Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-09-02
Mushroom EaI,.cis..

Now that the Fourth OF July with its
dangers has passed. we may prepare
for the usual epidemic" of mushroom
poisoning. which seems to be an newt
able accompaniment Of the summer
season. There is a popular tendency
to restrict the name "toadstoo" to
poisonous species and that Of "mush-
room" to the edible ones: but since one
can not tell. except by trial. whether a
particular "toadstool' is poisonous or
not, the distinction. according to The
Journal of the American Medical Asso-
citation. is neither satisfactory nor adj
vantageous.
Many reputed tests to distinguish
the innocent from the harmful toad
stool are current and are implicitly be-
lieved in by some. 1t can not be too
emphatically stated, therefore, that SO
far as is known there Is no single
guide, with the possible exception Of a
chemical analysis, which will give re-
suits Of any value whatever. Any
scheme for distinguishing edibility in
these fungi should be decisive and give
uniform results. Some Of the alleged
tests deserve mention in order to point
out their unreliability and their danger.
is most prevalent. 1t is believed that
a silver spoon or coin placed with
toa dstools while cooking will demon
s,rate by blackening. or failure to
biacken, whether or not the fungi are
safe to eat. 1t need only be said that
there are both poisonous and non-toxic
species which act alike on silver.
Again, no reliance is TO be placed on
the contention that IL the outer Cup
PERI skin OF the top OF the toadstooo
peels off readily, such species is ed
ible. Some poisonous species also Will
peel" Flavor has often been alleged
to serve as a reliable guide to edibility.
the bitter or peppery species being
charged with detrimental attributes.
Experience shows. however that the
most poisonous toadstools are not at
all disagreeable in respect to the flavor
Of the raw tissues. Other tests" are
the alleged telltale color changes that
are supposed to appear when toxic
mushrooms are bruised or broken: or
the existence Of milky Juice. or the
susceptibility OF the fungi TO the inva-
sion Of insects, which are believed &c
avoid the pernicious varieties. None OF
these tests" can be applied with any
certainty. AS the proof Of the pudding
is in the eating thereof" 80 the surese
way of learning to distinguish the poi
-sonous from the innocuous mushrooms
is by eating them-a heroic procedure
or by learning the experience OF 9TH
ers. There is no royal road to mush-
room knowledge, but one must learn
to know the various species as ono
learns to recognize the familiar plants
OF the forest. the field and the garden.
To those vino cherish the hope that
the mushroom. often proclaimed as the
vegetable beefsteak which nature Law
ishly offers at every hand, may solve
some Of the problems Of economy in
nutrition, we can give little comfort;
for as has been pointed out before,
even the most nutritious mushrooms
are of little real nutritive value. Their
chief claim to dietic recognition lies in
their use as food accessories and diet
airy condiments. In no wise can they
be regarded as substitute for the
substantial meats or the familiar veg
etable products ordinarily consumed by
maj