64.8 
_ NOTICES. 
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Gdifopial. 
To the ordinary British public there is 
possibly nothing more difficult in the 
plant world than their ability to dis¬ 
tinguish between wholesome Mushrooms 
and poisonous Toadstools. This difficulty 
has once more been illustrated in the case 
of a family at Ipswich, where six of them 
died through eating a fungus which was 
mistaken for Mushrooms. I he father, 
Samuel Farrow, gathered what he con¬ 
sidered were Mushrooms, and his family, 
including his wife and three children, 
with himself, died within a few hours of 
each other after partaking of the Mush¬ 
rooms. Charles Farrow, aged 17, was the 
only one of the family to escape. He 
had his suspicions and said so to his 
father, who replied that he had gathered 
Mushrooms for many years, and ought to 
know. After the" Mushrooms were 
cooked, Charles Farrow was offered some 
and tasted them, but spat them out and 
declined to eat them. 
It was simply a case of mistaken 
identity, for the son pointed out to a con¬ 
stable some of the fungi which were 
gathered as Mushrooms, and these were 
shown to the Curator of the Ipswich 
Museum, who pronounced them to be 
Agaricus (Amanita) phalloides, a very 
poisonous fungus, and therefore a Toad¬ 
stool in the popular sense. There are 
something like one thousand fungi closely 
similar to Mushrooms in form, but differ¬ 
ing in various particulars. The particu¬ 
lar one in question is somewhat like a 
Mushroom, but the cap is thinner and the 
stem issues from a volva or bag, and this 
in itself is a sign of a poisonous fungus, 
for most of those issuing from a bag in 
this manner are highly poisonous. The 
specific name is derived from the fact that 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
it smells somewhat foetid (recalling Phal¬ 
lus impudicus), although less so than that 
of the less common A. virosus, but it is 
more poisonous. Its offensive smell ought 
to have warned the father of his mistake, 
and the fact that it grew in a shady place 
amongst trees was another reason why he 
should have avoided it. 
Some of the distinguishing features of 
poisonous fungi or Toadstools are: When 
they have a warty cap ; unpleasant odours, 
and especially when emerging from a 
volva or bag; if they grow in woods and 
shady places; if they are moist on the 
surface of the cap ; if they grow on the 
stumps of trees and in clusters ; an astrin¬ 
gent taste; if they become blue after 
October 5, 1907, 
being cut; if they are orange or rose-ret 
in colour; if they are leathery or corky ir 
texture. There may be some exception: 
to the above rules, but fungi haring those 
characteristics are always doubtful anc 
to be avoided. 
The true Mushroom in a wild state 
grows only in open pastures, has white 
flesh, the skin of the cap readily peel 
away, the gills are free from the stem 
which is solid or slightly pithy, with 
ring round the centre. The spores ar 
brown-black or deep purple. The gill 
under the cap are at first white, changin 
to pink, and finally to a dark brown hut 
Even the common Mushroom should b 
used only in a fresh state. 
The Earthworm T"sT 
c=? 
A place for everything and everything 
in its place is an old adage which parti¬ 
cularly applies to the common earthworm 
(Lumbricus terrestris). In flower-beds 
or borders or in the kitchen garden this 
lowly creature is a blessing, especially 
in heavy soils, as by its constant burrow¬ 
ing it aids in both aerating and watering 
and from its habit of dragging beneath 
the surface waste vegetable matter 
(though admittedly it sometimes destroys- 
seedling plants), it acts as nature’s ferti¬ 
liser; or as Mr. Knapp, in his “Journal 
of a Naturalist,” so aptly puts it, “This 
animal, destined to be the natural 
manurer of the soil, consumes on the sur¬ 
face (where they would soon become in¬ 
jurious) all the softer parts of decaying 
vegetable matters, and conveys below all 
the more woody fibres, which there 
moulder and become reduced to a simple 
nutriment for living vegetation. The 
portion consumed is returned to the sur¬ 
face in casts, dissolved by frost and 
scattered by rain, circulated again in the 
plants of the soil, death still producing 
life.” 
When, however, it infests the lawn or 
gravel walks, or makes its abode midst 
the roots of pot plants, it is manifestly 
out of place. Many a fine expanse of 
good turf is rendered unsightly by worm- 
casts, whilst their presence in the flower¬ 
pot causes a check to the plants’ growth, 
besides in many cases rendering the 
drainage ineffective. There are several 
methods of ridding the lawn and paths of 
these pests, but perhaps the simplest and 
“ Rose from Beyond the Sea.” 
The Hollyhock is the emblem of am¬ 
bition. In Franc.e, where it is called “ Rose 
from beyond the sea,” they have a pic¬ 
turesque way of planting it as a boundary 
hedge for their vineyards and gardens. 
Phillips, in his “Flora Historica,” 
strongly advises its being so used in Eng¬ 
land. and prophesies that “the Holly¬ 
hock will be planted in the hedges of our 
fields, and the whole appearance of the 
country much improved by relieving the 
uniformity of fences.” It is a pretty idea, 
but quite Utopian. Instead of Holly¬ 
hocks in our hedges, we have advertise¬ 
ment boards of quack medicines in our 
most efficacious is a liberal use of lin 
in either of the following ways:— 
After rain or heavy dew (the worn 
being then near the surface) apply raffi 
thickly some slaked lime, followed by 
watering with can or hose (failing 
shower of rain). This will wash it i: 
and the creatures leaving their holes a 
easily be removed, while the remaind 
if not killed will soon depart to seek f 
more. congenial quarters. Anoth 
method is to place say, a peck of lime 
an old tub containing about twenty-fit 
gallons of water. Leave this for son 
time to settle, then sprinkle the worr 
infested lawn with the clear water. 
The action of course is similar to tl 
former method, but this causes no di 
figuring sediment of lime to be left c 
the surface, though a few showers wi 
soon wash this in, the grass being real 
benefited by the application. 
Worms in flower-pots may also be g 
rid of by watering with lime-water. A 
ternative methods are:— 
(1) Turning the plant carefully 0 
without breaking the ball of soil, ai 
probing the roots with a stiff wire or th 
cane, which will soon dislodge them. 
(2) Inserting a small piece of sulph 
(which they simply abhor) or a few si 
phur matches into the soil, whilst yet a 
other efficacious, though rough and rea^ 
method, is : — 
(3) To plunge the pot bodily into 
bucket of hot water, which, though disc 
l.rous to the worms, will be found qu:' 
harmless to the growing plant. 
G. A. F. 
fields. A love of beauty does not ent' 
into the ordinary Britisher’s compositi 
at all, but it is very often part of a Frenc- 
man’s birthright. The name Hollyho: 
is a corruption from Holy-oak; it w; 
much sought after for convent garden 
the nuns believing that it had spec! 
sacred and protective qualities. For t’ 
purposes of decoration and display, it s 
certainly one of the most effective flowu 
we have. In Bret Harte’s “Bohemian I- 
pers ” there is a quaint description of t: 
prolific qualities of the Hollyhock. ) 
matter what seeds they planted in t? 
“fine gardens and extensive shrubbery:' 
a genteel neighbourhood,” nothing ey 
came up but Hollyhocks. 
