repeated question, "How shall I distinguish the mushroom 

 from the toadstool?" In the effort to answer this question, many 

 rules have been given by various writers, some of which are 

 wholly unreliable; and to the others there are so many excep- 

 tions that they are practically worthless. The only safe and rea- 

 sonable way to distinguish between the good and the bad is to 

 recognize each species by its own specific characters. It is in 

 this way that we recognize the useful and esculent species among 

 flowering plants, and it must be in this way that we select our 

 edible species of mushrooms. A little more care may be neces- 

 sary in one case than in the other, because of a closer resem- 

 blance between good and bad fungi than between good and bad 

 flowering plants. The principle that is to govern in this matter 

 is the same in both cases. The greater the number of esculent 

 species clearly and confidently recognizable by any one, the 

 greater the field from which he may draw his supplies. If but 

 a single species is known, he can safely eat of that species only, 

 unless he may be able to avail himself of the wider knowledge of 

 some other person. In a few cases it is possible to affirm of cer- 

 tain groups or families of closely related species that no danger- 

 ous ones are knoTvoi in them. For example, we have six species 

 of morel in 'New York, and no morel is known to be really 

 poisonous. It is, therefore, pretty safe to say that he who is able 

 to distinguish a morel from all other fungi may confidently eat 

 morels without fear of ill results, though he may not be able to 

 separate one species of morel from another. 



The same thing may be said of puff-balls. Any one able to 

 discriminate between puff-balls and other fungi, may with con- 

 siderable assurance make use of puff-balls when in proper condi- 

 tion, even if he does not Icnow the real distinctive characters of 

 any one species. The probability is that he will not thereby be 

 poisoned; but there is not absolute safety. It is possible that 

 some deleterious puff-ball of gi-eat scarcity exists which has not 

 yet been discovered, or which, if known, has not yet been tested. 

 Therefore, it is safer, even in these cases, to partake only of those 

 which are specifically known, and which have been found by 

 actual experiment, to be good for food. The rules which say 

 that all morels, all puff-balls, all fairy-clubs, and all tender hydna 

 or spine mushrooms are safe eating, would be better if limited by 

 the words, "so far as known." 



Many rules have been published by authors and vTiters for 

 periodicals which have an extremely limited application, and 

 are, therefore, misleading, and worse than useless. A writer, 



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