431 



the loss of strength is very rapid. Death usually occurs in four to 

 six days in children and in eight to ten days in adults, but if large 

 quantities of the fungus are eaten, death may occur within forty-eight 

 hours. One or two specimens are often enough to cause death. There 

 is no satisfactory method of treatment. Of course medical advice 

 should be obtained as soon as possible and every effort made to rid 

 the alimentary canal -of the poisonous material, but the absorption of 

 the poison takes place so rapidly that even when the first symptoms 

 appear it mav be too late to save the patient. Stimulants should be 

 emploved freely in the hope of tiding the patient over the periods of 

 weakness, and narcotics should be used to relieve the intense pains. 

 Atropin has no effect at all on this poison. 



Another group of Amanitas, to which belongs Ajuaiiifa cotJuirnata 

 (page 451), are entirely different in their poisonous properties. They 

 are deadly poison, but in one respect they are not so bad as the other 

 group, for there is an antidote for the poison. The poison is an al- 

 kaloid known as muscarin, and atropin is a perfect physiological anti- 

 dote for it. The clinical s^■mpt()ms are quite different from those in 

 the case of Amanita I'crna. The first signs of trouble usually appear 

 in one to five hours. The i)atient shows excessive salivation and per- 

 spiration, a flow of tears, and vomiting. Mental symptoms are also 

 present, particularlv giddiness with confusion of ideas, and, sometimes, 

 delirium and violent convulsions. Atropin should 1)e given at once 

 and in large doses, and at the same time the alimentary canal should 

 be emptied of the ingested material as cjuickly as possible. Prompt 

 action on the part of a competent physician shoidd in most cases save 

 the patient. 



Other poisonous mushrooms, such as Clitocybc illiidciis (page 513) 

 and Lcf^iota Morgani (page 459), are usually not so dangerous as the 

 Amanitas, and a physician, if called within a reasonable time, will, 

 as a rule, be able to effect a cure. 



Coi.i,KCTiNG W11.D Mushrooms 



The first and most imi)ortant thing, to be remem!)ered by the per- 

 son who is going to collect wild mushrooms for the table is that he 

 must collect only such species as he is perfectly familiar with, and 

 only such specimens as he is perfectly sure belong to one of those 

 species. Any one who will accept a mushroom merely because the 

 gills are pink or because the "skin" of the cap will peel off, or merely 

 because it is growing along with a well-known species or in a place 

 where a well-known species has previouslv been collected, has no 

 business collecting for the table, for he is certain, sooner or later, to 

 get some poisonous specimens mixed in with the good ones. But 



