Newark post., 1920-10-13
DEADLY TOADSTOOL
HAS ITS INNING NOW
New York Sun Gives aSpright-
ly Account of this "Vamp'
Among Plants

The New York Sun of recent date
issues timely warning against the
Deadly Amanita", the toadstool,
thus: 'She isn't any ordinary vamp,
but the Lucrezia Borgia of the mush-
room family. Suburban nature fans
are sallying forth with their baskets
just now to harvest the fall fungus
crop, and the "Deadly Amanita" is
looking her loveliest in order to ac-
complish her deadlfest.
Whenever you read or read of sew
eral members of family being car
ried out feet first after partaking of
a perfectly delicious Sunday evening
supper of mushrooms a la Bordelaise
or en- casserole or maitre d'hotel or
just plain stewed, you may be sure
that the "Deadly Amanita" has been
getting in her fine work. Just one Of
her in mess of mushrooms is enough
to give the village undertaken a busy
week.
Everybody should learn to recog-
nize her, avoid her Establishments and
stamp her into the ground every time
he sees her. She is flourishing in the
woods and fields just now, sometimes
singly but often<r in murderous
groups of all ages. Her appearance
is so gay and enticing that fungus
hunters who are ignorant enough to
be fearless are very likely to fall for
her devastating beauty.
Her color is brilliant yellow, some
times inclining to orange. She is tall
and in youth somewhat umbrella shap-
ed, with tapering white stem. Her
flaming cap is commonly speckled
with little grayish warts, the remains
of veil with which she was born, but
these are sometimes absent. They add
much to her distinguished and decor
ative air. Her gills are milk white,
close together and beautifully regular.
When you break the stem you find
that it is hollow. And a distinctive
feature of it is that it grows from a
fat cup which usually shows above the
surface of the ground. The same is
true of first cousin of the lady, the
"Amanita Muscarius," with which a
certain Gar of Russia is said to have
been murdered. This one is little
larger, little shorter and more deep
ly orange than the Lucrezia Borgia of
his family, but otherwise resembles
her in very cousinly way. He is
not so often seen in our suburbs.
With these two assassins OH. Of the
way there is not much to be feared in
the fungus line, but it's just as we'll
to be overcareful. Some suburbanite es
recognize only one variety of eatabie
fungus and call all the rest "toad-
Stools" but students of the species
know that most of the toadstools are
good eating and some of them delic.
ious.
However, unless you have really
studied them carefully the only saf +,
plan is to stick to the common or ga,
den mushroom, the one that peels
easily and has pink gills maturing to
black.
There are no general rules for dis
tinguishing poisonous from harmless
varieties. 1t is not true that silver
coin embedded in fungus and left
over night will turn black if it is poi
sonous and remain white if it is not.
Some poisonous ones will leave it
white and some harmless ones will
turn + black,
1t is equally false that all mush-
rooms that "peeT are innocuous. or
that all found growing on wood are
harmful. In fact all the justly cele-
brated grandmother's "tests" are fall
lacious. There's only one way to
learn "who's who" in the fungus world
and that is to get book on the sub
ject, preferably one illustrated with