New-York tribune., 1911-09-10
O6e Fruff of tie Mead0sOs
Discretion and Not Valor IS the Best Defence
Against Dangers Of Wild Mushrooms

Mushroom poisoning mas been known
J since the days OF Babylon ana Rome. and
every year since then has added 70 the list
( Of victims The annual number of deaths
from this cause in the United States is
estimated to be about fifty. but such
/ tragedies as that Of the last week, When
a score OF persons died from eating poison
Gus fungi. while many more were made
dangerously III by them. are fortunately
rare.
In most OF these cases probably. the
mushrooms were gathered by ignorant per-
sons. many Of them being foreigners "he
+ would not have made such fatal mistakes
/ in their own country. But the biunder-
: are not confined TO this class OF people.
. half knowledge of mushrooms is perhaps
lust as dangerous as complete ignorance
/ for the ignorant person who knows be IS
/ ignorant viii leave al wild mushrooms
alone. but the person who thinks he knows
but does not, gathers poisonous sroWtns
under the impression that they are harm
less
4 Some reopls too. exhibit a curious spirit
CT bravado in connection with mushrooms
and seem 10 think IT heroic 90 test couot-
/ ful specimens on themselves.
This" as one mushroom expert put u
shows not heroism, but ONLY a very mlsLA-
ken idea Of the situation. a man mIIy 3e
considered a hero who takes chances WITH
lion or armed enemy but there is no
berotsrn in taking chances with q musA-
room. The chances are so unequal thai
there can be no sport IN the risk Discre-
ton - the better part o. valor IN de4ilh=
with this kind OF enemy. and unless YOU
, have made Yourself so familiar with th-
differences between the bad and the 'sooa
mushrooms that YOU have not so mu
as the shadow OF a doubt it is wise go -r'
them alone. however they may appeal 10
you when you fnd them growing luzuTi-
antlv in some corner Of the pasture OF
woodland"
The only safe rule" SAYS Dr. W =.
Alurrill. assistant director Ot the NeV torK
Botanical Garden. lis 90 knoT each species
accurately before eating IT, Even the rules
carefully formulated by mycoios-sts are
almost certain 20 prove unreliable. as men
grow bolder and attempt 10 ear species not
previously tested, because everything mat
is known in this field has been oisroFered
by experiment and predictions or general
lzations OF any kind are both unscieuti.c
and unsafe The sweeping statement that
brown -spored and black spored species are
always safe was only recently controverted
by the accidental discovery of the poison
GUS properties of Inicybe infda.
The deaduest OF all the mushrooms is the
amanita. OF rather some species oil IT,
Some are less dangerous than others. and
one or two are even edible. Dut so bad is
the reputation OF the family that Che good
suffer ostracism on account of The bad
The Amsrita cesaria. Caesar 8 mushroom.
is said 70 be delicious but Dr. Nurrill testi-
nes that he never eats n. on principle
He does not want 10 set the example OF
d,sregarding the ban that has been placed
upon the amanitas, the differences between
the edible and poisonous members OF the
family being so slight as 70 often be over
looked even by experienced collectors,
The dangerous forms ale the AIaanlta mus
caria and the Amanita phalioides
These two species, owing 10 tneir abun-
dance wide distribution and deadly quail
tiles have been the chief causes o. Death
from mushroom eating The worl1 over DO
saws DR.. Murriu The phall1ides or
deadly amani;a. IS the most dansvous.
and II is this that the recent victims
must have been eating II Is variously
known as the death cup and the 'de-
stroying angel. and each specimen rs sufi-
cient 10 XIII foIr or five persons It's
poison dissolyes tie corpuscles OF the