se 
AN ENCYCLOPADIA 
OF HORTICULTURE. 397 
Mushrooms—continued. 
quently removed by this treatment. Among the most 
poisonous of the commoner Mushrooms is Agaricus 
(Amanita) muscarius, or the Fly Agaric, a large Mush- 
room, with a red cap, studded over with pale warts 
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(see Fig. 613), common in woods in Britain. This plant, if 
eaten, even in small amounts, causes headache, nausea, 
and delirium, and often convulsions, followed by stupor ; 
and the urine of those who have eaten it, when swal- 
lowed, produces the same effects. It is occasionally used 
as a fly poison, whence its name. Russula emetica, with 
smooth red cap and white gills, also found in woods, 
is very poisonous, giving rise to vomiting and purging. 
Many others, more or less virulent, might be dwelt 
upon, did space allow. But, besides directly bad effects, 
many Mushrooms are scarcely less hurtful indirectly, by 
the evil they do to trees and other plants, unless, in- 
deed, we suppose the fungi to follow, not to cause, 
disease. From this point of view, Agaricus melleus is 
probably the most hurtful of the true, or gill-bearing, 
Mushrooms. It grows usually in dead or dying wood, 
but it also attacks cnt or bruised surfaces, and from 
these its mycelium extends to the healthy wood, and 
soon causes the latter to decay. Very frequently, the 
Mushrooms—continued. 
mycelium forms black root-like bodies, running between 
the wood and the bark of the tree, emitting short 
branches at right angles to the larger ones. It is pecu- 
liarly injurious to conifers, and seems to be almost cos- 
mopolitan in temperate zones. Its evil properties may be 
regarded as slightly compensated by its being edible, 
though not highly esteemed because of its acrid, dis- 
agreeable taste. The stalk is yellowish, with a blackish 
tinge at the base, 3in. or 4in. long, at last becoming 
hollow, and near the top bearing a complete annulus. 
The cap is yellow-brown (or may show a greenish tinge), 
with the centre darker, and bears scattered brown 
scales. The gills are white or yellowish, and are broad 
but unequal. The cap has a peculiar earthy aspect. 
The pore-bearing Fungi are yet more hurtful than Agarics, 
and several species of Polyporus may be enumerated 
that are markedly injurious to trees. Observations 
upon their powers of doing harm have been made far 
more completely in Germany than in our native forests. 
Space will permit here of little more than an enumera- 
tion of some of the more generally distributed of the 
hurtful kinds, e.g., P. sulphureus, on Oak, Willow, Larch, 
K.; P. dryadeus, on Oak; P. betulinus, on Birch; 
P. igniarius, on Poplars, Willows, Ash, Cherry, &.; and 
P. vaporarius, on conifers. The nearly allied Trametes 
Pint and T. radiciperda are very fatal at times to 
Pines on the Continent; and Fistulina hepatica causes 
the decay of Oak. Wood prepared or made use of for 
building houses or ships is also liable to injury unless 
thoroughly seasoned and kept in a dry place ; and Dry- 
rot is but too familiar to many a householder, because 
of the rapid decay induced by the mycelium of Fungi, 
by which the wood is brought into a powdery, rotten 
state. The species that generally bring about this con- 
dition are Merulius lacrymans (which see), Poly- 
porus hybridus, and P. vaporarius; but others also are 
known to be destructive. 
Remedies. Upon the nature of the injuries done 
by Fungi, the remedies must, of course, depend. To 
avoid evil effects from the use of Mushrooms as food, 
great care must be exercised to insure that only edible 
kinds shall be gathered and made use of. Long ex- 
posure to heat in cooking, combined with the free use 
of salt and of vinegar, has been found to remove the 
poisonous properties of many species, but not of all. 
Should evil results follow the use of Mushrooms in food, 
the readiest means for the removal of the food by 
emetics and purgatives should be resorted to, and a 
doctor should be summoned without delay. It is hardly 
possible to prevent the death of trees attacked by such 
Fungi as Agaricus melleus or Polyporus squamosus, since 
the wood is full of their mycelium. Unless the trees 
are of very peculiar value, it is better to destroy 
at once, in order to prevent the ing to 
other trees. Prevention is far better than cure, and 
more regard must be paid to the preservation of those 
still sound than to keeping the diseased one. Young 
trees should never be planted in soil in which there are 
decaying pieces of wood. For the treatment of Dry-rot, 
see Merulius lacrymans. ; 
A few words may be added upon the geographical 
distribution of Mushrooms. Many of them are known 
to be almost cosmopolitan, or to be distributed in 
countries very wide apart; while others are, as yet, 
known to occur only in very limited areas, probably 
because of the small number of workers in this group 
of plants leaving our information regarding them very 
incomplete. The genus Agaricus is more abundant, and 
its species are more fleshy, in temperate than in 
tropical latitudes. On the contrary, Polypori are more 
numerous and striking in tropical regions. In tem- 
perate climates, Mushrooms are most numerous in 
autumn; but, in tropical countries, they appear all the 
