The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-06
0o ELLIOTT ON MUSHROOMS.
rro DISTINGUISH BETWEEN
~ TIE GOOD AND THE BAD.


,,toms and AntidOte in Case
,,,sbroOm POisOning-Very Few
o,ous varieties Out of About
ooo varieties Which Are Visible
che Naked Excavations Kinds
cood Mushrooms and How to
Tell Them.
william II. Elliott delivered a most
..,sting and instructive lecture before
r,srbers of the Georgia Historical So
last night upon the subject of
'.,,nsbrooms." Quite a number of ladies
~. nresent to hear his address. At it's
.,o,lusion on motion of Judge William
- Harden, the thanks of the society
more unanimously rendered him for his
insructing talk.
one of the principal objects of Or. Eli
otfs lecture was to show the difference
tstueen the poisonous and the good mush-
roors. He had with him a large number
Of charts in colors, showing several of the
numerous varieties, by which he explained
different portions of his address. For
these drawings, he stated, he was indebt-
ed to Miss wilkins, who had carefully
and ably prepared them.
He had found mushrooms an agreeable
addition to his diet list, and had given
them study for some time, he said. Mod
ern science tells how to distinguish be-
tween the good and the bad mushrooms,
and it is time that the public should know
how it is done. There are more than 5000
varieties of fungi, but of these about p
O1) are microscopic, such as common mold
and mildew. He said he would speak only
Of the 1000 varieties which are visible to
the naked eye.
Dr. Elliott then explained the different
parts of a mushroom, the cap or pileus,
the stem, which may be with or withou.
a collar, and a few slender roots. Under
the cap the spores or seeds are secreted.
The spores differ from seeds in that they
cannot be made to grow. The under part
Of the cap, where the spores are secreted
is called the hymenium, and on the form
of that the classification of the mushroom
is based. 1t is here that the gills are
found. There are about 700 varieties of
gilled mushrooms, and these are known as
agarics. Then there are varieties which
are apparently solid underneath, but they
contain numerous pores running through
them, in which the spores are found.
These are known as poly porii, or many
boleti, and Of the puff-ball variety
The most beautiful of the agarics lie
said, is the amanetae, of which there are
fifteen or thirty varieties, scientists dir
terlng with regard to the number With
these the stem always springs up out IF
a cup which remains in the ground. This.
he said, is the class which is responsible
for the newspapers notice giving accounts
OF people who died on account of eating
toadsools in mistake for mushrooms
lie mentioned two popular tests, one of
the peeling the cap and if the peeling
comes off all right the mushroom is good
but If not it is bad. Another was TO cook
1t and see whether it changed the color of
a spoon. II 1t does it is bad, and if not
it is good. There are many varieties of
the poisonous mushrooms which can be
easily peeled he said, and any decayed
mushroom will turn the color of spoon
Mushrooms, he said, are either poisonous
or they are not poisonous. If one of them
has the suggestion of a cup at it's root,
1t belongs to the amanetae class, and is
poisonous.
The effects of eating this class of mush-
rooms, known as the amanetae, he said,
are very peculiar. There are no symptoms
al all for six to fifteen hours, when a
violent attack comes on, resembling the
cholera morbus. This is followed by a
terrible depression, especially of the heart,
'~l ilpo anu GOulll6udUcG take on a ledQen
color, the eXtremities of the body be-
comes cold, a stupor follows and death
comes within two or three days. Death
Is due to the active principle in the mush-
room known as amanetine, an alkaloid,
which was discovered by French and Ger
man scientists about the same time. At
Toplne was suggested as an antidOte and
experiments were made on frogs
It was Dr. Schladel, he said. who first
brought amanetine and atropine together
IN the human system. He was called on
in 1889 to treat a family of five who had
eaten the poisonous mushrooms, and on
seeing the symptoms of heart failure was
ied TO give the patient atropine. He sue
eeeded in saving three of them, but two.
VINO had eaten more largely of the dish,
ued. Atropine has been found to be the
proper antidote and should be given in
doses Of one-fiftieth to one-sixtieth of a
gram every hour or two until relief comes
Inc agaric campestrius, or the common
mushroom, DR.. Elliott said, is the only
one OF them that can be cultivated. This
rms is the mushroom oftenest seen. grow
ing in the fields. The cultivation of other
varieties has been tried but failed. This
common mushroom is the one that is
canned for ordinary use. There is never
any danger in eating a canned mushroom
ne said, because the common mushroom
the only one that is canned, is perfectly
GOOD. 1t does not pay to bother with
canning the wild varieties. Closely allied
10 this is the horse Mushroom, which
looks very much like it. though IL grows
twice the size and has not so good flavor
Nearly all of the mushrooms, except the
amanetae, are safe to eat, and these are
distinguished by the cup at the base.
Dr. Elliott spoke of several varieties
winch he has found growing in the car
tracks IN the squares, and on the grass
pat IN front of the cotton exchange. He
mas growing in his yard large numbers
Vi the chalk mushroom, which is an ex
cehent variety for eating, being very
"luch IKE the campestrius.
Dr. Elliott said he had eaten about
uozen OF the different varieties of agarics
a''u SO far he was still here to tell about
y, lie spoke of several other varieties
@hlcn are good to eat, and now that the
question has come to be one of such scien,
unc interest, he advocates the purchase
VI BOOKS on the subject by the society
S Slu SAID that instruction with regard t
gstnguishing between good and ba(
mlshfooms should be given in the public
seHooIs. DR.. Elliotts discussion OF mush
ttoolhs showed a deep study of the sub
yscl' lie likes the mushroom better thar
tteaI' ne says, particularly on account Of
'9 HhVor Anatomically, Il Is a plant