THE PllINCIPLES OF BOTANY. 
903 
It would appear that in all the Italian towns there is 
appointed an inspector of fungi^ who_, amongst other direc¬ 
tions, is warranted as follows: 
“ The stale funguses of the preceding day, as well as those 
that were mouldy, bruised, filled with maggots, or dangerous, 
[nmffi, guasii, verminosi, velenosi), together with any specimen 
of the common mushroom [Ag. campestris) detected in any 
of the baskets should be sent under escort, and thrown into 
the Tiber.’’ 
Dr. Badham further states that— 
In Borne, whilst many hundreds of what we call toad¬ 
stools are carried home for the table, almost the only one 
condemned to be thrown into the Tiber by the inspector of 
the fungus market is our own mushroom ; indeed, in such 
dread is this held in the Papal States that no one knowingly 
would touch it. It is reckoned one of the fiercest impre¬ 
cations,” writes Professor Sanguinetti, “ amongst our lower 
orders, infamous for the horrible nature of their oaths, to 
wish that any one may die of a pratiolo ! ” 
Now, as we have frequently investigated cases of supposed 
poisoning by mushrooms, and never found any mistake made 
in the species, we are inclined to the belief that the common 
English mushroom is not the safest, as we shall presently 
show it is not the best of our English agarics. 
2. The Ag. Georgii, now better known as Ag. arvensis, is 
readily distinguishable from the ordinary mushroom by its 
size and the paler colour of its gills, and, besides, the whole 
flesh turns of a yellowish hue when bruised. This gets the 
common name of whitccap when in its fresh white unex¬ 
panded condition; but Avhen it becomes broad and flattened 
it is better known under the appellation of horse-mushroom, 
a name given on account of its greater size and coarseness 
when compared with the smaller and more compact Ag. cam- 
pestris. This term is meant to convey inferiority, just as 
the bitter horse-chesnut is contrasted with the sweet chesnut, 
horse-radish or radix with the smaller radish of the salad, 
and the like. This large agaric is sometimes found occupy¬ 
ing fairy-rings; we got a dozen from a ring in our hayfield 
last June, the largest of which, as it laid with its flattened 
cap on a plate, measured a foot in diameter, and its stem 
was as much as three inches through. 
We have partaken of this fungus with great satisfaction, 
and Persoon pronounces it to be superior to the common 
mushroom, in smell, taste, and digestibility; on which 
account, he says, it is generally preferred in France; in 
England, however, it is more lightly esteemed. Still, as 
