posed of those who are practically unaware of the existence of poisonous varieties and the second class of persons are those who claim to be able to tell an edible mushroom from a certain number of tests or claims which they regard as infallible. Both of these classes of persons are apt to be deceived or injured by dangerous varieties.
The following popular signs of distinguishing between the poisonous and non-poisonous varieties are pronounced worthless by Gibson ("Our Edible Toadstools and Mushrooms and How to Distinguish Them"):
"Favorable Signs.
1. Pleasant taste and odor.
2. Peeling of the skin of the cap from rim to center.
3. Pink gills, turning brown in older specimens.
4. The stem easily pulled out of the cap and inserted in it like a parasol handle.
5. Solid stems.
6. Must be gathered in the morning.
7. 'Any fungus having a pleasant taste and odor, being found similarly agreeable after being plainly broiled without the least seasoning is perfectly safe.'
"unfavorable Signs.
8. Boiling with a 'silver spoon,' the staining of the silver indicating danger.
9. Change of color in the fraction of the fresh mushroom.
10. Slimy or sticky on the top.
11. Having the stems at their sides.
12. Growing in clusters.
13. Found in dark, damp places.
14. Growing on wood, decayed logs, or stumps.
15. Growing on or near manure.
16. Having bright colors.
17. Containing milky juice.
18. Having the gill plates of even length.
19. Melting into black fluid.
20. Biting the tongue or having a bitter or nauseating taste.
21. Changing color by immersion in salt-water, or upon being dusted with salt.
"These present but a selection of the more prevalent notions. Taken in toto, they would prove entirely safe, as they would practically exclude every species of toadstool or mushroom that grows. But as a rule the village oracle bases his infallibility upon two or three of the above 'rules,' and inasmuch
