106 '^^^ £01^MICAL:JmGAZlNM-j:i- -- [Vol. XXV. i^o. -29^ 



this excellent professor who made the first, scieutifi? ^stujdy .of 

 Japanese poisonous fungi. : ■ "T" ,: :■ :izx. ".'■ v^i^ 



n. Identification of the Fungus in Question. 



Since I had become interested in the study of this fungus, I 

 was verA^ anxious to know more about its nature. An applica- 

 tion was made to the medical college of the Tokj^o Imperial 

 University to give me access to Inoko's notes, specimens, and; 

 sketches, if any had been left ; but there were none, and I was 

 compelled to investigate for m^'self the fungus in question. 



In my first effort I tried to ascertain what the fungus was 

 by consulting the existing literature in which the names, " Sasa- 

 take," bamboo-grass-mushroom, " Yabutake," bamboo-jungle- 

 mushroom, &c. appeared. 



I found a considerable number of the fungi mentioned under 

 these Japanese names, but some of them did not agree in form 

 and character with the fungus in question and others were too 

 incompletely described for the scientific use. Then I tried to 

 trace these fungi which are now found under the same name in 

 different districts of Japan. I examined some detailed correspon- 

 dences concerning these fungi received b}' the Major Forestry 

 Office from seven branch offices in different territories, and I 

 soon knew that the above mentioned colloquial names had been 

 generally given to some edible mushrooms. Only in two dis- 

 tricts, Nagano and Kagoshima, were thej^ used for a species 

 of poisonous fungus which differs, however, in its effect from 

 the poisonous fungus under discussion. There is much con- 

 fusion in Japanese nomenclature owing to the fact tl^at 

 the same name is given to different fungi in different districts 

 or that the same fungus has different names in different localities. 



The next attempt was to locate any one of the poisoned 

 men, if possible and to let him find the ver}' species of fungus by 

 which he had been poisoned. For this purpose I vsent a letter 

 in October, 1908, to the Head Office of Kitaaizu-gori requesting 

 its aid in finding one of the poisoned men. Mr. T. Komatsu, 



