fiital ])oisouing in the eating of this mushroom shows that if used at all it 

 should be oaten onli/ inken the conditions ensentidl to sofcJ.i/ are most cure- 

 fully oJmerved, and as these mushrooms show varying (jualities, accord- 

 ing to local conditions of soil and climate, etc., amateurs finding it in locali- 

 ties where it has not been heretofore used should proceed tentatively and 

 with much care before venturing to eat it freely. 



Poisonous and Deleterious Mushrooms of the Lactar, Russui-a, and 



Boletus Groups. 



Lactarius (on/iinosufi Fries contains in its milky juice an acrid resin 

 which causes inflammatiou of the stomach and of the alimentary canal. 

 When parboiled and the tirst water removed, it has been eaten without 

 injurious eftects. JjSictiirius plumheus Bull., Lactarius nvidus Fries, Lac- 

 tarius turpis Weinn.,aud Jjixciavius pr/rogalus Bull, all acrid mushrooms, 

 according to Robert, are similarly poisonous. 



Of the " Eidschieber '■ (Lactarius vellereus) and the " Pfefferling " 

 (Lactarius piperatus Scop.) Robert says they are eaten in parts of Russia 

 and in some places in Germany, but that neither is very safe. 



There is a species of Russida (R. enietica) very common in woods, easily 

 recognized by its smooth scarlet top, white gills, and white stem and by 

 its biting acridity, which, though recorded as poisonous by some authors, 

 is considered edible by others. This mushroom, R. emetica, has been 

 subjected to chemical analysis by Robert, who finds in it viuscarin, cholin, 

 and pilz-atropi7i in varying proportions. Robert states that in Germany 

 it is ^'■rightly " considered poisonous, though eaten in Russia, and ascribes 

 the fact that it is not deemed poisonous in the latter country to the man- 

 ner in which it is there prepared, the poisonous alkaloid being in greater 

 part eliminated by parboiling the mushrooms, and not merely pouring off 

 the water, but carefully squeezing it out of the parboiled fungi. 



To the presence in this mushroom of the neutralizing alkaloid " pilz- 

 atropin " in varying proportions may also be attributed in some measure 

 the safety with which it has been eaten under certain conditions. R. 

 foetens and other acrid Russulas, as well as Lactars, have been known to 

 produce severe gastro-enteritis. 



Considering the foregoing, it would seem the part of prude&ce at least 

 to avoid such of the Lactars and Russulas as have an acrid or peppery 

 taste. 



I think it would be a wise precaution to pour oflF the water' of the first 

 boiling in the case of all mushrooms about which there is a particle of 

 doubt, whether recorded as poisonous or not. 



Lactarius torminosus Fries. Cap fleshy, at tirst convex, then expanded, 

 at length depressed in the center, slightly zoned, margin turned inwards, 

 pale ocbraceous yellow, with flesh-colored mottlings : dotoiiy or hairy; 

 o-ills whitish, changing to pinkish yellow, narrow and close together ; stem 



