ON THE CHEMISTEY AND TOXICOLOGY OF FUNGI. 159 



rooms have often been set down as poisonous on no better 

 grounds.^ 



In a real case of poisoning by a fnngus, no physician is in a 

 position to cope with the disorder unless he knows more than 

 most physicians do. Unless he knows the radical differences of 

 fungus-poisons, knows the actions peculiar to each, or to each 

 series, and can recognise the one which he has to deal with, upon 

 what is he to base his line of treatment ? It has been stated that 

 the more narcotic poisons do not begin to act until digestion has 

 far advanced. The stomach-pump, or evacuatory remedies are 

 useless in such, cases. When symptoms appear shortly after 

 ingestion, one of tbe caustic poisons is to be feared, and then 

 evacuatory means would probably only aggravate the mischief. 

 In the latter case the author would be inclined to trust to the 

 exhibition of oil and demulcents in large quantities, perhaps with 

 subcutaneous injection of morphia, to be followed by strengthen- 

 ing and stimulating remedies in due course. To meet the narcotic 

 poisons, astringents might be useful with, in some cases, stimu- 

 lants, in others, such sedatives as bromide of potassium. But 

 these are no more than suggestions. More investigation is needed ; 

 more knowledge required, more certainty essential. 



There is yet another startling and formidable reason why the 

 examination of fungus-poisons should be pressed upon the atten- 

 tion of those most fitted to undertake such a task. Suppose that 

 a modern Locusta, or, say, another Pritchard, were to arise, and 

 to find a weapon, secret and sure, drawn from this department of 

 the vegetable kingdom. Let us suppose that the poisoner used 

 Lorcheline, for instance. We have no physician who could 

 diagnose the case, because all knowledge of fungus-poisons is a 

 dead letter here. The poison in question acts in so peculiar a 

 manner, disturbing neither the brain nor the alimentary canal, 

 that the mischief would probably be relegated to organic or 

 functional disorder — to the visitation of God, as the juries say. 

 Suppose Bulbosine were used. Physicians could only assume 

 that a poison had been administered ; they could not swear to it, 

 because they could not recognise the symptoms. And of any 



^ The author has seen esculent mushrooms selected from a heterogeneous 

 basketful, and upon them has found spores deposited by some poisonous species 

 which had lain on top of them. Now the spores are often the most virulent 

 part, and hence these esculent mushrooms might have been thereby rendered 

 hurtful. This shows that the gatherer should be able to discriminate properly 

 the species he gathers. 



