418 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by A. G. and B. keeper 



the pear-shaped puff-baix (Lycoperdon piriforme) 



This small, edible species may be found on almost any rotting 

 stump or log from July to late in the autumn. Natural size or a 

 little under (see also picture on opposite page). 



commendatory comments are : "Good, pre- 

 served in vinegar" (Richon and Roze) ; "Most 

 excellent" (Berkeley) ; "Fried with butter and 

 salt, it has a taste like lamb" (De Seynes). 



Dr. Peck, our own more recent authority, 

 says, it is "one of our most valuable mush- 

 rooms, but scarcely equal to the best. Doubt- 

 less differences of opinion concerning it may be 

 due in part to different methods in cooking." 



With regard to tastes, it is always well to 

 remember that they are individual; "other- 

 wise moths would not eat cloth." 



"When eaten in the raw state, the Orange- 

 Milk Lactar develops an acrid taste, and when 

 old its bright-orange coloring changes to dull, 

 grayish-greenish, unattractive hues. It is, 

 therefore, inadvisable to eat uncooked or old 

 specimens. Pickled in vinegar, however, it 



is very appetizing when 

 served as a relish with 

 cold meats. 



This desirable species 

 is found in moist, mossy 

 woods of pine, tamarack, 

 hemlock, etc. ; time, July 

 to October; distribution, 

 North America and 

 Europe. 



PAN2EOLUS Species 



Poisonous 



(See Color Plate VIII) 



Every collector of edi- 

 ble species should learn 

 to distinguish the Pan- 

 aeoli from Agaricits cam- 

 pester and the Coprini. 

 Because of the dark, 

 blackish coloring of their 

 gills, they are very apt 

 to get into a mess of 

 either of these species, 

 and when this happens 

 the eater is almost sure 

 to experience symptoms 

 of poisoning. The differ- 

 entiation of the species 

 is an extremely difficult 

 matter, but, generically, 

 they are easily recog- 

 nized by their slender 

 stems, grayish or reddish- 

 brown (sometimes hy- 

 grophanous), commonly 

 bell-shaped or obtusely 

 expanded caps, and — most 

 important — by the black, 

 or very nearly black, 

 spores that are borne on 

 non-deliquescent gills, 

 generally in spot-like 

 areas, causing the gills 

 to appear mottled with 

 black. 



The symptoms from 

 Panseolus poisoning ap- 

 pear very soon after the 

 fungi have been eaten, sometimes within fifteen 

 minutes. They seem to vary slightly, depending, 

 presumably, upon the species and the amount 

 consumed. The following have been recorded : 

 failure of muscular coordination, giddiness, 

 difficulty in standing, inability to walk, drowsi- 

 ness, lack of control of the emotions (inordi- 

 nate hilarity), incoherent or inappropriate 

 speech. The sight is usually affected, causing 

 the furniture to appear bent, pliable, and in 

 motion; and there are visions of beautiful 

 colors. Temporary paralysis of a limb may 

 occur. 



The effects of the intoxication are said to 

 pass off within a few hours : still, it would seem 

 that emetics ought to be administered without 

 delay to prevent the complete absorption of 

 the poisons. 



