on their head for 24 hours to detect leakage, then boil again for 

 one hour. This second boiling should be done exactly 24 hours after 

 the first. The leaking jars should be processed over again. The 

 glass jars should be protected from direct contact with the bottom 

 of the boiler. 



26. Poisonous and Edible Mushrooms 



By Dr. W. G. FARLOW, Harvard University. 



The difference between the common edible mushroom and the 

 fly agaric and deadly agaric, which the rfeader can easily remember, 

 are as follows: 



(1) The common mushroom has a pileus which is not covered 

 with wart-like scales; gills which are brownish purple when mature; 

 a nearly cylindrical stalk, which is not hollow, with a ring near the 

 middle, and without a bulbous base sheathed by a membrane or 

 by scales. 



(2) The fly agaric has a pileus marked with prominent warts; 

 gills always white; a stalk, with a large ring "around the upper part, 

 and hollow or cottony inside, but solid at the base, where it is bul- 

 bous and scaly. 



(3) The deadly agaric has a pileus without distinct warts; gills 

 are always white, and a hollow stalk, with a large ring, and a promi- 

 nent bulb at the base, whose upper margin is membraneous or bag- 

 like. 



(4) Other minor points of difference are the differ-ent places in 

 which these species grow, and also the colors, which, although they 

 vary in each case, are brilliant yellow or red in the fly agaric, white 

 varying to 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 proportions of pileus 

 and stalk in these three species. In the mushroom the pileus aver- 

 ages 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 become quite flat topped 

 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 



31 



