i Sepr., 1899.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 235 
In Paris alone over £1,500 worth of mushrooms are being sold daily. In 
Italy and Germany, they form an important part of the alimentation of the 
people. For Russia there are no available statistics, but the writer of these 
lines can affirm, with Mr. de Zaczewsky, that in certain localities the people live 
nearly exclusively on mushrooms, especially at the time of the heaviest outdoor | 
work. 
The only drawbacks to the use of mushrooms are the cases of poisoning 
which occur nearly every year. According to Mr. de Zaczewsky, there are 
absolutely no empiric means of ascertaining the true nature of mushrooms. 
Neither the shape, nor the colour, nor the smell or flavour can be taken as a 
sure indication. Of course it 1s pure superstition to believe with some ignorant 
people that those mushrooms are poisonous which grow near a snake-hole, or 
close to a rusty nail, a mouldy piece of cloth, or a poisonous plant. Neither 
is it true that we can eat safely mushrooms which haye been gnawed by insects. 
There are snails and insects capable of eating with impunity mushrooms which 
are highly poisonous to man. Even cows can eat varieties which it would not 
be sate for man to touch. But dogs, cats, and rats are affected similarly to 
human beings, and we can safely try on them suspicious varieties. Another 
groundless prejudice is to believe that if a silver coin or ‘| 
900n or an onion 
become blackened by being put in the water in which mushrooms have been 
boiled, itisa sign of poison. Itis nota poisonous substance which thus darkens 
those objects, but the presence of sulphur, which combines with other elements, 
forming thus sulphydric acid. Onions or silver boiled with eggs will become 
dark, too. Still, nobody would say that it is because eggs are poisonous. 
As to the effects produced on our system by poisonous mushrooms, they are 
of two kinds. Some varieties, as the fussules, act directly on the digestive 
organs, causing there an acute inflammation ordinarily from two to three hours 
after they have been eaten. These are very seldom fatal. An emetic such as 
ipecacuanha or, still better, 15 grammes of emetic mixed with 30 grammes of 
‘sulphate of soda in a glass of water, to be taken in two draughts at intervals of 
five minutes, will be sufficient to free the stomach and save the patient. 
Other varieties, such as some of the Amanite, are far more dangerous. 
Their poisonous principle is a narcotic, acting, not on the digestive organs, but 
directly on the nervous system. The effect takes place from six to forty-eight 
hours after eating the mushrooms, when the poison has all passed into the 
blood. It first causes headache, confusion of ideas, dejection, and stupor. Then 
follow nausea, vomiting, palpitations, acute abdominal pains, oppression, and 
intense thirst. The face is pale and panged ; convulsions, delirium, and fantastic 
visions bring the patient into a comatous state. That condition, which is accom- 
panied by intense pains all over the body, may continue for many days. But 
the result is nearly always fatal. Large draughts of strong tea or coffee are 
used to counteract the prostration. When the stomach is entirely free from the 
poisonous substance, then use ether and ammonia to prevent nervous accidents. 
Should the patient recover, he remains for a long time very weak, and the 
greatest care and precautions are to be used during ii convalescence. 
Such a terrible possibility as the above described should, it seems, be 
sufficient to deter anyone from eating mushrooms. Fortunately there is, 
according to Mr. de Zaczewsky, a perfect! y sate means of eating with impunity 
-even the most poisonous of mushrooms. ‘It was discovered many years ago by 
Mr. Gerard, assistant botanist of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. In the pre- 
‘sence of a commission appointed for the purpose by the Academie des Sciences, 
he ate, and every member of his family did the same, some of the most poisonous 
yarieties. The experiment was so conclusive that the members of the commission 
joined in the feast, and enjoyed with impunity some of the deadliest varieties of 
the Amanite :— i 
The recipe is simplicity itself, Copy it, and paste it in a conspicuous place :— 
For every pound of mushrooms cut into pieces, take 1 quart of water, add 
to it 2 or 3 spoonfuls of vinegar or of salt. Soak the mushrooms in this for two 
-hours. Then strain off the water and throw it away, as it contains all the 
