The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-03-23
SECRETARY WILSON
TALKS MUSHROOMS
How to Distinguish Between
Them and ToadStoolS
INTERESTING FACTS GIVEN
Table Variety Grows in Meadows.
Those Having Scales Are Poison
ous-Skill Required in Distin.
gushing Different Growths

Washington, March %. - Especially -
with the approach of spring each year
we are In receipt of bags full of letters
from all sections of the United States in
regard to the mushroom and how to dis
tingulsh 1t from the toadstool" said Sec
rotary of Agriculture Wilson to the writ
ter today.
How can one tell a mushroom from a
toadstool?"
"That question is asked thousands Of
times a year all over this broad land, and
the wiseacre usually proceeds to explain
how it can be done But. if left to his
own devices in the field, and forced to
distinguish the edible from the poison
Gus fungi he would probably Kill him
self. You cannot tell a mushroom from
a toadstool because a mushroom Is a
toadstool. What you desire to learn is
to tell the edible from the poisonous toad
stool Before entering into this it may
be well to shatter the fable that mush-
rooms mature in a single night They
do no such thing, the development of the
plant sometimes requiring weeks after
the spawn has begun its reproductive ac-
ton. 1t is true that the buttons appear
ABOVE the earth curing 'he nisn' ou'
ineh 50 40 many otner ioi nis u
BILE life, and If you will take the trouble
to measure a young blade of corn you
will find that 1t grows much more rapid
ly than a mushroom.
"Presuming that the general appear
ance of the edible toadstool, or mush-
Iooh,, ID IalIig Wen hno"h 10 me see ,.
81 ,'i'ci iiioie i".Vi Aif'eioii' 'ne ~ % 'ni"b
~ ie"in 20 'iia' nc common t"oie N"iie-
~ aiinost AlNariaply sio"s III lheauo"s,
HeNer III we "oous or oii the eiulhs VI
'ees' anu Ha9 p'hh VI pro"h Siis "c-
corning 10 us age ne Whlte sliieu ones
aie' ~ iai as mas oesii ieai neu' poisoii-
ou9. ne stem VI ape euipie one mus ne
c9 inu'leai anu soiiu' anu II mus nave
d rihs' VI traces VI one, near lne top,
II must nave no JUN d. ehe pase anu
no seales' tilose hdNlhs 'hese oha az UT ".
lstics peihg dangerous Il not ueaoiy' Inc
most Important point LOT the novice 10
pea ' III iiiiliu - IeFei ~ sa.hei ene sinaii
pu''ohs unless tneS eieails sio" col
heetihs membrane peeWeeh me Top anu
tne 9'alN' anu eNeh lnen ~ 10 pese -
aNolu me unueNelopeo ohes' ior uIt UNI,
the9 nave a'taihea mai tiei' luii sioMth
II - iequeilS iiiipossip'e' even ioi 'ne
eNpei'' 10 oiasSiis 'nehi'
Great Skill Required.
"Edihla fungi eomnrise thousands ~
sneeies so closely allied that oreat skin
is reo,,ired 10 djsting,,ish them vet n
is always safe to eat those that hear the
characteristics ALREADY mentioned. IT il
always dangerous TO eat those that have
bee,,n TO decay or are NOT sound In
every wav. not because of their condition
h,t o1vine To the increased difflcultv in
determining their food value has been
said h., scientists that i'm every country
of the temperate and torrid zones there
grow enough edible mushrooms to al
most entirely feed the population The
plant being n great delicacy. its points
should be a matter of pleasant study for
the epieure The number of species which
have been eaten and found to be either
safe or dangerous is proportionately
small.
zone enthusiast I know of has gone so
far as To live for several weeks solely on
those he found I'm his travels. and cat
alopued seventv-two varieties that he
found and tried. with varying success.
although he did not kill himself.
.orhere are two species which are very
dangerous and which on casual inspection
hv the novice. resemble the common field
mushroom They are known as the dead
" agaric and the fly agarlc, the former
being very dangerous ana the latter very
o o,,loa ,t ~ erdi,ar, r,,,str r,,o,
a,a T., ,,saa - ,,,faat',ra ho,,so a..
-, ~, lr,.,,,.a., - - -
I'd - rs r"aasida a,,d ,,rafa W. 49,
san ~ attai,,s 1araa - 49,, !. =
80 fo,,rd si',,,,,. re aiiIs No. lit
-. 49, ,a,t15t - - ~. ~ >
e.. ~ a5,h1a met, l ~ -.
=, -, -, 10 - - nov :.
str,,,ina faat,,ra 10 It, oaiar - =
i,.,,rht ,.ad ar ,..ilo,,. 80, ht"l, -
sar1,,,i.d ubits saots and q ha,,, a.,
ia,. i,a,,,s 1,,,,,, NJ stoiI, Nt,,.,t,.'a
49,, 80 ,,t,,+ -, IT.
4, cor ~, a,a,,,,, =, bas 49,, ~ 49, - y
,ia,oa ~ ,.aara tbot u e. ,,,ona ernl.,,a,,, ~.
,,,istal,a,, Co.. ~ ara, ,,,,,st.,a ~,
a,,,, a,a ~ +ha tha,,s,,,as -, ,,.,a.i.a
nat abo,nd an o,'er the world 60
,,,,s,ra6,,,s ara ,,o,.o. ,.ad 90 LII, ~
daadlv ogorIc scientifcoli, 1,non', s
.,,a,si.a ,,ba1toidn, r.,.a,,, -. 80
,,.,,,a, a,,5 ~, ~ d. 80 as
,,,., - ",iu