15 



To illustrate my meaning I take the first sub-genus of 

 Agarics on the sheets — namely, Amanita. In this section 

 the spores and gills are white, and where a sheath at first 

 encloses the plant it soon breaks up into a cup at the base, 

 leaving patches or scales on the cap or pileus. Amanita 

 mbescens is a very common Fungus in woods ; it is esculent 

 and highly prized by some people, though to myself 

 it tastes like whitewash. Now its immediate neighbour — 

 Amanita phalloides is virulently poisonous; even a 

 portion of a single plant has been known to produce death. 

 In this case the poison seems to reside largely in the bulbous 

 base of the stem. It is an alkaloid which in common with 

 the poison of other Amanites is called Amanitine. The 

 action in all seems to be the same ; it is narcotico-acrid; the 

 symptoms comprise derangement of the nervous system, 

 rapid coma and death ; smaller quantities produce functional 

 disturbances. Its chemical constitution is C5 H^j NO2, 

 its proper title, Trimethyloxethylammonium hydrate. 



It is a remarkble fact that this base seems to be 

 identical with the animal bases — choline which is obtained 

 from bile, and neurine which is obtained from brain and 

 nerve tissue — thus giving us another link between these Fungi 

 and the animal kingdom. Now if you take away from this 

 base two atoms of Hydrogen you get Muscarine, Cj H,3 NO2, 

 a still more poisonous alkaloid which is found in Amanita 

 mtiscariuSf a lovely Fungus of a brilliant scarlet colour, 

 closely allied to the esculent A. rubescens already mentioned. 

 Its trivial name arises from the fact that it used to be 

 employed as a fly poison. In Eastern Siberia it is used to 

 produce a wild and furious intoxication. Although Muscarine 

 is more active as a poison than Amanitine, yet A. muscarius 

 is not so injurious as some other Amanites, probably 

 because in it the alkaloid is less concentrated. Amanita 

 vermis which, as its name implies, is found in spring and which 

 is white in all its parts, and A. mappa which is white or 

 primrose coloured, are two most graceful and innocent 

 looking Fungi, but yet they are full of Amanitine, and 



