The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-11-20

rlVai mere the civil war broke out and he
enlisted In the Ninth Massachusetts Artil-
lery, and rs colonel of the regiment.
known as the 'Vecchi Battery he be-
came quite famous and received many
inouaiS lor MS bravery. 1t was he who
carried the message from Garibaldi to
PRESIDENT Lincoln, in which that famous
lGallan oHered his services to the Union
cause.
OounG de Vecchi was passionately fond
oil mushrooms, and although he made a
grea6 STUDY OF the fungi, he met his death
py experimenting with his famous food.
t tao aaways bought the fungi from Il
farmer III the market, and, desiring to
test a new species, he ordered them for
i uesoay This species is known as the
ahianiGa, and there is great difficulty
IA uecldlng between the two varities
known as 'muscaria" and "caesara. !"
bosn OF these have red or pink tops. and
one one is poisonous and the other is not.
a mo POISONOUS variety has white stem
alo cup at the base of the stalk The
other has syellow stem, without the
cup. Count de Vecchi Thought ne could
ulstingnlsh between the two.
HIS death has caused a great deal Of
discussion of the mushroom question by
experts In the Agricultural Department.,
and great deal of information in regard
brought out. 1t has always been advisa-
pie to avoid the eating of the species
known as the amanita, because of the
olmculty in Distinguishing between the
edible and the poisonous variety. The
Lnuscarla is the, most poisonous OF all the
neshy fungi, and this is what the Count
ate. The species is found throughout the
greater part of the United States, and
when 1T IS young it is solid and after
ward becomes somewhat hollow and
pltny. The base is surrounded by q char
acterlstlc cup-shaped appendage, the rem
nant OF veil covers the entire plant when
young, and the fungus is called by some
the death cup on that account. The
length varies from three to ten inches.
Thescup is viscid when moist, and is gen
orally smooth and satiny, but it may
sometimes bear fragments of the outer
covering or veil. The gills and spores
are white.
Several varieties exist, the one most
common having white or yellowish cap.
But this may be green and even spotted
when growing in the deep shade. Its
general shape is much like the common
mushroom. The fresh fungus is very in
vltlng, and has no bad taste when eaten
either raw or cooked. There is no uneasi-
ness felt by the victim until from nine to
fourteen hours after eating it. Then
severe abdominal pain sets in, which is
lsPAuiy AolAoWou ny uduSed, vomiting anu
extreme diarrhoea These symptoms are
persistently maintained, but without loss
OF consciousness, until death ensues, as
it does in from three to four days.
The 3peTts say there is no danger from
eating mushrooms If those who eat them
confine themselves to the common varie-
ties OF edible mushrooms. 1t is always
q safe rule in picking mushrooms 10 know
that the poisonous varieties grow in the
shade and singly, while he edible ones
grow in open fields and pastures and in
groups, An authority, in speaking about
test for edible mushrooms, says that
while buying them, the following test
should be followed
The ordinary small, wild mushroom,
with dark gills and no red or yellow on
the top is never poisonous. Nor is the
common puff ball, which is good to eat
while in the milky state and always safe,
no matter where it grows, with this eau
tion: The deadly amanita, when it first
comes up, may be mistaken for very
small puff ball, and, therefore, very
small puff balls should be thrown out"