226 
Mycologia 
a powerful narcotic effect on the nervous system of rabbits and 
guinea-pigs, described as a profound depression lasting for hours, 
sometimes with complete recovery. It is evident that these two 
Inocybes contain poisonous material acting as a strong narcotic 
agent but not necessarily causing death. Muscarin itself does 
not produce the symptoms already described and the mixed 
poisons of Amanita muscaria give still another series of effects 
upon the organism. It is believed by many investigators that 
muscarin alone is not responsible for all of the fatal effects fol- 
lowing ingestion of Amanita muscaria. Both in clinical work 
and in animal experiments one finds that although atropin is an 
antidote for pure muscarin it does not wholly neutralize the 
toxic action of A. muscaria. Some of our experiments indicate 
that muscarin may be present in other fungi like Inocybe and 
Clitocybe whose effects are neutralized by atropin while this was 
not wholly true of our extracts of Amanita muscaria. 
Experimental Part 
Description of Botanical Material. — All of the fungi used by 
us were identified and labelled for us by Dr. Murrill. Our large 
lot of Clitocybe illudens was collected near the New York Botan- 
ical Garden in the summer of 1911. The Inocybe infida material 
was also collected during the summer of 1911 on the lawns of the 
New York Botanical Garden. We used Amanita muscaria that 
came from Rochdale, Massachusetts, in August, 1911. Dried 
plants of species of Clitocybe and Amanita are large and easily 
handled while those of Inocybe are very small after desicca- 
tion and usually five or more did not weigh more than one gram. 
The dry fungi were ground repeatedly in a coffee-mill until a very 
fine powder was obtained. This powder was weighed and ex- 
tracted as described below. 
Description of Chemical Methods Employed. — The powdered 
fungi were extracted twice for twenty-four hour periods, at room 
temperature, with ten times their weight of 95 per cent, alcohol. 
The alcoholic extracts were carefully evaporated to a thick syrup 
which was in turn extracted with several 10 c.c. portions of alco- 
hol. These repeated alcohol extractions and subsequent evapora- 
tions were continued until practically all of the fats, sugars and 
