54 ox THE MEDICINAL AND TOXICOLOGICAL 



" On certain persons, all mushrooms, even the very best of the 

 eatable kinds, act more or less injuriously." They cause vomit- 

 ing, diarrlm^a, and colic. In this respect they are on the same 

 footing with the richer sorts of fish, which, by idiosyncracy, act 

 as poisons on particular constitutions. It is not improl)able. Dr. 

 Christison states, that, contrary to what some botanists have 

 alleged, " the best mushrooms, when taken in large quantity and 

 for a considerable length of time, are deleterious to every one." 

 On Poisons, p. 703. 



Fodere {Med. Legale.^ iv. 55, et passim), De Candolle {Essai 

 sur les jproprietes Med. des Plantes, 320), and Greville (Mem. 

 Werner. Soc. iv. 342), have laid down general directions for dis- 

 tinguishing the esculent from the j^oisonous varieties ; but it is 

 extremely questionable, adds Christison, whether their rules are 

 always safe ; and that certainly they are not always accurate, as 

 they would exclude many species in common use on the conti- 

 nent. "It appears that most fungi which have a warty cap, 

 more especially fragments of a membrane adhering to their 

 upper surfaces, are poisonous." Heavy fungi, which have an un- 

 pleasant odor, especially if they emerge from a vulva, or bag, are 

 also generally hurtful. Of those which grow in woods and shady 

 places a few are esculent, but most are unw^holesome ; and if moist 

 on the surface, they should be avoided. All those which grow in 

 tufts or clusters, from the trunks or stumps of trees, ought like- 

 wise to be shunned. "A sure test of poisonous fungi, is an 

 astringent, styptic taste; and, perhaps, also a disagreeable, cer- 

 tainly a pungent, odor." Some fungi possessing these properties 

 have, indeed, found their way to the epicure's table ; but they are 

 of a very questionable quality. Those whose substance become 

 blue are invariably poisonous. Agarics of orange or rose-red 

 color, and boleti which are coriaceous or corky, or which have a 

 membranous collar round the stem, are also unsafe ; but these 

 rules are not universally applicable in other genera. 



References to authorities rcsjyecting Fungi, from Merat & De 

 Lens'' Diet, de Mat. Med. etc. 



L. Botal., Fungus Stranguhitorius, Lugduni, 15G5, inlO; Clu- 

 sius. Fungi Ferniciosi, in rar. plant, exot., Anteverpia?, 1G02 ; J. 

 P. Breyne, De Fungis Officinalibus, Leydiv, 1702 ; Ilatte, Obs. 

 sur un empoisonnement par le champignon venenenx {Agaricus 

 hulbosusf), et sur I'antidote de ce poison (le vinaigre), Anc. Journ. 



