Ford and Clark: Properties of Poisonous Fungi 169 
English and French literature since 1900. More recently Clark 
and Smith 11 have called attention to the great increase of mush- 
room poisoning in this country and have indicated that many of 
these cases take place within a few days’ time. Thus, in Septem- 
ber 1911, 22 deaths occurred in the vicinity of New York City in 
one period of ten days. The same point is also clear in the recent 
statistics given for France by Sartory 12 who records 249 cases of 
fungous poisoning with 153 deaths due chiefly to Amanita phal- 
loidcs and a few Entoloma livid um. Of these, 90 per cent, 
occurred in the short time between August 26th and September 
10th, 1912. Finally, one of the best of the modern French publi- 
cations on poisonous fungi is that of Ferry 13 former editor of 
the Revue Mycologique who has given an excellent account of the 
most recent work in this field. A number of different species of 
mushrooms are poisonous, the symptoms which occur depending 
upon the presence of definite chemical substances in the plants. 
This can best be illustrated by a consideration of each species in- 
dependently. 
Poisoning by Amanita phalloides Bulliard 
Botanical features 
The vast majority of cases of mushroom intoxication are 
caused by Amanita phalloides, the white or deadly Amanita. The 
earlier species such as Amanita bulbosa Persoon and its varieties, 
alba, citrina, virescens and olivacea, Agaricns bulbosus Bulliard, 
Amanita viridis Persoon, Amanita venenosa Persoon and a num- 
ber of others are without doubt identical with Amanita phalloides. 
In older French literature it is known as “ l’orange cigue,” 
“ l’orange blanche ou citronee,” “ l’orange cigue jaunatre” and 
“ l’orange souris ” and in the German as “Knollblatterschwamm.” 
This species has a characteristic appearance and should be readily 
recognized by collectors of even limited experience. It usually 
grows to a height of 5-7 inches and its white spores, its ring or 
annulus and its base or cup (frequently called the poison cup) 
render its identification comparatively simple. The colors of the 
pileus, varying from brownish amber to yellow, are important, 
but are not as a rule regarded as of specific value. In Europe 
the pileus is usually greenish in color, but in America the green- 
