8 THE PLANT WORLD. 



A FATAL CASE OF AMANITA POISONING. 



Hv V. K. ClIESNUT. 



On Thursday, October 12, the attention of the Division of Botany 

 of the L^nited States, Department of Agriculture was called by the 

 editor of The Plant World to a clipping from the Bdlfimore American^ 

 giving an account of the death on Tuesday and Wednesday of two 

 persons in Baltimore from mushroom poisoning. An investigation 

 which was made at once, developed the fact that four persons were 

 poisoned in one household, and one in another family that lived next 

 door. The fungi were gathered on Sunday l)y three of the persons 

 poisoned, none of whom had ever had any previous experience. About 

 fifteen specimens were served up in the form of a milk stew for supper 

 the same evening. Four persons who drank from one to three tea- 

 spoonfuls of the broth were not affected. One, a man of 29 years of 

 age, who ate two tablespoonfuls of the broth, was affected very seri- 

 ously; a baby 16 months old, who ate a similar portion, died on Tues- 

 day; two adults who ate half a coffee-cupful of the stew were saved 

 with difficulty by the administration of strychnine and by powerful 

 sudorific treatment; and a boy of 18, who ate two saucerfuls of both 

 the solid and liquid portions, died on Wednesday, The first symptom 

 in all cases was vomiting. In the case of the baby this took place at 

 3 a. m. on Monday, and the other two cases between 6 and 7 a, m. of 

 the same day. The nausea was soon followed by extreme diarrhoea, 

 which lasted many hours. Atropine was not administered in any case. 



No specimens of the fungi nor of the solid portions of the vomited 

 matter were to be obtained at the house, but one of the men who 

 gathered the fatal mess accompanied the writer to the exact locality 

 where several specimens were still to be found. A pure white variety 

 of the death cup {Amanita phalloides), probably a new species, was 

 pointed out as the kind which was selected. Several specimens of 

 this were secured and photographed by the Division of Botany. 



The case is a very important one, inasmuch as it shows a very 

 marked contrast to the recent De Vecchj case of Amanita mitscaria 

 poisoning, and shows conclusively that the two species produce 

 markedly different effects, and must be treatedjby entirely different 

 methods. 



