652 
Mushrooms  and  Fungi. 
/  A.m.  Jour.  Pharm. 
t  December.  1896. 
spored  series  is  Amanita.  Standing  at  the  very  summit  of  fungoid 
growth ;  stately,  brilliant,  exquisite ;  like  Rappicini's  daughter, 
terrible  as  beautiful,  it  fascinates  but  to  slay. 
In  this  genus,  Amanita,  are  found  the  only  toadstools  whose 
poison  is  fatal  to  man.  Thousands  have  been  their  victims. 
Composed  as  it  is  of  not  over  thirty  species,  it  deals,  alike,  in 
death  and  sustenance.  Eight  of  the  species  are  deadly,  the 
others  are  not  only  innocuous,  but  are  unsurpassed  by  any  toad- 
stool in  delicacy  and  deliciousness.  There  are  toadstools  which 
contain  minor  poisons,  acrid  resins  and  substances  which  upset 
the  digestive  apparatus,  whose  evil  effects  are  easily  remedied 
by  an  emetic,  then  a  wineglassful  of  sweet  oil  and  whiskey,  or  vine- 
gar ;  but  other  than  the  eight  species  of  the  Amanitas,  none  are 
deadly. 
Until  1885  the  antidote  to  amanitine  poisoning  had  been  indicated 
only.  In  that  year  there  were  five  cases  of  toadstool  poisoning  in  a 
family  resident  in  Shenandoah,  Pa.  By  quick  work  I  was  enabled 
to  get  specimens  of  the  toadstools  eaten.  Among  them  I  found  the 
Amanita  vernus.  Two  of  the  famiry  died ;  three  were  saved  by  the 
intelligent  treatment  of  the  family  physician — Dr.  Shadle.  Noting 
that  the  poison  present  was  narcotic  and  acting  upon  the  nerve 
centres,  especially  the  one  governing  the  heart,  he  administered 
atropine  heavily,  thus  saving  the  three.  I  knew  the  toadstool  caus- 
ing the  poisoning ;  in  Dr.  Shadle's  treatment  I  had  the  antidote. 
After-experiments  upon  myself  and  animals  enabled  me  to  confirm 
it.  I  announced  it  to  the  world  in  the  columns  of  the  Medical  and 
Surgical  Reporter,  of  this  city.  For  the  first  time  atropine  was 
known  to  be  the  antidote  to  amanitine. 
On  the  first  appearance  of  symptoms  of  amanitine  poisoning — 
gray  pallor,  faint  breath,  thickened  tongue,  violent  retching,  of 
a  grain  of  atropine  should  be  administered  hypodermically.  This 
should  be  continued,  heroically,  until  the  of  a  grain  is  injected, 
or  the  patient  cured.    Emetics  are  worse  than  useless. 
I  would  not  dwell  so  long  upon  the  Amanita,  nor  tell  you  this,  if 
I  did  not  feel  it  my  bounden  duty  before  by  speech  or  pen  interest- 
ing persons  in  toadstools  as  a  food,  and  their  study  as  a  valuable 
one,  to  first  carefully  caution  against  the  Amanitas,  hoist  the  danger 
signal,  and  give  knowledge  of  the  remedy  if,  through  ignorance  or 
mistake,  one  of  the  poisonous  kind  is  eaten. 
