Flowerless-Plant Study 



707 



out with dead wood. Decay is simply the process by which fungi and other 

 organisms break down dead material, so that the major part of it returns 

 to the air in gaseous form, and the remainder, now mostly humus, mingles 

 with the soil. 



As a table delicacy, mushrooms are highly prized. A very large num- 

 ber of species are edible. But every year the newspapers report deaths 

 resulting from eating the poisonous kinds the price of an ignorance which 

 comes from a lack of the powers of observation developed in nature-study. 

 It would be very unwise for any teacher to give rules to guide her pupils in 

 separating edible from poisonous mushrooms, since the most careful direc- 

 tions may be disregarded or misunder- 

 stood. She should emphasize the danger 

 incurred by mistaking a poisonous for an 

 edible species. One small button of the 

 deadly kind, if eaten, may cause death. 

 A few warning rules may be given, which 

 if firmly impressed on the pupils, ma} 7 

 result in saving human life. 



First and most important, avoid all 

 mushrooms that are covered with scales, 

 or that have the base of the stem included 

 in a sac, for two of the poisonous species, 

 often mistaken for the common edible 

 mushroom, have these distinguishing 

 characters. Care should be taken that 

 every specimen be collected in a way to 

 show the base of the stem, since in some 

 poisonous species this sac is hidden be- 

 neath the soil. 



Second, avoid the young, or button, 

 stages, since they are similar in appear- 

 ance in species that are edible and in 

 those that are poisonous. 



Third, avoid those that have milky 

 juices; unless the juices are reddish in 

 color, the mushrooms should not be 

 eaten. 



Fourth, avoid those with shiny, thin, 

 or brightly colored caps, and those with 

 whitish or clay-colored spores. 



Fifth, no mushroom or puffball should be eaten after its meat has 

 begun to turn brown or has become infested with fly larvae. 



How MUSHROOMS LOOK AND How THEY LIVE 



HERE are many kinds of mushrooms varying greatly in form, 

 color and size, but wherever they appear it means that 

 sometime previous the mushroom spores have been 

 planted there. There they threw out threads which have 

 penetrated the food substance and gained a successful 

 growth, which finally resulted in sending up into the world 

 the fruiting organs. In general shape these consist of a stem with a cap 

 upon it, making it usually somewhat umbrella-shaped. Attached to the 



While form of the deadly Anmnita 

 (A phalloides). Note the form of the 

 ring and the cup at base of stem. 

 Photo by G. F. Atkinson. 



