Part 4

More dead than alive, I soon returned home, and was horrified to find _two others_ (whom I had invited to partake of my repast) in exactly the same condition as myself. At this moment, and not before, I thought of _Agaricus sinuatus_. These two others had suffered precisely as I had done, and we all three were apparently dying fast. They, however, were attacked by violent vomiting, which I imagine helped to hasten their recovery; for after a few days of sickness and nausea (with medical assistance) they got well; but it was not so with me; for although I had at first the inclination, I had not the strength left to vomit. During the latter part of the first day I was, however, so continually and fearfully purged, and suffered so much from headache and swimming of the brain, that I really thought every moment would be my last.

I was very ill for the next four or five days; suffered from loathing and lassitude; fell into deep sleep, long and troubled; at times found all my joints quite stiff; at others, found everything swimming before me; and it was not till a fortnight had elapsed that every bodily derangement had left me.

Fig. 14 is a portrait of the plant in question, taken before the culinary operations were commenced. No one, after seeing this picture, can fail to recognize the thing itself if found. It is large, has dull flesh-coloured gills, the top is a little downy, it smells like meal, and grows in woods.

It can always be found sparingly in autumn in the woods north of London.

=Fiery Milk-Mushroom.= Fig. 15.

(_Lactarius piperatus._) 500.

I imagine there are very few species in this country more dangerous than this one. So essentially and powerfully acrid is the milk, that if it be allowed to trickle over tender hands it will sting like the contact of nettles; and if a drop is placed on the lips or tongue, the sensation is like the scalding of boiling water, or the burning of a red-hot iron.

It is common in all woods; is particularly firm and solid, but rather brittle. In colour it is sometimes as white as snow, at others it inclines a little to cream; the milk is white and unchangeable, and usually abundant.

=Fetid Mushroom.= Fig. 16.

(_Russula fœtens._) 530.

Less rigid than other _Russulæ_, brittle, and sticky in all its parts, always slug-eaten, and possessed of a wet insufferable odour that can be likened to nothing in nature, this species cannot in reason be anything but deleterious and pernicious to human life. Slugs certainly highly relish it; for although it is one of our commonest species, yet it is invariably much eaten by slugs: frequently the gills are covered with these creatures, or are even completely eaten away.

=Blood-stained Mushroom.= Fig. 17.

(_Russula sanguinea._) 518.

This acrid species of Russula, sometimes found in woods, is by no means uncommon; its well-marked blood-red top and _firm substance_ at once distinguish it from other species. The gills are white, and run a little down the stem.

=Livid Milk-Mushroom.= Fig. 18.

(_Lactarius pyrogalus._) 498.

The highly acrid white milk abundantly exuded from this plant, its depressed and zoned top, its peculiar livid coloration and yellowish gills, distinguish it from the other milk-mushrooms.

It grows in woods and meadows.

=False Chantarelle.= Fig. 19.

(_Cantharellus aurantiacus._) 540.

Is known by its smaller size, its gills being far thinner and more crowded than in the true chantarelle; the stem frequently deep umber at the base, and the gills or veins darker than the top.

It is a species to be rejected for culinary purposes.

=Yellow Milk-Mushroom.= Fig. 20.

(_Lactarius theiogalus._) 503.

This is a beautiful plant, with an odour that is far from disagreeable. It is _sometimes_ without the zones on the top which are shown in our figure, but it is immediately known by the change of colour which takes place in the milk on breaking the fungus; this is at first pure white, but in less than a minute the milk turns to a brilliant yellow.

It is not uncommon, and may generally be found at Hampstead in the woods; and it is supposed to be poisonous.

=Emetic Mushroom.= Fig. 21.

(_Russula emetica._) 528.

This is a magnificent but certainly rare species, but it has a very bad name, and is supposed to possess highly dangerous qualities. The skin is scarlet, and may be readily peeled off, and then the pink flesh is displayed beneath, which is its great characteristic; the gills are pure white, and do not reach the stem; the top is highly polished, and varies from scarlet and crimson to a faint rose-colour, and may now and then be found shaded with purple.

It attains a large size, and loves damp places in woods, and the neighbourhood of trees.

=Slimy Dung-Mushroom.= Fig. 22.

(_Agaricus_ [_Psalliota_] _semiglobatus._) 327.

This extremely common little sticky Agaric grows in pastures, on dung, everywhere; the stem is covered with a glutinous thick slime.

It is regarded as poisonous.

=Sulphury Mushroom.= Fig. 23.

(_Agaricus_ [_Tricholoma_] _sulfureus._) 55.

In woody places at the south of London this very disagreeable but handsome species now and then puts in an appearance. It has a particularly nasty penetrating smell, which has been compared with “gas-tar.” The stem is firm, as is the whole plant, and sulphur-coloured.

It is probably a very dangerous species, but I have seldom met with it.

=Incrusted Mushroom.= Fig. 24.

(_Agaricus_ [_Hebelonia_] _crustuliniformis._) 278.

Growing in woods, this deleterious species is extremely common, and without doubt very dangerous. The dirty pale-umber gills, and its habitat and time of growth—viz. the autumn—at once distinguish it from the delicious _A. gambosus_, fig. 19, Edible Sheet. It has a powerful and highly disagreeable odour, and brown spores, and we believe it is often mistaken by the ignorant for the true mushroom.

=Verdigris Mushroom.= Fig. 25.

(_Agaricus_ [_Psalliota_] _æruginosus._) 322.

The verdigris-green colour of the top of this mushroom is not permanent, but consists of green slime that soon gets washed off by the rain, flaked with white scales. The stem is hollow, and the top fleshy.

It generally grows about stumps, is a very handsome fungus, and is doubtless poisonous.

=Fiery Tube-Mushroom.= Fig. 26.

(_Boletus piperatus._) 597.

Never attains a larger size than the specimen on the sheet; indeed it is one of the smallest of all the _Boleti_. The taste is highly acrid; it is therefore looked upon with grave suspicion, and it is probably a very dangerous plant.

It grows in woods, but is rare.

=Satanical Tube-Mushroom.= Fig. 27.

(_Boletus Satanas._) 606.

The specimen figured I gathered in Crab-tree Wood, near Winchester, during an architectural excursion to St. Cross. I have only once seen anything of it elsewhere, though my late friend Mrs. Gulson, of Eastcliff, has sent it on to me several times from the neighbourhood of Teignmouth.

Without doubt it is by far the most splendid of all the _Boleti_. The top is nearly white, very fleshy, and a little viscid; the stem is firm, exquisitely coloured, and beautifully reticulated; the under surface is brilliant crimson. It usually attains a large size, grows in woods, and as soon as broken or bruised, changes to blue.

In all likelihood it is highly poisonous.

=Pungent Milk-Mushroom.= Fig. 28.

(_Lactarius acris._) 505.

As its name indicates, this is a very acrid and dangerous fungus. It is said to be rare, but I have sometimes known it to be extremely abundant in the woods near London. When cut or broken, the flesh and white milk change to a dull-sienna red; this distinguishes it from all other mushrooms. To observe the change of colour it requires at times a little patience; for I have known half an hour, or even an hour, elapse before the change of colour is manifest.

=Bitter Tube-Mushroom.= Fig. 29.

(_Boletus felleus._) 617.

Said to be rare, but generally abundant in Epping Forest. I have found it in abundance in Nottinghamshire, and know it well; it was the first Boletus I ever drew, and I was then nearly eating it for _Boletus edulis_.

The bitter taste of _B. felleus_, the _flesh-coloured tubes_, the flesh-colour of the top when broken, the reticulated stem, and the pink spores are the distinguishing marks of this species. It is poisonous.

=False Champignon.= Fig. 30.

(_Marasmius urens._) 550.

The more slender habit, the mealy stem, white downy base, and the narrower, darker, and crowded gills, distinguish this counterfeit from the true champignon (fig. 28, Edible Sheet). It sometimes accompanies the latter plant, but with ordinary care can be detected in a moment. It grows in _woods_, as well as in pastures and by roadsides.

I think I was once poisoned by it in Bedfordshire. I well remember, on my way home late one evening, gathering a quantity of champignons for supper; and as it was dark, I imagine I must have gathered both species. I did not cook them myself, neither did I examine them after they were taken from the basket; but I noticed at supper-time that they were unusually hot, and I thought the old woman who cooked them had put too much pepper into the stew. I never suspected the fungi.

In about half an hour after partaking of them my head began to ache, my brain to swim, and my throat and stomach to burn, as if in contact with fire. After being ill for some hours, a terrible fit of purging and vomiting set in, which appeared soon to set me to rights; for after a day or so I was no worse for it.

=Fetid Wood-Witch.= Fig. 31.

(_Phallus impudicus._) 914.

This is a great ornament to our woods, but its truly horrible effluvia beggars description; the nasal organs detect its presence at a long distance, and when neared the loathsome odour is indescribably revolting. Flies, however, appear to highly relish it; for these _Phalli_ are invariably covered with flies, who greedily devour the odorous and liquid repast found at the top of the stem. It is most abundant at woody places in the north of London, all through the summer till the late autumn.

Had not this species really been eaten, with several other singular, offensive, and dangerous fungi figured on this sheet, it would have been hardly necessary to figure or refer to it at all.

THE END.

End of Project Gutenberg's Mushroom and Toadstools, by Worthington G. Smith