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ally "having a warty instead of a smooth cap. Both grow in pine and 

 oak forests from spring to autumn, but the edible species does not 

 appear so late in the autumn as the other. From the common mush- 

 room (Agaricus campestris) the fly amanita is easily distinguished by 

 having white instead of purple gills and spores, by its warty cap and 

 bulbous stem, and by its place of growth — the meadow mushroom never 

 appearing in forests. The fly amanita is abundant in several localities 

 in the United States. 



It is the best known of all the poisonous species of fungi. As a fly 

 poison it has been used in Europe for hundreds of years, and the origin 

 of its use in northeastern Asia as an intoxicant is probably not much 

 more modern. Poisoning is, however, not so frequently caused by it as 

 by the closely related and more poisonous death cup (Amanita phal- 

 loides), yet many cases have been recorded, the most notable recent 

 instance being that which occurred at Washington, D. 0., on Novem- 

 ber 10, 1897, when Count de Vecchj died, having eaten the fungus for 

 breakfast the preceding morning. Cattle are poisoned as well as men, 

 and it is supposed that their flesh is thus rendered unwholesome. 



Poisonous elements. — Several poisonous compounds are present in this 

 fungus, the best known of which is the alkaloid muscarine. This is 

 probably present in all parts of the fungus, but appears to be especially 

 abundant in the spore-bearing surface or gills. When fed to animals 

 this alkaloid produces an effect which is nearly but not quite that pro- 

 duced by the plant itself. 



Symptoms of poisoning. — As deduced from experiments on animals, 

 from authentic records of the effect on men who use small amounts of 

 the fungus as an intoxicant, and from reliable descriptions of several 

 cases of accidental poisoning, the symptoms come on generally within 

 a couple of hours after the fungus is eaten. In some cases, however, 

 which are alleged to have been caused by this species, the effects have 

 begun to show themselves only after several hours. Characteristic 

 symptoms in cases of poisoning are the retardation of the heart's action 

 and an extreme difficulty in breathing. After from two to three hours 

 there is a profound stupor, often preceded or accompanied by cold sweats 

 and nervous phenomena — such as giddiness, double vision, and lockjaw. 

 Vomiting sometimes gives relief to the patient, but it is often difficult 

 to produce this effect after narcosis has set in, even with the most pow- 

 erful emetics — such as apomorphine. Pain at the stomach is not a 

 characteristic sympton of this poison. The stupor may last from eight 

 to ten hours, in milder cases, and one or two days, in more serious cases. 

 Death follows in from eighteen hours to two or three days, from a 

 gradual weakening and a final stoppage of the heart's action. 



Treatment. — The treatment for the fly amanita poison consists pri- 

 marily in removing the undigested fungus from the alimentary canal, 

 and in counteracting the effects of the muscarine upon the heart. The 

 action of this organ should be fortified at once by hypodermic injec- 



