prohalily ^v^ll persist in it as long as they can Le obtained. To 

 (.liIlliIli^ll the niiiiiber v( siieli aceidentri by cultivating a better 

 general knowledge of the subject is one of the purposes of the 

 writer. It is true that tiiere are some poisonous species, dan- 

 gerous to eat; but the number of such species is often greatly 

 overestimated. Probably the proportion of dangerously poison- 

 ous species is no greater among fungi than auioiig tlowering 

 I'lants. In this State only three or four species have been found 

 that may be chisscd as actually known to be fatally poisonous. 

 There are many that are of such a character as toproduce nausea, 

 vomiting and derangement of the digestive organs, but they are 

 not to be classed as really dangerous to life. They are unwhole- 

 some because of their persistently bitter, acid or otherwise dis- 

 agreeable flavor, or because of toughness of texture, or the pos- 

 session of some quality rej)ugnant to the stomach, but not neces- 

 sarily causing death, for if such are eaten, the irritation produced 

 generally induces their speedy rejection from the system, and 

 thcTi the normal condition of the victim is soon restored. 



On the other hand the dangerously poisonous species appear to 

 cause no irritation or unpleasant symj)toms until after the lapse 

 of several Ikmu-s after eating, usually from eight to fifteen. The 

 poisonous ])ro[)erty, which has received the names amanitine, bul- 

 bosinc, or muscarine, according to the kind of fungus from which 

 it was ol)tained, appears to enter into the circulation and to at- 

 tack the nervous system. Then the symptoms begin to manifest 

 themselves. The face exhibits an ashy paleness; there is distress 

 in the region of the stomach; nausea, vomiting and relaxation 

 of the bowels follow, the extremities become cold, the pulse 

 feeble, the eyesight is affected, and finally stu]vir and death fol- 

 low if relief is not obtained. Atro]u'ne has been found to be an 

 antidote to this kind of poisoning. It has been administered in 

 doses of l-GO to 1-") of a grain according to the severity of the 

 case, and the dose may be repeated if necessary. It may b^ ad- 

 mim'stered in subcutaneous injectious. Tn other cases the symp- 

 toms appear much sooner, and relief may be hastened by the 

 administration of some simple emetic. 



It is the fear of being poisoned that prevents many from using 

 mushrooms. They are unable to distinguish the good from the 

 bad, and therefore wisely avoid both. The erroneous opinion is 

 often entertained that the poisonous species are about as numer- 

 ous as the edi])lo. ^Fany also suppose that some simple test may 

 be employed which Avill reveal the character of the mushrooms 

 and <how whether thev are hurtful <>r harmless. TTence the oft- 



