THE AMANITA SOLITAR1US DESCRIBED. 331 



Thus, the Amanita formosa of Persoon has pedicel, pileus, 

 and warts of the pileus, of a citron yellow. It is but a variety 

 of the Amanita muscaria. 



The Amanita umbrina of the same botanist (the Agaricus 

 pantherinus of De Candolle) has an olive-coloured pileus ; its 

 surface, like that of Amanita muscaria, is covered with white 

 scales. 



The Amanita solitarius is distinguished by the size of its 

 umbilical cap, sometimes depressed in the centre, which is 

 furnished with a great number of white or pale brown scales ; 

 when fully developed, it measures from thirty to forty centi- 

 metres in diameter. The pedicel is bulbous, with a mem- 

 branous ring, white as snow, clasped around it ; at the base 

 it is clothed in pellicles, the remains of its scaly volva. The 

 flesh is firm, thick, and white. You rarely meet with more 

 than two or three individuals in the same locality ; hence its 

 name of solitarius. Bulliard speaks of the flesh as good to 

 eat, when cooked on a gridiron, and seasoned with fresh 

 butter, salt, and pepper. It is possible. But as it is so easily 

 confused with the poisonous species, the author of the " His- 

 toire des Champignons " would have done better to prohibit its 

 consumption, whether eatable or not. 



We may now turn to the method adopted by Dr Vicat to 

 save the lives of the two families at Lausanne, who, as we 

 have seen, were poisoned by partaking of the Amanita ; 



I dissolved, he says, six grains of tartar emetic in a litre of 

 water, and from time to time administered a spoonful to my 



