28 



lUh ALUMNI JOURNAL. 



when it gets to this stage, but only when 

 it is young. I have found it in the 

 Quaker cemetery in Prospect Park. 



Of all the poisonous mushrooms, those 

 belonging to the group called A7nanita, 

 are the most interesting, because some of 

 the species resemble so treacherously some 

 other edible species of other groups, to all 

 but the initiated. 



The one that is most commonly mis- 

 taken for the edible field mushroom, is 

 the common Spring mushroom, or Amayi- 

 ita vernus. It is white all over, even on 

 the gills, which is not the case with the 

 field mushroom. It comes in the spring 

 time stead of the autumn, and it grows 

 in the woods instead of in pastures and 

 fields. 



Another point to be noticed in this as 

 well as in other species of this group, is 

 that there is a sheath at the base of the 

 stem; this is the remains of the volva. 

 Some mushrooms when young as we have 

 seen, are completely covered with a mem- 

 brane like a delicate eggshell. When this 

 ruptures a portion of it remains at the 

 bottom, and often some of it sticks to the 

 •cap in little warty excressenses. Not all 

 mushrooms with a volva are poisonous, 

 but it is wise as a rule for the unitiated to 

 leave a specimen alone, if it is provided 

 with this sheath at the base of the stem. 



Experiments show that a dog that was 

 fed upon a little cake made of this mush- 

 room, died six hours after eating it. It 

 is recorded among many other cases that 

 a French gentleman, his wife and child 

 ate of this mushroom, at six o'clock one 

 evening, and that the next day they 

 all suffered from nausea and fainting. 

 The father and child died, but the 

 woman's life was saved by the use of 

 emetics and stimulants. She, however, 

 continued to feel the effects of the poison- 

 ing for six months after. 



Yet in this so called deadly group 

 Amanita, whose very name is a symbol 



of death, there are several deliciously 

 edible kinds. One of these is called 

 Caesar's mushroom, or Amanita Caesari. 

 When it first appears it pushes itself out 

 of the ground and sits up on end like an 

 ^%% ; it is pure white for it is covered at 

 first by the volva which is present in all 

 the Amanitas and which is therefore 

 taken as a danger signal by the 

 wary. After a few days there ap- 

 pears something that looks like the yolk 

 of an egg, of a yellow or orange red 

 color protruding from it. This is the 

 first visible glimpse of the umbrella. If 

 the weather is damp it will go on in- 

 creasing in size and unfolding, until the 

 whole umbrella in the royal colors of 

 Caesar bursts forth. This edible Amanita 

 is not very common, but it may be found 

 in damp woods and hilly places all sum- 

 mer. It is a curious thing to watch 

 growing, and someone in describing it, 

 called it the "poultry mushroom " from 

 its egg-like appearance when it first 

 pushes its way out of the ground. 



Although this particular Amanita is 

 good to eat, the group as a whole should 

 be studied for the purpose of avoiding it 

 for it is not very safe to try experiments 

 with it as some of the species are fairly 

 good when quite young and very poison- 

 ous when older, and others are only fit 

 to eat if they have been prepared in a 

 certain way. 



The place to look for danger in the 

 Amanitas is not in the color but under- 

 neath the cap, for all the Amanitas have 

 pure white gills and white spores. They 

 all spring from a volva and have the re- 

 mains of it attached to the base of the 

 stem. This base is always bulbous. 

 This combination of characteristics con- 

 stitutes the danger .signal and when they 

 appear, beware ! 



The Fly Mushroom is said to be one of 

 the deadliest. It is a magnificent one to 

 look at, with its tall straight stem and 



