Clark and Smith : Toxicological Studies 
225 
the identity of the fungi definitely established by a mycologist but 
usually the cause seemed to be either Amanita phalloides or A. 
muscaria; twin sisters of death, known and feared from antiquity. 
Many newspaper clippings from several states and countries in- 
dicate that the accidents often resulted from mistaking Amanita 
phalloides for Agariciis campestris, the common cultivated 
“mushroom,” and Amanita muscaria for A. caesaria, much ap- 
preciated by a Caesar and later by somewhat reckless epicures. 
We have been concerned only with the less common and striking 
species such as Inocybe and Clitocybc but it is very desirable that 
all fungi having poisonous properties should be so designated and 
always treated with caution. With the exception of the pioneer 
work of Ford very little chemical and toxicological study has 
been given to American mushrooms. 
Previous Toxicological Studies on Clitocybe and Inocybe 
These two groups of fungi had not usually been regarded with 
suspicion as to their poisonous nature until various observers 
began to report unpleasant results following their consumption. 
Recently, specific charges of being poisonous have been brought 
against Inocybe infida by MurrilF and ourselves,^ against Inocybe 
infelix by Ford,® against Clitocybe dealbata sudorifica by Ford 
and Sherrick,* and also against Inocybe decipiens by the 
same observers.® In Clitocybe illudens Ford® found a poison 
that was fatal to guinea-pigs but not to rabbits. As an edible 
fungus this plant has never been popular, possibly because its 
phosphorescent glow at night is not reassuring. Injection ex- 
periments with frogs showed that extracts of Clitocybe multiceps 
were harmless, as was expected. In the Inocybe infida we sepa- 
rated, by muscarin isolation methods, a water-soluble substance 
which, after injection into frogs, caused a prolonged state of 
paralysis often followed by complete recovery in a day or two. 
The aqueous extracts of Inocybe infelix prepared by Ford exerted 
* Ford and Sherrick. On the Properties of Several Species of the Poly- 
poraceae and of a New Clitocybe, etc. Jour. Pharmacol, and Exp. Thera- 
peutics 2: 549-58. 1911. 
' Ford and Sherrick. Further Obser\-ations on Fungi, etc. Jour. 
Pharmacol, and Exp. Therapeutics 4: 321-32. 1913. 
