458 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTrRE. 



is the commou mnsliroom, and it is to the fly agaric that recent cases 

 of x^oisoning in Washington, D. C, were cine. 



When the flv agaric is vonng the unexpanded jjileus is convex, 

 almost globose, and densely covered vrith large, more or less con- 

 centric warts, which, as the pilens exi)ands and becomes flat topped, 

 sex)arate from one another. Wlien old, and especially late in the sea- 

 son, the pileus loses its brilliant color and is then a pale yellow or 

 even a dirtj^ white; but even in this case the absence of the brownish- 

 purple gills and the diflierent stalk make it easy to distinguish it 

 from the common mushroom. 



The fly agaric bears a much closer resemblance, and in its paler 

 condition a decided resemblance, to one of the best of our edible 

 fungi, Amaniia ruhescens, so called because the flesh generally has a 

 reddish tinge; but that species is not to be recommended to the 

 novice, since it is sometimes difficult to recognize. The writer has 

 no desire to indulge in tliis really delicious fungus, nnless it be col- 

 lected by someone of whose expert knowledge he is quite sure. It 

 is possible that Count de Tecchi, who recentlj^ died from eating the 

 fly agaric, although he was believed to have some knowledge of the 

 different kinds o^ fungi, may liave mistaken tlie fly agaric, gathered 

 late in the season, when it is generally paler than in midsummer, for 

 Amanita ruhescens. It is, however, i)ossible that he mistook the fly 

 agaric for the royal agaric {Amanita ccesai^ea), one of the most highly 

 prized edible species, which is not common in the Xorthern States, but 

 is more common in the Southern. It resembles the fly agaric in the 

 color of the pileus, but is distinguished from it in not generally having 

 the wart -like scales found on the fly agaric, and esi^ecially in having 

 the gills, ring, and stalk yellow instead of white, and in having no 

 flocculent scales around the stalk, but instead a bag-like membrane, 

 through which the stalk x^rotrudes. With these marked differences, 

 there seems to be no good reason why the fly agaric should be 

 mistaken for the royal agaric. 



THE DEADLY AGARIC. 



The second j)oisonous species, which has been mistaken for the 

 common mushroom, and which has been more frequently the cause of 

 death than any other, is Amanita pliaJloides, Avell named the deadly 

 agaric (PI. XXIII). It is rather common and grows singly in woods 

 and on the borders of fields, rarely appearing in lawns, and is not pre- 

 eminently an inhabitant of grassy pastures, like the mushroom. It 

 X3refers a damper and less sand}' soil than that chosen by the fl}' 

 agaric. The pileus is often a shining white, but may be of any 

 shade, from a pale dull yellow to olive, and when wet is more slim}' 

 than the mushroom or the fly agaric. It has no distinct scales and 

 only occasionally a few membranous patches on the pileus. The gills 

 and stalk are white, and the latter has a large ring like the flyagaric, 



