liv
Journal of Proceedings.
When you have learnt to distinguish Fungi by their characters and
names, you will sometimes be puzzled by your books giving contradictory
opinions about their wholesomeness. You will read that Agaricus
(Amanita) muscarius is distinguished as much for its poisonous qualities
as for its brilliant beauty; whereas it is known to be eaten in Russia,
and to be put to some curious uses in that country. Mr. Worthington
Smith tells you, in his little work on " Mushrooms and Toadstools,"
which, if you have not all got, you ought to have, that Agaricus (Lepiota)
rachodes is not to be recommended, "if it even be wholesome ;" and I
told you last year that I reckoned it among my choicest dainties. The
same author tells you, as a taste of its acrid milk would suggest to you,
that Lactarius piperatus is particularly dangerous ; but you will often
read or hear that with proper cooking it may be eaten with safety and
relish.
Such examples I might easily multiply. You must use your own
judgment " where doctors disagree." But let me tell you that many a
Fungus that might otherwise disagree with you may be made perfectly
harmless by proper and sufficient preparation and the judicious addition
of salt and pepper. Indeed, in Dr. Cooke's interesting book on ' Fungi,
their Nature, Influence, and Uses,' you will find a recipe copied from a
French author by which any poisonous Fungus may be made wholesome,
but he does not advise you to try !
So much are Fungi the creatures of circumstances, that some may be
poisonous in one country that are eatable in another, however difficult the
influences of soil or climate may be to trace. The mushroom that every
English epicure delights in is said by Dr. Badham to be rejected as unfit
for food in Rome. Of course, if you eat too much of the most whole-
some mushroom, it may disagree with you. And just as some kinds of
fish or vegetables, harmless to mankind in general, are poisons to certain
idiosyncrasies, so there are some unfortunate individuals to whom even
the cultivated mushroom is distinctly poisonous. A gentleman whom I
knew to be so circumstanced has kindly informed me of the sensations
he has after eating a bit of mushroom less than half the size of a hazel
nut. "In about five minutes," he writes, " I have a slight itching in
the palm of the hands, which increases so as to become unbearable ;
after which my lips swell, and my nostrils appear to close." These
unpleasant symptoms sometimes last three days.
Children seem to be more often poisoned by Fungi than adults, but
then, apart from their greater rashness, they are naturally more
susceptible to toxic influences than adults ; just as a horse requires a
stronger dose of medicine than a man does to affect him similarly.
It is unfortunate that in the majority of cases of death by Fungus-
poisoning the exact species was not ascertained or recorded. The latest
authority, Dr. Stevenson, enumerates only about half a dozen species of
Fungi as " apparently poisonous under all conditions." But writers on
poisons are rarely mycologists, and we can hardly regard his list as
final.
The symptoms of Fungus-poisoning, which have often been so vividly
narrated, will never, I hope, be witnessed by any of you. They seem to
be of two kinds. One is an irritation of the whole intestinal tract, a
harsh taste in the throat, thirst, giddiness, difficult breathing, vomiting,
and diarrhoea. The other is an apparent narcosis or sleepiness, which
may possibly be due to the drain of fluid from the system, or to carbonic
acid poisoning. Death may occur at any period from six hours to three
days. But Dr. Stevenson comfortingly assures us that recovery is
frequent.
Should any of you, however, be so unfortunate as to meet with a case