Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-12-29
TIE COMMON MUSHROOM AND lis
POISON


The current belief is that. Will,
many fungi are virulcntl V poisonous
others. including the common mu-h
room. ar" free from poison, and ma '
he eaten in any quantity Whcr
mushroom eaters show symptoms OF
poisoning. j: IS accorln~lv assumed
that Il hlum,l"r ha- boon mad. and
noXi"u@ Sl'e.ics taken for or with
Wholesome ones. The fact that al
eminent English flngiologist is
numbered among those who hav,
lost their lives by the alleged mis-
take would seem to throw grave
doubt upon the hlunder theory. un
less 1t he true. as some have held,
that the edible species are mimicke,l
10y those that are poisonous SO closely
that the most expert is liable to mis-
Judge them. The fear that this may
be the case dcters many from making
any Use of this savory and nourish
ing but treacherolls vegetable.
AT this season. when the fields
abound with wild mushrooms. and
when inultitudes might find in them
a cheap and enjoyable addition to
the daily bill of fare, if they were
not afraid to eat them. it is matter
of considerable Importance to have
the real standing of fungi as food
stuifs made clear.
According to recent Investigations
by Professor Pontick, of Breslan. the
question seems to be. not how to dis
tinguish poisonous from harmless
species, but how to treat mushrooms
of every sort in such Il way as to rr
move or nrutralize the poison which
they all contain, with the proper pre-
caution of using this class of food
stnffs at all times with moderation.
Professor Pontick finds that re-
peated washing with cold water re-
moves most of tho poison of mush
rooms. and cooking, especially boil
ing, dissolves out the rest. The water
in which mushrooms are boiled,
however, is always poisonous, more
so even than raw mushrooms. Ex-
periments made upon dogs showed
that if dog ato one per cent. of its
own weight of raw mushrooms it fell
sick, but recovered; one and n half
per cent. produced violent illness;
and if the dog ate two per cent. OF its
weight, the result was always death.
Of boiled mushrooms dogs ate ten
per cent. of their weight without
harm. When the mushrooms were
well washed with cold water, a larger
quantity could be eaten raw without
bad effects than was possible with
those that were not washed; but
simple washing never removed the
poison entirely. Dried mushrooms
were found to be dangerous for
twenty days, and also the water in
which such mushrooms had been
boiled. They were not really safe
until after four months drying.
The moral is, treat all mushrooms
as poisonous: carefully throw out the
water in which they have been
washed or boiled: cook them well,
and never eat them in large quaint
ties. If men are no more suscepti-
bic than dogs are to the poison. Il
man can as safely gorge himself with
well boiled mushrooms as with beef
or any other highly nitrogenous food
When otherwise cooked, or when the
species is doubtful, sparing Use is
always prudent.
The fact that all mushrooms and
allied growths are more or less
poisonous should be no bar to their
use as food, proper care being taken
in the cooking and eating. The
common potato is not free from
poison, and the juice OF tho root
from which tapioca is made is viru
lent poison. The latter poison is ex-
PEELED by heat, and the former is in
quantity too small to be harmful, as
is the case with many other useful
vegetables.
In preparing mushrooms for the
table, safety is assured, not by look
ing for specific characteristics sup
posed to indicate harmlessness, but
in considering all as poisonous and
requiring judiciOus treatment to de
stroy or remove their noxious quail
ties. This properly attended to.
mushrooms and many other fungi
are not only edible, but really de
licious and valuable food stuffs.
PRoTEcTIoN FOR FARMERs.-A
Reader, Will County, ILL.,: The du-
ties levied upon imports of foreign
agricultural products are as follows:
Flax straw, SIS ton: undressed flax.
$40 a ton; dressed flax, $40: hemp,
$25; tow, $40; jute, SIS; wines, 40
cents to 81 gallon; beef and pork,
l cent a pound; hams and bacon, 2
cents; cheese and butter, 4 cents;
wheat, 20 cents a bushel; rye and
barley, Is cents; corn and oats, 10
cents; lard, 2 cents; corn meal, 10
per cent; rye flour, 10 per cent;
Oat meal, cent per pound; rice. 2
cents; cleaned rice, 2! cents; milk,
20 per cent; potatoes. Is cents a
bushel; vinegar, 10 cents n gallon;
sugar, Ii to 4 cents pound; tobacco,
85 cents pound; timber, 20 per
cent; wool, about 35 per cent;
feathers, 20 per cent; linseed, 20
cents bushel; osiers, 80 per cent;
tallow, l cent pound; starch, l cent
pound and 20 per cent; peanuts,
l cent pound; sumac, 10 per cent.
hops, s cents a pound; live animals,
mot for bresding) 20 per cent.
Teams of immigrants are free of
duty. Straw is free of duty, but
hay does not seem to be mentioned
in the lists. Under the rule. section
2499, that any article not enumerated
shall be classed with the article
enumerated that is nearest to it in
similitude or for the Use to which it
is applied, hay woul l'probably be
free, as straw is.
1t is claimed that the richest mines
of zinc in the United States are in
north New Jersey. The mines at
Franklir and Ogdensburg are capi-
talIzed at S3,00O,O0O, and pay regular
and large dividends. The late Moses
Taylor, it is claimed, amassed the