News and Notes 



293 



Fleshy fungi have been scarce, but a number of interesting woody 

 forms have been found and studied in relation to their hosts. Dr. 

 House remarks in a recent letter from Oregon that " except for 

 Ganoderma oregonense and Echinodontium tinctorium, the woody 

 fungi and wood-destroying fungi do not appear to differ much 

 from those in the East, the same species being common." 



The report of the state botanist, Dr. C. H. Peck, for 1910 is a 

 pamphlet of 86 pages and 6 colored plates, containing descriptions 

 of 22 new species of New York fungi and 31 new fungi from 

 other states. Boletus albus, Cantharellus aurantiacm, Lactarius 

 camphoratus, Lactarius lignyotus, and Lycoperdon atropurpureum 

 are figured and described at length in continuation of a list of 

 edible fungi. Among notes on species, Clitocybe dealbata sudori- 

 fica is described as causing profuse perspiration, having been 

 used by Mr. Howland, of Saratoga Springs, to break up a cold. 

 Very serviceable descriptive lists of the New York species of 

 Hypholoma and Psathyra conclude this excellent report. Dr. 

 Peck has been assisted in its preparation by Mr. S. H. Burnham. 



The recent epidemic of mushroom poisoning, during which 

 about thirty persons lost their lives within a few weeks in the 

 vicinity of New York City alone, was undoubtedly due to the 

 prevalence of the white form of the deadly amanita, or " destroy- 

 ing angel," in the groves and woodlands of this region. After 

 the heavy and continued rains of the last week in August, follow- 

 ing a prolonged drought, mushrooms of many kinds sprang up in 

 great quantity, the white form of the deadly amanita being con- 

 spicuous because of its color and large size, as well as because 

 of its abundance. 



The fatalities were mainly among the ignorant and foreign- 

 born, -who, to my personal knowledge, often collect everything 

 they find in the form of a fleshy mushroom as they scour a piece 

 of woodland, at times leaving behind them the " cups " of the 

 poisonous species imbedded in the soil. These same persons not 

 only eat the specimens themselves, but also sell them to shop- 

 keepers and share them with their friends. The white form of 



