MUSHROOMS AND TOADSTOOLS 



1373 



More Certain' Methods 



There are, then, no tests to be applied 

 with any certainty and the question still 

 before us is: How may one tell the 

 poisonous from the innocent species? 

 There are two methods: 



1. By eating them! This is, however, 

 a tedious process and one attended with 

 more or less danger. It is not to be rec- 

 ommended, especially to the beginner. If 

 tried, the following process is usually 

 recommended. A very small bit of the 

 raw toadstool is chewed but none of the 

 juice swallowed. If after 24 hours no 

 disagreeable result is experienced, a sim- 

 ilar bit is chewed and some of the juice 

 swallowed. If after a similar interval 

 no disagreeable symptoms result, a small 

 piece may be chewed and swallowed. If 

 nothing suspicious occurs after 24 or 36 

 hours, a fair quantity may be tested by 

 cooking and eating. It is proper to warn 

 the novice that this may be done safely 

 only after learning to distinguish the 

 most poisonous species (especially the 

 species of Amanita mentioned later on), 

 since of some of these it needs only a 

 very small piece to produce serious 

 poisonous effects. 



2. By learning of the experience of 

 others. There has been accumulated a 

 certain amount of knowledge concerning 

 the innocent or poisonous character of 

 toadstools. While this body of knowledge 

 is not complete, and while there are cer- 

 tain parts of it about which there is lack 

 of agreement, a considerable number of 

 toadstools are well known to be either 

 poisonous or edible. How then is one to 

 avail himself of this knowledge? By 

 studying the toadstools and the various 

 books written on the subject. Much that 

 is reliable and satisfactory may be 

 learned in this way. One must learn to 

 know the various kinds of toadstools as 

 one learns to know the ordinary plants 

 of hill and forest and garden. 



What are the distinguishing marks of 

 difference among toadstools? 



I. In general, each toadstool possesses 

 an upper flattened horizontal structure 

 which is usually called the "cap," or 

 botanically. the "pileus," and a stalk. 



botanically called the "stipe." In some 

 cases, the stalk or stipe fits into a swol- 

 len cup-like structure at the base which 

 is called the "volva." The presence or 

 absence of a volva is a matter of consid- 

 erable importance; consequently in study- 

 ing toadstools one should be careful to 

 obtain the very base. Many toadstools 

 have a sort of ring or collar encircling 

 the stipe somewhere between the base 

 and the pileus. 



II. Structures of very great impor- 

 tance are those found on the under side 

 of the cap or pileus. This portion of the 

 pileus is called the "hymenium." By the 

 difference in the structure of the hyme- 

 nium, toadstools may be divided into four 

 classes, as follows: 



1. Hymenium smooth. There are not 

 many toadstools in this group and few 

 of them of a texture sufficiently soft to 

 allow of eating. There are no poisonous 

 species known in this group. 



2. Hymenium spiny. These are called 

 "Hedgehog Toadstools or Mushrooms." 

 The species possible of being eaten are 

 few and none of them, so far as is known, 

 is poisonous. 



3. Hymenium porose. The hymenium 

 in the toadstools of this group is made 

 up of closely crowded tubes, perpendicu- 

 lar to the horizontal diameter of the pi- 

 leus, as may be seen by breaking the pi- 

 ieus open. It is the mouths or openings 

 of these tubes which give the surface of 

 the hymenium its porous or spongy ap- 

 pearance. There are many species in this 

 group; some are innocent and some are 

 poisonous. They are all to be avoided by 

 the beginner until he has learned to dis- 

 tinguish them from the descriptions of 

 pictures in the books or has had the dis- 

 tinguishing characters pointed out by one 

 who is acquainted with them. 



4. Hymenium made up of "gills." 

 "Gills" are flattened, knife-blade-like 

 structures radiating out from the center 

 of the lower side of the pileus or cap to 

 the circumference. Some extend from the 

 place where the stipe joins the under 

 side of the pileus to the circumference, 

 while shorter ones extend from some 

 point farther out to the circumference. 



