MISCELLANEOUS CROPS 651 



hollow stalk, with a large ring, and a prominent bulb at the base, 

 whose upper margin is membranous or bag-like. (4) Other minor 

 points of difference are the different places in which these species 



frow, and also the colors, which, although they vary in each case, are 

 rilliant yellow or red in the fly agaric, white varying to pale olive 

 in the deadly agaric, and white usually tinged with a little brown 

 in the mushroom. (5) A word should be said as to the size and pro- 

 portions of the pileus and stalk in these three species. In the mush- 

 room the pileus averages from 3 to 4 inches in breadth, and the stalk 

 is generally shorter than the breadth of the pileus and comparatively 

 stout. The pileus remains convex for a long time, and does not be- 

 come quite flatrtopped until old. The substance is firm and solid. 

 In the fly agaric the pileus, at first oval and convex, soon becomes 

 flat and attains a breadth of 6 to 8 inches and sometimes more. The 

 stalk has a length equal to or slightly exceeding the breadth of the 

 pileus, and is comparatively slenderer than in the common mush- 

 room, but nevertheless rather stout. The substance is less firm than 

 in the common mushroom. (6) The pileus of the deadly agaric is 

 thinner than that of the common mushroom, and, from being rather 

 bell-shaped when young, becomes gradually flat-topped with the cen- 

 ter a little raised. In breadth it is intermediate between the two pre- 

 ceding species. The stalk usually as longer than the breadth of the 

 pileus, and the habit is slenderer than in the two preceding species. 

 All three species are pleasant to the taste, which shows that one can 

 not infer that a species is not poisonous because the taste is agree- 

 able. The fly agaric has scarcely any odor. The other two species 

 have certain odors of their own, but they can not be described. (Y. 

 B. 1897.) 



Rules for Gathering Mushrooms. The different popular testa 

 for distinguishing edible from poisonous fungi, such as, for 

 instance, the blackening of a silver coin or spoon when placed in 

 a mass of poisonous fungi while they are being cooked, are all ab- 

 solutely worthless. There is no test which can be applied, nor 

 should reliance be placed, at least by the beginner, upon the fact 

 that in some cases the poisonous substances may be removed by 

 cooking in milk or vinegar. In such cases the danger may be only 

 increased unless care is taken to remove all the vinegar or milk, 

 and, in general, common sense warns us not to eat any fungus 

 supposed to contain an active poison which requires to be removed 

 by special treatment. The eating of such species should be left to 

 the scientific experimenter. On the other hand, it need not be 

 assumed that a fungus is poisonous when it is merely indigestible 

 in consequence of the way in which it is cooked. 



It is beyond the province of this article to discuss the nature 

 of the poison of different fungi, but it should be said in general that 

 the poisonous effects are of two kinds: The irritant, which affect 

 the stomach and digestive organs directly, and show their effects 

 soon after eating; and the narcotic, much more dangerous, which 

 act upon the nervous centers and do not produce poisonous symp- 

 toms until after a number of hours, usually eight or ten. The 



