16 Halsted : Mycological Notes 



13th, Herman 



J 



ting to Crosswick Creek near Bordcntown, and while there gath- 

 ered some fine specimens of a toadstool. When near his home he 

 went into a butcher shop kept by Harry Goldbach to have his 

 walnuts w^eighcd. He exhibited his mushrooms, as he thought 

 them to be, and Goldbach was attracted by them and bought a 

 quantity. Gebhardt took the remaining ones to his boarding 

 place and asked his landlady to have them prepared for his sup- 

 per, but his ^msh was not granted, it being late and inconvenient, 

 and he carried them to Walters' saloon near by and were placed 

 behind the bar until morning where Mrs. Walters seeing them, 

 removed the lot of six or seven toadstools and burned them. 

 From a conversation with Mrs. Walters and her description of the 

 size and color of stipe, cap, gills, etc., it was quite clear that the 

 species was AmiDiita phalloides (L.). This view was confirmed by 

 Mr. V. K. Chestnut of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, who 

 with Gebhardt visited the place where the toadstools were gathered 

 and saw other specimens, which Gebhardt pronounced to be of the 

 same kind that he had sold. 



The specimens obtained by Goldbach were cooked upon Sun- 

 day morning and eaten by the whole family of nine except Max 

 Goldbach. In a talk Avith the County Physician Rogers and the 

 other physicians in charge of the cases it was learned that the 

 first symptoms of poisoning were observed on Sunday evening 

 A'hen violent vomiting set in with all the eight who partook of the 

 toadstools, and it was very prolonged. On ]\Ionday night all oe- 

 came worse the leading characteristic being as stated great weak- 



ness. Early upon Tuesday morning Mrs. Goldbach and her 

 eight-year-old son died at nearly the same time, and at four 

 o'clock in the afternoon the father died after great agony. 



At the time of my visit four other victims were prostrated and 

 in a very weak condition, while a two-year-old child had entirely 

 recovered. Later advices indicate that all except the three pre- 

 viously mentioned will recover. 



Fungus prolongs the apparent Vitality of Host. — During the 

 autumn months a smut {Ustilago RaboiJiorstiana Kuehn) is com- 

 mon upon the crab grass {Fanicum sangninalc L.) and doubtless 

 has a material effect in reducing the amount of seed produced by 



