1U2 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXX. No. 760 



loides. The hemolysin we believe to play 

 no role in human intoxications, the toxin 

 being the active principle — since it can be 

 boiled and resists the action of the gastric 

 juice. I have furthermore pointed out^' 

 that the lesions seen in fatal cases of poi- 

 soning in man can be reproduced in ani- 

 mals by the amanita-toxin alone, but I am 

 by no means certain that the amanita- 

 hemolysin can be entirely eliminated in 

 human intoxications. This substance is at 

 times present in Amanita phalloides in the 

 greatest abundance, and is more resistant 

 to heat than is usually believed. Should 

 the fungi be eaten raw or only partially 

 cooked, this poison might escape the action 

 of the digestive ferments, especially if 

 these be deficient in quantity or quality, 

 and assist the amanita-toxin in its deadly 

 work. Against this possibility we have the 

 fact that Amanita ruhescens, considered 

 by the majority of mycologists to be an 

 edible mushroom, contains a hemolysin 

 equally powerful with that of Amanita 

 phalloides. We can only say that the 

 heat-resistant amanita-toxin is the active 

 principle in the sense that by itself it is 

 capable of causing a fatal intoxication 

 even if the hemolysin is inactive. Never- 

 theless the fact that the amanita-hemo- 

 lysin may exert an adjuvant action in 

 eases of poisoning raises at once the ques- 

 tion whether fungi containing hemolytic 

 substances should be regarded as entirely 

 safe. 



Kobert"^ in the chapter on fungi in his 

 recent text-book ascribes to Amanita phal- 

 loides first, a blood-laking substance, 

 phallin, which he states to be a toxalbumin 

 despite the observations of Dr. Abel and 

 myself which prove that the hemolysin in 



" Ford, Jour, of Infect. Dis., Vol. 5, No. 2, 

 March 30, 1908, pp. 11&-132. 



'^ Kobert, " Lehrbuch der Intoxikationen," 

 Zweite Aufl., II^ p. 625, 1906. 



this fungus is a glucoside, secondly, an 

 alcohol-soluble poison, not producing fatty 

 degeneration, which he believes to be an 

 alkaloid, and finally a third hypothetical 

 poison, a toxalbumin like thujon and 

 pulegon, certain complex substances found 

 in plants (pennyroyal). In the second 

 poison Kobert is probably dealing with the 

 amanita-toxin, which is not an alkaloid 

 and which I think does produce fatty de- 

 generation, and his third poison is purely 

 supposititious. He himself presents no evi- 

 dence of its existence, and while we can 

 not deny that Amanita phalloides may 

 contain at times other poisons not noted by 

 us, we are inclined to the opinion that the 

 amanita-hemolysin and the amanita-toxin 

 are the most important, if not the only 

 ones. 



Specimens of small amanitas collected 

 in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Maryland 

 and identified as Amanita verna BuUiard 

 were presented in special lots. "When ex- 

 amined their properties were quite the 

 same as those of Amanita phalloides. The 

 strength of both hemolysin and toxin, 

 however, was considerably greater when 

 the weight of the dried specimens was con- 

 sidered. 



Amamita muscaria Linnseus 



The species known as the "fly agaric" 

 (Fliegenpilz or Fliegenschwamm of the 

 Germans) has been recognized from early 

 times as deadly poisonous, the first acci- 

 dent on record being possibly that of 

 Madame the Princess of Conti in Pon- 

 tainebleau in 1751. This, however, did 

 not terminate fatally. Amanita muscaria 

 is a beautiful species when fully developed 

 and to a certain extent it resembles 

 Amanita cwsaria or Amanita aurantiaca, 

 French writers distinguishing between the 

 two species by referring to the edible form 

 as the "oronge vraie" and to the poison- 



