer. Earth in woods, C. botritis. Persoon. Earth in woods. C. cristata. Holmskiold. Damp woods. C. fastigiata. Linneeus. Grassy places. C. flava. Fries. Earth in woods. C. formosa. Persoon. Earth in woods, ALY AR RL AS A RR AA A A A INTRODUCTION Il Clavaria fuliginea. Persoon. Shady woods. C. macropus. Persoon. Earth. C. muscoides. Linneus. Grassy places. C. pyxidata. Persoon. Rotten woods. C. rugosa. Bulliard. Damp woods. C. subtilis. Persoon. Shaded banks. C. tetragona. Schwartz. Damp woods. Coprinus atramentarius. Bulliard. Manured ground. C. comatus. Fries. In stable-yards. Cortinarius castaneus. Fries. Earth in woods. C. cinnamomeus. Fries. Earth and wood. C. violaceus. Fries. Woods. Fistulina hepatica. Fries. Base of trunks and stumps. flelvella crispa. Fries. Pine in woods. ff. infula. Schaeffer. Earth and pine logs. ff. lacunosa. Afzelius. Near rotten logs. ff. sulcata. Afzelius. Shady woods. flyduum caput-meduse. Bulliard. Trunks and logs. Hf, coralloutes. Scopoli. Side of trunks. AZ. imbricatum. Linneus. Earth in woods. Ff. laevigatum. Schwartz. Pine woods. ff. repandum. Linnzus. Woods. HI. rufescens. Schaeffer. Woods. LT. subsguamosum. Batsch. Damp woods. fygrophorus eburneus, Fries. Woods. FT. pratensis. Fries. Hill-sides. Lactarius augustissimus. WLasch. Thin woods. L. deliciosus. Fries, Pine woods. L. insulsus. Fries. Woods. L. piperatus. Fries. Dry woods. L. subdulcis, Fries. Damp grounds. L. volemus. Fries. Woods. Lycoperdon bovista. Vinneus. Grassy lands. Pachyma cocos. Fries. Underground. Paxillus involutus. Fries. Sandy woods. Polyporus Berkeleii. Fries. Woods. P. confluens, Fries. Pine woods. P. cristatus. Fries. Pine woods. P. frondorus, Fries. Earth and base of stumps. P. giganteus. Fries. Base of stumps, P. lencomelas. Fries. Woods. P.ovinus. Schaeffer. Earth in woods. LP. poripes. Fries. Wooded ravines. P. sulphureus. Fries. Trunks and logs. Marasmius oreades. Fries. Hill-sides. M. scorodoneus. Fries. Decaying vegetation. 12 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS Morchella Caroliniana. Bosc. Earth in woods. MM. esculenta. Persoon. Earth in woods. Russula alutacea. Fries. Woods. R.lepida. Fries. Pine woods. R. virescens, Fries. Woods. Sparassis crispa. Fries. Earth. S. laminosa. Fries. Oak logs. Tremellu mesenterica, Retz. On bark. In the contemplation of such a generous natural larder as the above list implies, Dr. Badham’s feeling allusion to the “hundred-weights of wholesome diet rotting under the trees,” quoted in one of my earlier illustrated pages, will be readily appreciated. In the purposely restricted scope of these pages I have omitted a large majority of species in Dr. Curtis’s list, known to be equally es- Restricted — cylent with those which I have select- scope of this : arian volume ed, but whose popular differentiation might involve too close discrimination and possibly serious error; and while my list is probably not as complete as it might be with per- fect safety, the number embraces species, nearly all of them what may be called cosmopolitan types, to be found more or less commonly throughout the whole United States and generally identical with Eu- ropean species. It will be observed that the list of Dr. Curtis is headed by three members of Amanite. The particular species cited are well known to be esculent, but they are purposely omitted from my list, which for considerations of safety absolutely excludes the entire genus Amanita of the “ porson-cup,” which is discussed at some length in the succeeding chapter. For popular utility from the food standpoint my se- INTRODUCTION 13 lection presents, to alJ intents and purposes, a more than sufficient list, the species being easily distin- guished, and, with proper consideration to their fresh- ness, entirely safe and of sufficient frequency in their haunts to insure a continually available mushroom harvest throughout the entire fungus season. The knowledge of their identities once acquired, it is perfectly reasonable to assert that in average weather conditions the fungus-hunter ee may confine himself to these varieties available and still be confronted with an embar- rassment of riches, availing himself of three meals a day, with the mere trouble of a ramble through the woods or pastures. Indeed, he may restrict himself to six of these species—the green Russula, Puff-ball, Pasture-mushroom, Campestris (meadow-mushroom), Shaggy-mane, and Boletus edu- Zis—and yet become a veritable mycological gour- mand if he chooses, never at a loss for an appetiz- ing entrée at his table. In the group of Russulz and Boleti alone, more than one conservative amateur of the writer’s ac- quaintance finds a sufficient supply to meet all diet- ary wants. ee ee easting annually goes begging in our ce A neglected woods and fields! harvest The sentiment of Dr. Badham, the eminent British authority on mush- rooms, years ago, in reference to the spontaneous perennial harvest of wild edible fungi which abound- ed in his country, going to waste by the ton, would 14 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS appear to be as true to-day for Britain as when he uttered it, and applies with even greater force to the similar, I may say identical, neglected tribute of Nat- ure in our own American woods and fields, where the growth of fungi is especially rich. The fungus-eaters of Britain, it is said, are even to-day merely a conspicuous coterie, while in Amer. ica this particular sort of specialist is Fungus more generally an isolated “crank ” who epicures is compelled to “flock alone,” contem- plated with a certain awe by his less venturesome fellows, and otherwise variously consid- ered, either with envy of his experience and scientific knowledge, or more probably as an irresponsible, who continually tempts Providence in his foolhardy ex- periments with poison. But what a contrast do we find on the Continent in the appreciation of the fungus as an article of diet! In France, Germany, Russia, and Italy, for example, where the woods are scoured for the perennial crop, and where, through centuries of popular familiarity and tradition, the knowledge of its economic value has become the possession of the people, a most im- portant possession to the poor peasant who, perhaps for weeks together, will taste no other Chemical animal food. I say “animal food” ad- constituents visedly; for, gastronomically and chem- ically considered, the flesh of the mush- room_has been proven to_be_ almost identical with meat, and_possesses the same nourishing properties. This animal affinity is further suggested in its physi- ological life, the fungus reversing the order of all INTRODUCTION 15 other vegetation in imbibing oxygen and exhaling carbonic acid, after the manner of animals. It is not surprising, therefore, that the analogy should be still further emphasized by the discrimination of the pal- ate, many kinds of fungi when cooked simulating the taste and consistency of animal food almost to the point of deception. But in America the fungus is under the ban, its great majority of harmless or even wholesome ed- ible species having been brought into dee, Popular disrepute through the contami- fungi nation, mostly, of a single small genus. In the absence of special scientific knowledge, or, from our present point of view, its equivalent, popular familiarity, this general distrust of the whole fungus tribe may be, however, consid- ered a beneficent prejudice. So deadly is the insid- ious, mysterious foe that Jurks among the friendly species that it is well for humanity in general that the entire list of fungi should share its odium, else those “toadstool” fatalities, already alarmingly fre- quent, might become a serious feature in our tables of mortality. But the prejudice is needlessly sweeping. Ai little so-called knowledge of fungi has often proven to be a “dangerous thing,” it is true, but it Fungus food is quite possible for any one of ordinary for all intelligence, rightly instructed, to mas-. ter the discrimination of at least a few of the more common edible species, while being thor- oughly equipped against the dangers of deadly vari- eties, whose identification is comparatively simple. 16 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS It is idle to attempt an adjudication of the vexed “toadstool” and “mushroom” question here. The toad is plainly the only final, appealable “Toadstool” authority on this subject. It may be ‘mushroom’? questioned whether he is at pains to de. termine the delectable or noisome qual- ities—from the human standpoint —of a particular fungus before deciding to settle his comfortable pro- portions upon its summit —1if, indeed, he even so honors even the humbiest of them. The oft-repeated question, therefore, “Is this fungus a toadstool or a mushroom?” may fittingly be met by the counter query, “Is this rose a flower or a blossom?” The so-called distinction is a purely arbitrary, pop- ular prejudice which differentiates the “toadstool ” as poisonous, the “ mushroom” being considered harm. less. But even the rustic authorities are rather mixed on the subject, as may be well illustrated by a recent incident in my own experience. Walking in the woods with a country friend in quest of fungi, we were discussing this “ toadstool” topic when we came upon a cluster of Popular mushrooms at the base of a tree-trunk, discrimination their broad, expanded caps apparently upholstered in fawn-colored, undressed kid, their under surfaces being stuffed and tufted in pale greenish hue. * What would you call those?” I inquired. “ Those are toadstools, unmistakably,” he replied. “ Well, toadstools or not, you see there about two pounds of delicious vegetable meat, for it is the com. mon species of edible boletus—Boletus edulis.” INTRODUCTION 17 A few moments later we paused before a beautiful specimen, lifting its parasol of pure white above the black leaf mould. “ And what is this?” I inquired. “ T would certainly call ¢2a¢ a mushroom,” was his instant reply. This mushroom proved to be a fine, tempting speci- men of the Agaricus (amanita) vernus, the deadliest of the mushrooms, and one of the most violent and fatal of all known vegetable poisons, whose attractive graces and insidious wiles are doubtless continually responsible for those numerous fatalities usually dis- missed with the epitaph, “ Died from eating toad- stools in mistake for mushrooms.” So much, therefore, for the popular distinction which makes “ toadstool” a synonyme for “ poisonous,” and “mushroom ” synonymous with “edible,” and which often proves to be the “little knowledge” which is very dangerous. The too prevalent mortality traceable to the mush- room is confined to two classes of unfortunates: 1. Those who have not learned that The rustic there is such a thing as a fatal mush- authorities on a4 ; “mushrooms”? room; 2. The provincial authority who can “tell a mushroom” by a number of his so-called infallible “ zes¢s” or “ proofs.” There is a large third class to whose conservative caution is to be referred the prevalent arbitrary distinction be- tween “toadstool” and “ mushroom,” ardent disciples of old Tertullian, who believed in regard to toadstools that “ For every different hue they display there is a pain to correspond to it, and just so many modes 2 18 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS of death as there are distinct species,” and whose obstinate dogma, “ There is only one mushroom, all the rest are toadstools,” has doubtless spared them an occasional untimely grave, for few of this class, from their very conservatism, ever fall victims to the “ toadstool.” And what a self-complacent, patronizing, solicitous character this rustic mushroom oracle is! Go where you will in the rural districts and you are sure of him, or perhaps her —usually a conspicuous figure in the neighborhood, the village blacksmith, perhaps, or the simpler “Old Aunt Huldy.” Their father and “granther” before them “knew how to tell a mushroom,” and this enviable knowledge has been their particular inheritance. How well we more special students of the fungus know him! and how he wins our tender regard with his keen solicitude for our well-being! We meet him everywhere in our travels, and always with the same old story! We emerge from the wood, perhaps, with our basket brimful of our particular fungus tidbits, topped off with specimens of red Russula and Bole- tus, and chance to pass him on the road or in the meadow. He scans the basket curiously as he passes us. He has perhaps heard rumors afloat that “there’s a city chap in town who is tempting Providence with his foolin’ with tudstools ;” and with genuine solici- tude and superior condescension and awe, all be- trayed in his countenance, he must needs pause in his walk to relieve his mind in our behalf. I recall one characteristic episode, of which the above is the prelude. INTRODUCTION 19 “ Ye ain’t a-goin’ to eat ¢hem, air ye?” he asks, anx- iously, by way of introduction. “JT am, most certainly,” I respond; “that is, if I can get my good farmer's wife to cook them without corning them and inundating them in Rustic lemon-juice.” discrimination =“ Waal, then, I'll say good-bye to ye,” he responds, with emphasis. “ Why, don’t ye know them’s tudstools, ’n’ they'll 4/7 ye as sartin as pizen? I wonder they ain’t fetched ye afore this. You never larned tew te]] mushrooms. My father et ’em all his life, and so hev I, ’n’ I know ‘em. Come up into my garden yender ’n’ I'll show ye haow to tell the veel mushroom. There’s a lot of ’em thar in the hot-bed naow. Come along. I'll give ye a mess on ’em if ye’ll only throw them pizen things away.” “ And how do you know that those in your garden are real mushrooms ?” I inquire. “Why, they ain't axything like them o’ yourn. They’re pink and black underneath, and peel up from the edge.” “ How many kinds of mushrooms are there, do you suppose?” I ask. “They’s only the ove kind; all the others is cud- stools and pizen. It’s easy to tell the vee? mushroom. Come up and I'll show ye. Don’t eat chem things, I beg on ye! I vaow they'll £2// ye!" At this point he catches a glimpse of a Shaggy- mane mushroom, which comes to light as I tenderly fondle the specimens, and which is evidently recog- nized as an acquaintance. 20 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS “What!” he exclaims, in pale alarm. “Ye azz’¢ goin’ t’ eat them Zoo ?” “Oh yes I am, this very evening,” I respond. “I think I'll try them sz.” “Why, man, yure crazy! You don’t know nothin’ about ’em. I’d as soon think o’ eatin’ pizen outright. Them’s what we call black-slime tud- Arustic stools. They come up out o’ manure. authority § [’ye seen my muck-heap in my barn- yard covered with the nasty things time ’n’ agin. They look nice ’n’ white naow, but they rot into the onsiteliest black mess ye ever see. I know wut I’m sayin’. Ye can’t tell me nothin’ ’baout them tudstools! They keep comin’ up along my barn-fence all thro’ the fall—dzshels of ’em.” “Well, my good friend, it’s a great pity, then, that you have not learned something about toadstools as well as mushrooms, for you might have saved many a butcher’s bill, and may in the future if you will only take my word that this much-abused specimen is as truly a mushroom as your pink-gilled peeler, and,to my mind far more delicious.” “What! Do you mean to tell me thet you have reely eaten ‘em ?” “Yes, indeed; often. Why, just look at its clean, shaggy cap, its creamy white or pink gills under- neath; take a sniff of its pleasant aroma; and here! just taste a little piece—it’s as sweet as a nut!” I conclude, offering him the white morsel. “Not much! I'll make my will first, thank’ee! You let me see ye eat a mess of ’em, and if the coro- ner don’t get ye, p’r’aps I'll try on’t.” INTRODUCTION 20 Experiences similar to this one are frequent in the career of every mycophagist, and serve to illustrate the pity and solicitude which he awakens among his fellow-mortals, as well as to emphasize “Toadstool” the prevalent superstitions regarding Prejudice the comparative virtues of the mush- room and toadstool—a prejudice which, by-the-way, in the absence of available popular liter- ature on the subject, and the actual dangers which encompass their popular distinction, is a most benef.- icent public safeguard. The mushroom which “he can tell” is generally the Agaricus campestris, or one of its several vari- eties; and knowing this alone, and Cees tempted by no other, this sort of vil- superstitions lage. oracle escapes the fate which of- ten awaits another class, who are not thus conservative, and who extend their definition of mushroom (a word supposed to be synonymous with “edible ”), and this mainly through the indorsement of certain so-called infallible tests handed down to them from their forefathers, and by which the escu- lent varieties may be distinguished from the poison- ous. By these so-called “tests” or “proofs” the identification of certain species is gradually acquired. The rural fungus epicure now “knows them by sight,” or perhaps has received his information sec- ond-hand, and makes his selection without hesitation, with what success may be judged from the incident in my own experience already noted—one which, knowing as I did the frequency and confidence with which my country friend sampled the fungi at his 22 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS table, filled me with consternation and anxiety for his future. “ How, then, shall we distinguish a mushroom from a toadstool ?” There is no way of distinguishing them, for they aire the same. “ How, then, shall we know a poisonous toadstool from a harmless one ?” the reader hopelessly exclaims. This discrimination is by no means as difficult as is popularly supposed, but in the first place, the stu- dent must entirely rid himself of all preconceived notions and traditions, such as the following almost world-wide “tests,” many of which are easily demon- strated to be worse than worthless, and have doubt- less frequently led to an untimely funeral. Some of these are merely local, and in widely separated districts are supplanted by others equally arbitrary and absurd, while many of them are as old as history. WORTHLESS TRADITIONAL TESTS FOR THE DISCRIMINA- TION OF POISONOUS AND EDIBLE MUSHROOMS FAVORABLE SIGNS . Pleasant taste and odor. . Peeling of the skin of the cap from rim to centre. . Pink gills, turning brown in older specimens. . The stem easily pulled out of the cap and inserted in it like a parasol handle. 5. Solid stems. 6. Must be gathered in the morning. 7. “ Any fungus having a pleasant taste and odor, being found similarly agreeable after being plainly broiled without the least seasoning, is perfectly safe.” Bw N INTRODUCTION 23 UNFAVORABLE SIGNS 8. Boiling with a “silver spoon,” the staining of the silver in- dicating danger. g. Change of color in the fracture of the fresh mushroom. 1o. Slimy or sticky on the top. 11. Having the stems at their sides. 12. Growing in clusters. 13. Found in dark, damp places. 14. Growing on wood, decayed logs, or stumps. 15. Growing on or near manure. 16. Having bright colors. 17. Containing milky juice. 18. Having the gill plates of even length. 1g. Melting into black fluid. 20, Biting the tongue or having a bitter or nauseating taste. 21. Changing color by immersion in salt-water, or upon being dusted with salt. These present but a selection of the more preva. lent notions. Taken zx /ofo, they would prove entirely safe, as they would practically exclude every species of mushroom or toadstool that grows. But as a rule the village oracle bases his infallibility upon two or three of the above “rules,” and inasmuch as the entire list absolutely omz¢s the only one test by which dan- ger is to be avoided, it is a seven-days’ wonder that the grewsome toadstool epitaph is not more frequent. I once knew an aged dame who was accepted as a village oracle on this as well as other topics, such as divining, palmistry, and fortune-tell- Absolute ing, and who ate and dispensed _toad- worthlessness of abovetests Stools on a few of the above rules. Strange to say, she lived to a good old age, and no increased mortality is credited to her memory as a result of her generosity. 24 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS How are these popular notions sustained by the facts? Let us analyze them seriatim and confront each with its refutation, the better to show their en- tire untrustworthiness. POPULAR TESTS REFUTED Pleasant taste and odor (1) is a conspicuous feat- ure in the regular “mushroom ” (Agaricus campestris), and most other edible fungi, but as a Worthless criterion for safety it is a mockery. popular tests The deadly Agaricus amanzta, already mentioned, has an inviting odor and to most people a pleasant taste when raw, and being cooked and eaten gives no token of its fatal resources until from six to twelve hours after, when its unfort- unate victim is past hope. (See p. 68.) The ready peeling of the skin (2) is one of the most widely prevalent proofs of probation, and is often considered a sufficzent test; yet the Amanita will be found to peel with a degree of accommodation which would thus at once settle its claims as a “ mushroom.” Indeed, a large number of species, including several poisonous kinds, will peel as perfectly as the Cam- pestris. The pink gills turning brown (3) is a marked char- acteristic of the “mushroom ” (A. campestris, Plate 5), and, being a rare tint among the fungus tribe, is really one of the most valuable of the tests, especially as it is limited by rules affecting other pink-gilled species. The stem being easily pulled out of the cap (4) ap- INTRODUCTION 25 plies to several edible species, but equally to the poi- sonous. The notion that edzble mushrooms have solid stems (5) would be a very unsafe talisman for us to take to the woods in our search for fungus- Worthless food. Many poisonous species are thus popular tests solid—the emetic Russula, for example —while the alleged importance of the morning specimens (6) is without the slightest foun- dation. The passage quoted here (7), or a statement to the same effect, was quite widely circulated in the news- papers a dozen or more years ago, in an article which bore all the indications of authoritative utterance, the assumption being that the poisonous mushroom would invariably give some forbidding token to the senses by which it might be discriminated. Woe to the fungus epicure who should sample his mushrooms and toadstools on such a criterion as this, as the most fatal of all mushrooms, the Amanzta ver- nus, would fulfil all these requisites. The discoloration of silver (8) is a test as old as Pliny at least, a world-wide popular touchstone for the detection of deleterious fungi, but useful only in the fact that it will often exclude a poison not contem- plated in the discrimination. On this point, especially as it affords opportunity to emphasize a common dis- appointment of the mushroom-eater, I quote from a recent work by Julius A. Palmer (see Bibliography, No. 3): “Mushrooms decay very rapidly. In a short time a fair, solid fungus becomes a mass of mag- gots which eat its tissue until its substance is honey- 26 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS combed ; these cells, on a warm day, are charged with the vapors of decomposition. Now you put such mushrooms as these (and I have seen Worthless just such on the markets of Boston and popular tests J ondon) over the fire. In boiling, sul- phuretted hydrogen or other noxious gases are liberated; you stir with a bright spoon and it is discolored; proud of your test, you throw away your stew. Now this is right, but if from this you conclude that all fungus which discolors silver is poi- sonous and that which leaves it bright is esculent, you are in dangerous error. It is the same with fish at sea. Tradition says that you must fry a piece of sil- ver with them and throw them away if it discolors. Certainly the experiment does no harm, and shows a decomposition in both cases which might have been detected without the charm.” Opposed to this so- called talisman, how grim is the fact that the deadli- est of all mushrooms, the Amanita, in its fresh condi. tion, has no effect upon silver. The change of color in fracture (9) has long been a ban to the fungus as food. But this would ex- clude several very delicious species, which turn blu- ish, greenish, and red when broken—viz., Boletus sudb- tomentosus (Plate 22), Boletus strobilaceus (Plate 23), and Lactarius (Plate 18). The “toadstools” with ™ sticky tops” thus discrimi- nated against (10) include a number of esculent spe- cies, Boleti and Russulz, and others, as do also the varieties with side-stems (11)—viz., Agaricus ulma- vius (Plate 15), Pistulina hepatica (Plate 25), Agaricus ostreatus (Plate 14), etc. INTRODUCTION 27 The clustered fungi (12) have long been included in the black-list without reason, as witness the following esteemed esculent species: The Shag- Worthless gy-mane (Plate 16), Coprinus atramen- popular tests ¢arvius (Plate 17), Oyster mushroom (Plate 14), Elm mushroom (Plate 15), Puff-balls (Plate 34), and Champignon (Plate 8). To exclude all fungi which grow in dark, damp places (13) is a singular inconsistency, as in some localities this would eliminate the very one species of “mushroom” admittedly eatable by popular favor. In many countries these are regularly cultivated for market in dark, damp, subterranean caverns or in cellars. Indeed, the “dark, damp place” would appear to be the ideal habitat of this the “only mushroom!” Equally absurd is the discrimination against those growing on wood (14), which again deprives us of the delicious Hydnum (Plate 27), the Beefsteak (Plate 25), Oyster mushroom (Plate 14), Elm mushroom (Plate 15), and many others, including Puff-balls (Plate 34). If we exclude those growing upon or near manure (15), we Shall be obliged to omit the Coprinus group (Plates 16 and 17), and often the “veel mushroom ” as well. Among the éright-colored species (16), it is true, are many dangerous individuals, as, for instance, the deadly Fly Amanita of Plate 4, and the emetic Russula (Plate 13), but on this fiat we should have to reject the other brilliant esculent Russulz (Plates 11 and 12), the brilliant yellow Chantarelle (Plate 19), the Lactarius (Plate 18), and various other equally palatable and wholesome species. 28 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS The objection against mzlky mushrooms (17) would serve to exclude the poisonous species of Lactarius, but would thus include at least two of Worthless the delicious species of the group, Z. popular tests @e/zczosus, with orange milk (Plate 18), and L. piperatus, another species with white milk not figured in this volume. The group of Russulz, most of which are esculent, is notable for their gzdls of even length (18), though not all the species are thus characterized. This discrimination, however, especially applies to the Shaggy-mane (Plate 16), which is conspicuously even- gilled, and is a decided delicacy. This species, together with its congener, the edible Coprinus atramentarius (Plate 17), are notorious for their melting into black fluzd (19), which is thus of no significance as a test, although the mushrooms are not supposed to be eaten in this stage of deliquescence. A fungus which dztes the tongue (20) when tasted would naturally be excluded from our mushroom diet, as would also, of course, those of a dz¢ler or nauseat- ing taste; but several species, notably the Lactarius piperatus, as its name implies, is very hot and peppery when raw—a characteristic which disappears in cook- ing, after which it is perfectly esculent. The same applies in a scarcely less degree to the Agaricus melleus, and less so to the Hydnum repandum (Plate 27),and other mushrooms. But the poisonous Aus- sula emetica (Plate 13) gives this same hot, warning tang, and this rule (17) would at least thus exclude the harmful species, and is thus contributive to pop- ular safety. INTRODUCTION 29 The salt test (21), with that of the silver charm, is also a relic of the dim past, but is absolutely useless as a touchstone. Many poisonous spe- Worthless cies, notably the Amanita, fail to answer popular tests to it. All authorities agree, however, that the addition of salt in cooking, or the preparatory soaking of specimens in brine, has a tendency to render poisonous species innocuous. In- deed, it is claimed that in Russia and elsewhere on the Continent many admittedly poisonous species, even the deadly Fly Amanita, is habitually eaten sub- sequent to this semi-corning process, by which the poisonous chemical principle is neutralized. Among this long list, and many other equally arbitrary and ignorant prejudicial traditions, many of which date back to the earliest Omission —_ times, it is indeed astonishing to note of the only . true test the conspicuous absence of the one and only valuable sign by which the fatal species could be unmistakably determined—a symbol which was reserved for botanical science to discover: the presence of the “cup” in the Amanita, which is pointedly emphasized in my Frontispiece, and the im- portance of which as a botanical and cautionary dis- tinction is considered at more length in the following chapter. It is well to consider for a moment what is im- plied in “A POISONOUS MUSHROOM” A fungus may be poisonous in various ways: 1. A distinct and certain deadly poison. 30 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS 2. The cause of violent digestive or other func. tional disturbance, but not necessarily fatal. 3. The occasion of more or less serious physical derangement through mere indigestibility. 4. Productive of similar disorders through the em- ployment of decayed or wormy specimens of perfectly esculent species. 5. These same esculent species, even in their fresh condition, may become highly noxious by contact or confinement with specimens of the Amanita by the absorption of its volatile poison, as further described on p. 69. And lastly comes the question of idiosyncrasy, a consideration which is of course not taken into ac- count in our recommendation of cer- Concerning tain well-established food varieties. idiosyncrasy =“ QOne man’s food another man’s poi- son.” The scent of the rose is some- times a serious affliction, and even the delicious straw- berry has repeatedly proven a poison. Even the most wholesome mushroom will occasionally require to be discriminated against, as certain Decaying individuals find it necessary to exclude mushrooms cabbage, milk, onions, and other com- mon food from their diet. When we reflect, moreover, that in its essential chemical affin- ities the fungus simulates animal flesh, and many of the larger and more solid varieties Fresh are similarly subject to speedy decom- specimens position, it is obviously important that all fungt procured for the table should be collected in their prime, and prepared and served as INTRODUCTION 31 quickly as posstble. More than one case of supposed mushroom poisoning could be directly traced to care- lessness in this regard, when the species themselves, in their proper condition, had been perfectly whole- some. There can be no general rule laid down for the discrimination of az edzble fungus. Each must be learned as a species, or at least famil- eee jarized as a kind, even as we learn to identification YeCognize certain flowers, trees, or birds. Within a certain range this discrim- ination is practised by the merest child. How are the robin, the chippy, and the swallow recognized, or the red clover, and white clover, and yellow clover? Even in the instances of species which bear a very close outward similarity, how simple, after all, does the distinction become. Here, for in- Simple stance, is the wild-lettuce, and its mimic, botanical s : Z . discrimination the mzlgedium, growing side by side— to ninety-nine out of a hundred observ- ers absolutely alike, and apparently the same species, But how readily are they distinguished, I will not say by the botanist merely, but by any one who will take the small pains of contrasting their specific botanical characters— perfectly infallible, no matter how vari- ous the masquerade of their foliage. The lettuce has yellow blossoms, and a seed prolonged into a /ong beak, to whose tip the feathery pappus is attached. The mulgedium has dull bluish flowers, and its pap- pus is attached to the seed by a hardly perceptible elongation. As with the birds and wild-flowers, so with the fungi: we must learn them as species, even 32 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS as we learn to distinguish the difference between the trefoil of the clover and that of the wood-sorrel, or between the innocuous wild-carrot and the poison- hemlock, the harmless stag-horn sumach and _ its venomous congener, the Rhus venenata. There are parallel outward resemblances between esculent and poisonous fungi, but each possesses otherwise its own special features by which it may be identified— variations of gills, pores, spores, taste, odor, color, juice, consistency of pulp, method of decay, etc. It must not be presumed that the list of edible species just cited from the catalogue of Dr. Curtis includes all the esculents among the fungi. Dr. Harkness has discovered and classified many others. Mr. Palmer and Prof. Charles Peck are never at a loss for their * mess of mushrooms” among their list of nearly a hundred species, while Mr. Charles Mcll- vaine, whose name, so far as its practical authority is concerned, should appear more prominently in my bibliographical list, but who has not yet incor- porated his many mycological essays in book form, writes me that he has tested gastronomically a host of species, and has found over ¢hree hundred to be edible, or at least harmless. It may be said that the probabilities would include a large majority of the thousand species in the same category. But this is a matter which, in the absence of absolute knowl. edge, is mere conjecture. | Of the forty-odd species which the writer enjoys with more or less frequency at his table, he is satis- fied that he can select at least thirty which possess such distinct and strongly marked characters of form, INTRODUCTION OB structure, and other special qualities as to enable them, by the aid of careful portraiture and brief de- scription, to be easily recognized, even by a tyro. As previously emphasized, the present work does not aim to be complete, nor does it contemplate a practical utility beyond its specific recommendations, nor will the author assume any responsibility for the hazard which shall exceed its restricted list of species. On general principles, however, considering the proneness of humanity towards the acquisition of for- bidden fruit, and reasoning from my aes own actual experience, and that of forbidden fruit Many others to whom this fascinating hobby of epicurean fungology has be- come a growing passion, it may almost be assumed that the fungus appetite with many of my readers will increase by what it feeds on, and the sufficiency herewith offered will scarcely suffice. Like Oliver Twist, they must needs have more. The glory of a new acquisition to the fungus menu, and emulation of other rival tyro mycophagists, will doubtless lead many enthusiasts to more or less hazardous experi ment among the legion of the unknown species. This logical tendency, then, must be met ere my book can safely and conscientiously be launched upon its career, to which purpose I would append the following condensed RULES FOR THE VENTURESOME 1. Avoid every mushroom having a ¢up, or sugges- tion of such, at base (see Frontispiece, and Plates 3 and 4); the distinctly fatal poisons are thus excluded. 3 34 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS 2. Exclude those having an unpleasant odor, a peppery, bitter, or other unpalatable flavor, or tough consistency. 3. Exclude those infested with worms, or in ad- vanced age or decay. 4. In testing others which will pass the above pro- bation let the specimen be eft dy ztself, not in con- tact with or enclosed in the same basket with other species, for reasons given on page 69. Begin by a mere nibble, the size of a pea, and gen- tle mastication, being careful to swallow no saliva, and finally expelling all from the mouth. Testing If no noticeable results follow, the next new species trial, with the interval of a day, with the same quantity may permit of a swallow of a little of the juice, the fragments of the fungus expelled as before. No unpleasantness following for twenty-four hours, the third trial may permit of a similar entire fragment being swallowed, all of these experiments to be made on “an empty stomach.” If this introduction of the actual substance of the fungus into the stomach is superseded by no disturbance in twenty-four hours, a larger piece, the size of a hazel-nut, may be attempted, and thus the amount gradually increased day by day until the demonstration of edibility, or at least harm- lessness, is complete, and the species thus admitted into the “safe” list. By following this method with the utmost caution the experimenter can at best suffer but a slight temporary indisposition as the result of his hardihood, in the event of a noisome species hav- INTRODUCTION 35 ing been encountered, and will at least thus have the satisfaction of discovery of an enemy if not a friend. It may be said that any mushroom, om7tting the Amanita, which is pleasant to the taste and other- wise agreeable as to odor and texture when raw, is probably harmless, and may safely be thus ventured oz with a view of establishing its edibility. A prom- inent authority on our edible mush- Mr. Mclivaine’s rooms, already mentioned, applies this general rule rule to all the Agarics with confidence. “ This rule may be established,” he says: “ All Agarics—excepting the Amanite—mild to the taste when raw, if they commend themselves in other ways, are edible.” This claim is borne out in his experience, with the result, already told, that he now numbers over one hundred species among his habitual edible list out of the three hundred which he has actually found by personal test to be edible or harmless. ‘So numerous are toadstools,” he continues, “and so well does a study of them define their habits and habitats, that the writer ever fails upon any day from April to December to find ample supply of healthy, nutritrous, delicate toadstools for himself and family.” The italicized portion is my own, as I would thus emphasize the similar pos- sibilities amply afforded even in the present con- densed list of about thirty varieties herein described. In gathering mushrooms one should be supplied with a sharp knife. The mushroom should be care- fully cut off an inch or so below the cap, or at least sufficiently far above the ground to escape all signs of dirt on the stem. They should then be laid gills 30 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS upward in their receptacle, and it is well to have a special basket, arranged with one or two removable bottoms or horizontal partitions, which a are kept in place by upright props gatherers Within, thus relieving the lower layers _ of mushrooms from the weight of those above them. Such a basket is almost indispensable. Before preparing mushrooms for the table, the specimens should be carefully scrutinized for a class of fungus specialists which we have Insects not taken into account, and which have infesting 8 mushrooms probably anticipated us. The mush- room is proverbial for its rapid de- velopment, but nature has not allowed it thus to escape the usual penalties of lush vegetation, as wit- ness this swarming, squirming host, minute grubs, which occasionally honey-comb or hollow its entire substance ere it has reached its prime; indeed, in many cases, even before it has fully expanded or even protruded above ground. Like the carrion-flies, the bees, and wasps, which in early times were believed to be of spontaneous origin —flies being generated from putrefac- History of | tion, bees from dead bulls, and the mar- fungus insects tia] wasps from defunct “ war-horses” —these fungus swarms which so speed- ily reduce a fair specimen of a mushroom to a melt- ing loathsome mass, were also supposed to be the natural progeny of the “poisonous toadstool.” But science has solved the riddle of their mysterious om- nipresence among the fungi, each particular swarm of grubs being the witness of a former visit of a ma- INTRODUCTION 37 ternal parent insect, which has sought the budding fungus in its haunts often before it has fully revealed itself to human gaze, and implanted History of within its substance her hundred or fungus insects more eggs. To the uneducated eye these larvee all appear similar, but the specialist in entomology readily distinguishes between them as the young of this or that species of fly, gnat, or beetle. As an illustration of the assiduity with which the history of these tiny scavenger insects has been follow- ed by science, I may mention that in the gnat group alone over seven hundred species have been discov- ered and scientifically described, many of them re- quiring a powerful magnifier to reveal their identities. Specimens of infected or decaying mushrooms pre- served within a tightly closed box—and, we would suggest, duly quarantined—will at length reveal the imago forms of the voracious larve: generally a swarm of tiny gnats or flies, with an occasional sprinkling of small glossy black beetles, or perhaps a beautiful indigo-blue insect half an inch in length, of most nervous habit, and possessed of a long and very ac- tive tail. This insect is an example of the curious group of rove-beetles—s¢aphylinus—a family of insect scavengers, many of whose species depend upon the fungi for subsistence. Even the large woody growth known as “ punk” or “touchwood,” so frequently seen upon decaying trunks, is not spared. A huge specimen in my keep- ing was literally reduced to dust by a single species of beetle. 38 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS Considering the prevalence of these fungus hosts, it is well in all mushrooms to take the precaution of making a vertical section through Awise stem and cap, excluding such speci- precaution mens as are conspicuously monopo- lized, and not being évo critical of the rest, for the over-fastidious gourmet will often thus have little to show for his morning walk. I have gathered a hundred specimens of fungi in one stroll, perhaps not a quarter of which, upon careful scrutiny, though fair of exterior, would be fit for the table. The fungus-hunter par excellence has usually been there before us and left his mark (see page 135)—a mere fine brown streak or tunnel, perhaps, winding through the pulp or stem, where his minute fungoid identity is even yet secreted. But we bigger fungus-eaters gradually learn to ac- cept him—if not too outrageously promiscuous — as a natural part and parcel of our Hfachis aux Champignons, or our simple mushrooms on toast, even as we wink at the similar lively accessories which sophisticate our delectable raisins, prunes, and figs, to say nothing of prime old Rochefort! MUSHROOM POISONING In conclusion, lest these pages, in spite of the im- press of caution with which they are weighted, should lead to discomfiture, distress, or more serious results among their more careless readers, it is well to devote a few lines to directions for medical treatment where such should seem to be required. To this end I quote a passage from an article in the Zherapeutic INTRODUCTION 39 Gazette of May, 1893, from the pen of Mr. McIlvaine, whose many years’ experience with gastronomic fun- gi entitles his words to careful consideration: “ The physician called upon to treat a case of toad- stool poisoning need not wait to query after the va- _ Tiety eaten; he need not wish to see a eee sample. His first endeavor should be treatment to ascertain the exact time elapsing be- tween the eating of the toadstools and the first feeling of discomfort. If this is within four or five hours one of the minor poisons is at work, and rapid relief must be given by the administration of an emetic, followed by one or two moderate doses of sweet-oil and whiskey, in equal parts. Vinegar is ef- fective as a substitute for sweet-oil. If from eight to twelve hours have elapsed, the physician may rest as- sured that amanitine is present, and should adminis- ter one-sixtieth of a grain of atropine at once.” This atropine is intended to be injected hypoder- mically, and the treatment repeated every half-hour until one-twentieth of a grain has been given, or the patient’s life saved. Further consideration of the Amanita and its deadly poison and antidote, with details as to treat- ment in a notable case, will be reserved for the fol- lowing chapter. The colored plates in the volume were prepared from pencil drawings tinted in water-color, many of them direct from nature, several dating back fifteen years, and many of them over twenty years, for their original sketch. The colors as presented indicate those of typical individuals of the various species, and 40 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS each, in addition to the extended description in the text of the volume, is faced by a condensed description for ready reference, the usual troublesome necessity of turning the pages being thus avoided. In each plate dimension marks are shown which indicate the expansion of the pileus or cap of the fungus in an ideal specimen. In the preparation of this work, acknowledgments are specially due to Messrs. Julius A. Palmer and Charles McIlvaine for the privilege of Acknowledg- liberal quotations from their published ments works, especially with reference to the poisonous fungi. The volume is also further indebted for occasional extracts from the standard works of Prof. Chas. Peck, Mrs. T. J. Hus- sey, Rev. Dr. C. D. Badham, Rev. Dr. M. C. Cooke, Rev. J. M. Berkeley, Worthington Smith, and Rev. M. A. Curtis, all of whose volumes and various other contributions on the special subject of mycophagy are included in my bibliography on a later page. W. Hamitton Grsson October 1, 1894 WASHINGTON, CONN. ee K a | / eA eS nS hy A r ¢ — i Pe fy > © Sm Pi i OF he Deu eu cil llyAmanita Cie Nays iC ! ea HE frequency of this terrible foe in all our woods, and the ever-recurring fa- talities which are continually traced to its seductive treachery (some twenty-five deaths having been recorded in the public journals during the summer of 1893 alone), render it important that its teeth should be drawn, and its portrait placarded and popularly familiarized as an archenemy of mankind. As we have seen, from every superficial standpoint, this species is self-commendatory. It is, without doubt, in comeliness, symmetry, and A whited structure, the ideal of all our mush- sepulchre rooms, as it is, indeed, the botanical type of the tribe Agaricus, as well as its most notorious genus. Since the time of that carousing young lunatic Nero, who, doubtless, was wont to make merry with its “convenient poison,” upon one occasion, it is recorded by Pliny, to the presumably amusing extinction of the entire guests of a banquet, together with the prefect of the guard and a small host of tribunes and centurions, the Amanita has claimed an army of victims. While giving no superficial token of its dangerous 44 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS character to the casual observer, the Amanita, as a genus and a species, is nevertheless easily identified, if the mushroom collector will for the moment con- sider it from the do¢anzcaé. rather than nh the sensuous or gustatorial standpoint. botanically The deadly Amanita need no longer impose upon the fastidious feaster in the guise of the dainty “legume” of his menu, or as a contaminating, fatal ingredient in the otherwise wholesome vagout. In Plate 3 I have presented the reprobate Amanzta vernus in its protean progressive proportions from in- fancy to maturity. This is especially Amanita desirable, in that the fungus is equally vernus dangerous as an -infant, and also be- cause the development of its growth specially emphasizes dofanzcally the one important structural character by which the species or genus may be easily distinguished. Let us, then, consider the specimen as a type of the tribe Agaricus (gilled mushroom, see p. 79), genus Amanita. Year after year we are sure of finding this species, or others of the genus, especially in the spring and summer, its favorite haunt being the woods. Its spores, like other mushrooms, are shed upon the ground from the white gills beneath, as described in our chapter on “ Spore-prints,” or wafted to the ends of the earth on the breeze, and eventually, upon hav- ing found a suitable habitat, vegetate in the form of webby, white, mould-like growth—mycelium —which threads through the dead leaves, the earth, or decaying wood. This running growth is botanically considered WOOUHSAW V AO NOILVLADAYA ATUVA GNV ‘WOAITAOAN—'IL 2VI¢g THE DEADLY AMANITA 47 as the ¢rue fungus, the final mushroom being the Jruzt, whose function is the dissemination of the spores. After a rain, or when the conditions are otherwise suitable, a certain point among this webby tangle beneath the ground becomes Vegetation suddenly quickened into astonishing of an Agaric cell-making energy, and a small round- ed nodule begins to form, which con- tinues to develop with great rapidity (Plate 2). Ina few hours more it has pushed its head above ground, and now appears like an egg, as at A, Plate 3. The successive stages in its development are clearly in- dicated in the drawings. Each represents an interval of an hour or two, or more, the most suggestive and important feature being the outer envelope, or volva, which encloses the actual mushroom —at first com- pletely, then in a ruptured condition, until in the ma- ture growth the only vestige of it which appears above ground are the few shreds generally, though not always, to be seen on the top of the cap. The most important character of this deadly Amanita is, therefore, apparently with almost artful The danger malice prepense, often cozcealed from signal our view in the mature specimen, the only remnant of the original outer sack being the cup or socket about the base of the stem, which is generally hidden under ground, and usually there remains after we pluck the specimen. This “ poison- cup” may be taken as the cautionary symbol of the’ genus Amanita, common to all the spe- cies. Any mushroom or toadstool, therefore, whose stem ts thus set in a socket, or which has any suggestion 48 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS of such a socket, should be labelled “poison”; for, though some of the species having this cup are edible, from the popular point of view, it is wiser and certainly safer to condemn the entire group. The But the cup must be sought for. We poison-cup shall thus at least avoid the possible danger of a fatal termination to our amateur experiments in gustatory mycology; for, while various other mushrooms might, and do, in- duce even serious illness through digestive disturb- ance, and secondary, possibly fatal, complications, the Amanita group are now conceded to be the only fungi which contain a positive, active poisonous prin- ciple whose certain logical consequence is death. Another structural feature of the Amanita is shown in the illustration, but has been omitted from the above consideration to avoid confusion. The «yeil”” This is the “veil” which, in the young or shroud = mushroom, originally connected the edge of the cap, or pileus, with the stem, and whose gradual rupture necessarily follows the expansion of the cap, until a mere frill or ring is left about the stem at the original point of contact. But this feature is a frequent character in many edible mushrooms, as witness the several examples in the edible species of our plates, and therefore of no dangerous significance per se, being merely a mem- brane which protects the growing gills. Nor are the other features, the remnants of the volva on the summit of the cap, to be considered of primary importance from the popular point of view, for the reason—firstly, that these fragments, while con- Section Volva =u or cup Pirate III.—DEVELOPMENT OF AMANITA VERNUS THE DEADLY AMANITA 51 spicuous and constant in Amanita muscarius (Plate 4), are mot thus permanent in several other species of Amanite, notably the white-satin-capped Ama- nita vernus, Amanita phalloides, and Scales and Amanita Caesarea, in which the frag- scurfy spots ments are deciduous; and, secondly, because the same general effect of these warty scales is so clearly imitated in other mushrooms which are distinctly edible, as in exam- ples Plate 10 and Plate 16. It is to the volva or cup, then, that we must devote our special attention as the only safe and constant character. And this leads me to the prominent and necessary considera- tion of another common species of Amanita, men- tioned above, in which even this cup is more or less obscure. THE POISONOUS FLY-MUSHROOM Agaricus (Amanita) muscarius This, one of the most strikingly beautiful of our toadstools, is figured in Plate 4. Its brilliant cap of yellow, orange, or even scarlet, studded with white or grayish raised spots, can hardly be A deceptive unfamiliar to even the least observant Amanita country walker. Its favorite habitat is the woods, and, in the writer’s experi- ence especially, beneath hemlocks and poplars, where he has seen this species year after year in whole companies, and in all stages shown in the plate at the same time, from the globular young specimen almost covered with its white warts just lifting its head above the brown carpet to the fully expanded 52 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS individual, in which the spots have assumed a shrunken and brownish tint. The consideration of this species is of the #tmost zmportance, as its beauty is but an alluring mask, which has enticed many to their destruction; among the more recent of its conspicuous victims having been the Czar Alexis of Russia. For this is another cosmopolitan type of mushroom, common alike in America, Great Britain, Europe, and Asia, in all of which countries it is notorious for its poisonous re- sources. It is commonly known as the “ Fly-agaric,” its substance macerated in milk having Used asa been employed for centuries as an ef- fly-poison fectual fly-poison. After the reader’s introduction to the botanical character of the Amanita, he would, presumably, be somewhat suspicious of the present species. The suggestive white or dingy fragments upon its cap, it is true, would alone arouse his suspicions, but in the exami- nation of the stem for the telltale volva or cup its verification might be somewhat in doubt. It is for this reason that the species is emphasized in these pages, as the Amanzta muscarius, judg- Its ing from the great dissimilarity of its obscure cup numerous portraits from all countries, would seem to be remarkably protean, especially with reference to its stalk. The majority of the portraits of this reprobate presents the volva as distinct and as clean cut as in the 4. vernus just described, and the stalk above as equally smooth, features which are usually at variance with the as- sociated botanical description of the species, which Amanitas mudscarta> PLATE IV FLY MUSHROOM Agaricus (Amanita) muscarius Pileus: Diameter three to six inches, quite flat at maturity; color brilliant yellow, orange, or scarlet, becoming pale with age, dotted with adhesive white, at length pale brownish warts, the remnants of the volva. Gills: Pure white, very symmetrical, various in length, the shorter ones terminating under the cap with. an almost vertical abruptness. Spores: Pure white. A spore-print of this species is shown in Plate 37. Stem: White, yellowish with age, becoming shaggy, at length scaly, the scales below appearing to merge into the form of an obscure cup. Volva: Often obscure, indicated by a mere ragged line of loose outward curved shaggy scales around a bulbous base. Flesh: White. Habitat: Woods and their borders, especially favoring pine and hemlock. ‘Season: Summer and autumn. (SNONOSIOd) VINVOSNW VLIINYVWY saivid Al THE DEADLY AMANITA 57 often characterizes the volva as “incomplete ” or “ ob- scure,” and the stem as “rough and scaly.” If the portraits in these works are correct, the Amanita qualities of the species are clearly displayed, but if their accompanying descriptions are to be credited, and such seem to be in perfect accord with the spec- imens which I have always found, the A. muscarius would seem in need of a more authentic historian. The example figured in the plate presents the stem and volva as they have always appeared in specimens obtained by the writer. In the young individuals the stem is waxy-white, becoming later a dull, pale ochre hue, the lower half being shaggy and torn, and beset with loose projecting woolly points which resolve themselves below into scales with loose tips curved outward, and so distantly dis- posed upon the bulbous base as to leave xo marked definition of the continuous rim or opening of a cup. But the cup is there, and in a section of the bud state of the mushroom could have been seen, even as in the white warts upon the surface of the younger speci- mens we note the evidences of the upper portion of the same white vo/va. In many other Volva scales Species of Amanita, notably 4. vernus, permanent as already mentioned, these volva frag- ments generally wither and are shed from the cap. They are thus not to be counted on as a permanent token. But in the fly-mushroom they form a dustinct character, as they adhere firmly to the smooth skin of the pileus, and in drying, instead of shrivelling and curling and falling off, simply shrink, turn brownish, and in the maturely expanded 58 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS mushroom appear like scattered drops of mud which have dried upon the pileus. Another peculiar struct- ural feature of this mushroom is shown in the sec- tional drawing herewith given. The shorter gills, instead of rounding off as they approach the pileus ease OLD SPECIMEN SECTION OF FLY-AMANITA (see a), terminate abruptly almost at right angles to their edge. The contrast from the usual form will be more apparent by comparison with the section of the parasol- mushroom on page 114. Few species of mushrooms have such an inter- esting history as this. Its deadly properties were THE DEADLY AMANITA 59 known to the ancients. From the earliest times its deeds of notoriety are on record. This is quite possibly the species alluded to by Pliny as “very conveniently adapted for poisoning,” and is not improbably the mushroom Historical referred to by this historian in the fol- Amanita lowing quotation from his famous Waz- ural Hostory: “ Mushrooms are a dainty food, but deservedly held in disesteem since the no- torious crime committed by Agrippina, who through their agency poisoned her husband, the Emperor Claudius; and at the same moment, in the person of her son Nero, inflicted another poisonous curse upon the whole world, herself in particular.” Notwithstanding its fatal character, this mushroom, it is said, is habitually eaten by certain peoples, to whom the poison simply acts as an intoxicant. In- deed, it is customarily thus employed as a narcotic and an exhilarant in Kamchatka and Asiatic Russia generally, where the Amanita drunkard Amanita supplants the opium fiend and alcohol dipsomaniacs dipsomaniac of other countries. Its narcotizing qualities are commemo- rated by Cooke in his Seven Szsters of Sleep, wherein may be found a full description of the toxic employ- ment of the fungus. The writer has heard it claimed that this species of Amanita has been eaten with impunity by certain individuals; but the information has usually come from sources which warrant the belief that another harmless species has been confounded with it. The warning of my Frontispiece may safely be extended 60 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS to the fly-amanita. Its beautiful gossamer veil may aptly symbolize a shroud. By fixing these simple structural features of the Amanita in mind, and emphasizing them by a study of our Frontispiece, we may now consider ourselves armed against our greatest foe, and heise ok may with some assurance make our forearmed limited selection among this lavish lard- er of wild provender continually going to waste by the ton in our woods and pastures and lawns. For it is now a fact generally believed by fungologists, and being gradually demonstrated, that the edible species, far from being the exception, as formerly regarded, are the rule; that a great majority of our common wild fungi are at least harmless, if not positively wholesome and nutritious as food. THE POISONOUS ALKALOID The toxic and deadly effects of certain mushroom poisons, as already described, have been known since ancient times; and the prolonged intoxicating de- bauches to-day prevalent among the Amanita dipso- maniacs of Northern Russia and Kamchatka, con- sequent upon the allurements of the decoction of the fly-agaric, are well-known matters of history. The true chemical character of this poison, however, was not discovered until 1868, when it was successfully isolated by chemical analyses of Drs. Vigier, Schmiede- berg, Currie, and Koppe, and ascertained to be an alkaloid principle, to which was given originally the name of bulbosine, since variously known as musca- rine, and finally and most appropriately amanitine. THE DEADLY AMANITA 61 The poison thus identified, it was reserved to an American authority on edible fungi, Mr. Julius A. Palmer, of Boston, to discover the fact Mr. Palmer’s of its confinement to but one fungus discovery family—the Amanita. In the year 1879, in an article con- tributed by him to the Monzteur Scientifique, of Paris, he states: “Mushrooms are unfit for food by decay or other cause, producing simply a disagreement with the sys- tem by containing some bitter, acrid, or slimy element, or by the presence of a wonderful and dangerous alka- loid which is absorbed in the intestinal canal, This alkaloid, so far as known, is found only in the Ama- nila family.” To Mr. Palmer, then, is due the chemical segrega- tion of the Amanita group as the only repository of this deadly toxic. It has not been discerned in other species of fungi, whose so-called “ poisonous” effects are more often traceable to mere indigestibility, the Lesser selection of “over-ripe” specimens, or poisoning to idiosyncrasy, rather than to their distinctly poisonous properties. Many mushrooms of other families which do pos- sess ingredients chemically at war with the human system—as the Russula emetica and certain Lacéa- rit, for instance—at least give a fair warning, either by taste or odor, of their dark intentions. Owing to the numerous deaths every year conse- quent upon mushroom-eating, and nearly always directly traceable to the Amanita, the discovery of 62 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS an antidote to this poison has been the quest of many noted chemists—several supposed antidotes having been experimented with upon Antidote dogs and other animals without desired for Amanita results. These included atropine, the deadly crystalline alkaloid from the Atropa belladonna. The earlier experiments upon animals with this drug in Paris, as described by Dr. Gautier in 1884, while encouraging, were not con- sidered conclusive, but were sufficient to warrant the suggestion that the treatment upon man might be effective. In a résumé of the subject in the Philadelphia Medical and Surgical Reporter, De- cember, 1885, for the benefit of the medical prac- titioners who are so frequently called upon to attend cases of mushroom poisoning, Captain Charles Mcll- vaine recommended the administration of a dose of atropine of from 0.05 to 0.0002 milligramme, and it was later reserved for the same gentle- First authentic Man to witness the first authentic in- application stance of the application of this remedy in antagonism with the Amanita poison in the human system. The report of this experi- ence was afterwards published (see Bibliography, No. 6), embodying also a complete and authentic ac- count of the symptoms and treatment of the cases by the attending physician, Dr. J. E. Shadle, of Shenandoah, Pa., which account I feel is appropri- ately included here, being in full sympathy with the solicitous spirit of my pages. I therefore quote the statement of Dr. Shadle for the benefit of those in. terested. THE DEADLY AMANITA 63 SHENANDOAH, Pa., October 26, 1885. Mr. Cuas. McItvaIne: My bear Sir,—In compliance with your request, I take pleasure in submitting to your consideration the following report of five cases of toadstool-poisoning which recently came under my ob- servation and treatment : On Monday, August 31, at 10 a.M., I was hastily called to see a family, consisting of Mr. F., his wife, his mother-in-law, Mrs. R., and his brother-in-law, Thomas R., who, the Amanita messenger stated, were having ‘cramps in the poisoning _ bowels.” symptoms Promptly responding to the call, I found them suffering from intense abdominal pains, nausea, vomiting, boneache, and feelings of distress in the precordial region. Mr. F., twenty-nine years of age, was a miner by occupation, and had led an intemperate life. Mrs. F., twenty-two years of age, was a brunette, possessing a delicate body, and bearing a decided zeurotic tendency. Mrs. R., forty-five years of age, was a small nervo-bilious woman. Thomas R., thirteen years of age, was a youth well developed. While I was examining these patients, Mrs. B., forty years of age, a neighbor of the family, presented herself, manifesting in a milder degree the same symptoms. She was a tall, spare woman. Previous to their present attack of illness their general health was good ; in none could signs of disease be traced. Picture to your mind five persons suffering from cholera morbus in its most aggravated form, and you will be enabled to form a pretty correct idea of what I beheld in the Faris residence on Monday morning, August 31. That five individuals, four being members of one household, should be attacked simultaneously by a similar train of symptoms, naturally gave rise in my mind to a suspicion that something poi- sonous had been eaten. Upon close inquiry I obtained the fol- lowing history : On the afternoon of Sunday, August 30, Mr. F. and Thomas R. were walking through a wood not far distant from their home, and, in wandering from place to place, found clusters of very 64 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS beautiful toadstools growing abundantly under trees, among which the chestnut predominated. Attracted by their appearance, and supposing them to be edi- ble, they gathered a large quantity, with the anticipation of hav- ing a delicious dish for their Sunday evening Amanita meal. poisoning Various other kinds were growing in the same symptoms locality, but this particular variety impressed them as being the most inviting. A correct specimen of the fungus they had collected having been sent you, I will leave its botanical description to your pen. At about nine o’clock, five hours after gathering them, Mrs. F. cooked three pints of the toadstools, stewing them in milk, and seasoning with butter, pepper, and salt. They had dinner at a very early hour on this day, and by the time they had supper all felt exceedingly hungry, in consequence of which they ate quite heartily. Mrs. F. and her brother vied with each other as to the quantity they could eat. In addition to this dish, bread and butter and coffee were served. Soon after supper the family retired. None experienced the least discomfort until towards daybreak, when considerable dis- tress in the abdominal organs and cerebral disturbance manifested themselves. Prominent among the initial symptoms were foul breath, coated tongue, pain in the stomach, nausea, and a peculiar sickening sensation in the epigastrium. These symptoms gradual- ly increased in severity, and in twelve hours after the ingestion of the poison, when I made my first visit, the condition of the victims involved great danger. Intense vomiting was present in four, while in Mrs. R.’s case a violent retching seemed to persist. Gastro-intestinal irritation, followed by a relaxed condition of the bowels, showed itself in about thirty hours after the onset of the more active symptoms. With the appearance of this trouble an insufferable tenesmus developed, producing paroxysms of severe agony. This was particularly true in the case of Mrs. R., whose suffering was so great that it became a formidable symptom to combat. Upon the subsidence of the more severe symptoms, the patients fell into a state of extreme prostration, accompanied by stupor and cold extremities. In the mother, son, and daughter this was profoundly marked. ‘They were completely indifferent THE DEADLY AMANITA 65 to persons and things around them, as well as to their own suf- fering. As the symptoms increased in violence, Thos. R. advanced into a state of coma, and Mrs. F. into coma vigil, and remained so for about twelve hours prior to death. The face Amanita had a shrunken and wrinkled appearance, the poisoning eyes were sunken, the skin was dusky, and the symptoms surface of the body was dry and cold to the touch. The pulse, a number of hours before death, was imperceptible at the wrist, and the heart-sounds were scarcely perceived by auscultation. The pulse in all cases was notably affected, ranging from 120 to 140 per minute. In character it was soft and compressible; intermittent at intervals. There was a distinct rise of temperature ; the thermometer in the axilla registered as much as 104° F. A mild form of delirium was an occasional event. In the case of Mrs. F. it formed an important element. Respecting the special senses, it is well to mention that sight was peculiarly affected. Notwithstanding the fact that the pupils responded kindly to the action of the light, an unpleasant sensa- tion of blindness frequently appeared, and continued for a few minutes. In spite of all that was done to counteract its ravages, the ef- fects of the poison were so extremely deadly that a fatal issue was the result in two cases. Thomas R. died in fifty-six and Mrs. F. in sixty-three hours after the ingestion of the toadstools. Treatment.—The treatment instituted was mainly symptomatic. _ Fearing that undigested particles of toadstools might still be lying in the gastro-intestinal tract, to Mrs. R., who had not freely vomited, an emetic was administered, and to Amanita the rest a mild purge. poisoning An intense thirst and a burning sensation treatment —_ being present in the mouth, throat, and stomach, small pieces of cracked ice were freely used with a view to allaying it. For the gastro-intestinal irritation I prescribed with satisfactory results the following : 66 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS R Bismuth subnit., 3v; Creosote, gtt. xv; Mucil. acacia, f%i; Aq. menth. pip., q.s. ad f3iii, M. Sig.—Teaspoonful every one or two hours. ‘J, grain of morph. sulph. was administered hypodermically to alleviate as much as possible the abdominal suffering. The impending exhaustion and the failing heart’s action I en- deavored to combat with a free administration of alcoholic stimu- lants in combination with moderate doses of tincture of digitalis both by the mouth and under the skin. In order to invite the circulation of the blood to the ice-cold surface of the body, heated bricks and bottles filled with hot water were placed in bed around the patients. Analyzing each symptom as it arose, and carefully observing the effects of the poison on the system, I formed the opinion that the toxic element contained in the noxious fun- gus eaten by these people was narcotic in its Diagnosis nature and spent its force on the nerve centres, especially selecting the one governing the func- tion of respiration and the action of the heart. Acting upon this conclusion, I began, in the early part of my treatment, subcutaneous injections of sulphate of atropine in fre- quently-repeated doses, ranging from ;45 to #5 grain. The in- jections invariably were followed by a perceptible improvement in the patient; the heart’s action became stronger, the pulse returned at the wrist, and the respiration increased in depth and fulness. Through the agency cf this remedy, supported by the other measures adopted, three (or sixty per cent.) of the patients re- covered. The lessons I draw from this experience are: 1, The poisoning produced by this variety of toadstool is slow in manifesting its effects. 2. That it destroys life by a process of asthenia. 3. That in atropine we have an antidote, and it should be pushed heroically from the earliest inception of the action of the poison. I have the honor to remain Yours very respectfully, J. E. SuHapie, M.D. THE DEADLY AMANITA 67 In reply to the queries, Was atropine administered in all the cases? and What was the total amount administered to each? Dr. Shadle responded as fol- lows: SHENANDOAH, Pa., October 29, 1885. My DEAR Mr. MCILVAINE: Yours of the 27th I have received. The two questions you ask me therein I see are very important, and they should be answered as fully as possible. I am sorry I overlooked the matter in my report. Before attempting an answer, it is well for me to note right here that Mrs. B., the neighbor, did not eat very much of the toadstool stew; Mrs. R. and Mr. F. each ate about the same quantity—from one and one- half to two platefuls. This is according to Faris’s statement. But the two fatal cases— Thomas R. and Mrs. F.—tried to see which could eat the most, and consequently got their full share of the poison. The cat mentioned before had about a tablespoonful of the broth, and they tell me she was very sick. Whether or not she died is not known. Now as to the treatment by atropine, I think I can approximate a pretty correct statement in reply to your queries. Not knowing that atropine was considered an antidote, I began its employment in the treatment of these cases from the physiological knowledge I had of the drug relative to its action in other diseases in which there was heart-failure and embarrassed respiration. When I saw the U.S. Dispensatory suggested it, I of course felt it my duty to use it, as I could find nowhere anything else men- tioned as an antidote. I feel convinced that it was by means of the atropine that I saved three of the five patients. Why do I think so? Because whenever I would administer the remedy the patient rallied, the pulse returned at the wrist, the heart-sounds became stronger, and the respiration increased in strength and fulness. What more conclusive evidence do I want than this to show as to how the agent was acting? When I first saw the patients—twelve hours after the ingestion 5 Amanitine and atropine 68 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS of the poison—their symptoms were alike, one suffering as much as the other (August 31). I began the use of the alkaloid in the evening of the same day, when 1 saw.the Administration powers of life giving way, the heart failing, and of antidote the respiration becoming shallow. It was used in all the cases as follows: Mrs. B., zou) do po OF Toy, OF ay QT. Mr. F., a0 vo ao v0 or