48 EDIBLE MUSHROOMS 



of such a socket, should be labelled '■'■poison "; for, though 



some of the species having this cup are edible, from 



the popular point of view, it is wiser and certainly 



safer to condemn the entire group. 



The But the cup must be sought for. We 



poison=cup shall thus at least avoid the possible 

 danger of a fatal termination to our 

 amateur experiments in gustatory mycology; for, 

 while various other mushrooms might, and do, in- 

 duce even serious illness through digestive disturb- 

 ance, and secondary, possibly fatal, complications, 

 the Amanita group are now conceded to be the only 

 fungi which contain a positive, active poisonous prin- 

 ciple whose certain logical consequence is death. 



Another structural feature of the Amanita is shown 



in the illustration, but has been omitted from the 



above consideration to avoid confusion. 



The "veil" This is the "veil " which, in the young 



or shroud mushroom, originally connected the 



edge of the cap, or pileus, with the 



stem, and whose gradual rupture necessarily follows 



the expansion of the cap, until a mere frill or ring 



is left about the stem at the original point of contact. 



But this feature is a frequent character in many 

 edible mushrooms, as witness the several examples in 

 the edible species of our plates, and therefore of no 

 dangerous significance per se, being merely a mem- 

 brane which protects the growing gills. 



Nor are the other features, the remnants of the 

 volva on the summit of the cap, to be considered of 

 primary importance from the popular point of view, 

 for the reason— firstly, that these fragments, while con- 



