Volume 2
The household physician : a family guide to the preservation of health and to the domestic treatment of ailments and disease, with chapters on food and drugs and first aid in accidents and injuries / by J. McGregor-Robertson ; with an introduction by John G. McKendrick.
- M'Gregor-Robertson, J. (Joseph), 1858-1925
- Date:
- 1899
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The household physician : a family guide to the preservation of health and to the domestic treatment of ailments and disease, with chapters on food and drugs and first aid in accidents and injuries / by J. McGregor-Robertson ; with an introduction by John G. McKendrick. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![MUSHKOOMS. Fungi are plants of a simple type of organi- zation.” They contain no chlorophyll, that is the green colouring matter of ])lauts. ihey possess a considerable quantity of nitrogenous material, and are, therefore, of consi<lerable ali- mentary value, but tliey are used mainly as llavouring and seasoning agents and for the [U’oduction of sauces, MushPOOm.—There are many varieties of mushroom, some of them suitable foi eating, many of them poisonous. It is said, also, that under circumstances of situation a mushroom, usually employed for food, may become hurtful. The species commonly used is the Agaricus campestvis, or field mushroom. It is found growing in the open field in August and the two following months. It may be cultivated Mushrooms suitcMo for eating: 1. Grow solitarily in dry airy places. 2. Are generally white or brownish. 3. Have a compact brittle flesh. 4. When cut do not change colour by the action of the air. 5. Have a watery juice. 6. Their odour is agreeable. 7. Their taste is neither bitter, acrid, salt, nor astringent. Dr. Christison places reliance on the astrin- gent styptic taste and disagreeable pungent odour as indicating certainly a poisonous fungus, though some poisonous kinds are devoid of any unpleasant smell. The symptoms of poisoning from mushrooms are those of marked irritation of stomach and bowels, along with symptoms of brain disturb- ance. Thus there is colicky pain in stomach and bowels, sickness and purging, faintness and giddiness, dimness of siglit, drowsiness, pros- tration and stupor. Sometimes the symptoms refer mainly to the stomach and bowels, and in other cases the symptoms are moi’e those of a narcotic poison. They may arise very soon after the meal or not for some hours. If vomiting takes place soon, recovery is almost certain. To induce vomiting should be the first effort of treatment, a tea-spoonful of mustard in a tumblerful of hot water being a suitable means, tickling the throat with a feather, passing the finger down the throat, &c. The poisonous active principle of one form of fungus—the fly fungus or fly amanita {Amanita muscaria, see Plate X.)—called muscarin, has been obtained from this fungus, which completely paralyses the heart of a frog, when in gardens all the year round. They are eaten raw, boiled, baked, stewed or pickled, and when salted and pressed they yield ketchup. The mushroom consists of a net-work of thread-like material, the mycelium, growing underground. From this the stalk springs, bearing the head or cap or pileus of the mushroom. This is often of a sort of umbrella shape, and upon its under surface is a series of gills or bars, which bear the spores or seed of the fungus. It is difficult to distinguish between good and poisonous mushrooms. As a rule, those suitable for food are white or brownish; the gaudily coloured are poisonous. The suitable kinds are found gi’owing in the open fields, not in damp, shady places. Bentley gives the characters as follows:— Poisonous mushrooms: 1. Gi’ow in clusters in woods, and damp, dark 2. Are usually of a bright colour. [places. 3. Have a tough, soft, or watery flesh. 4. Acquire a blue, green, or brown tint when cut and exposed to the air. 5. The juice is often milky. [agreeable. 6. The odour is commonly powerful and dis- 7. Their taste is bitter, acrid, salt, or astrin- gent. it is touched with a drop of the solution. There is an antidote to this poison, namely belladonna (deadly nightshade) or its active principle ati'O- pina. Of tincture of belladonna 5-15 drops might be given every two or three hours while danger lasted, or, if the liquor atropim is to be had, a drop may be given in water eA'ery two or three hours. Mote that belladonna may be given to children without fear. They are less sus- ceptible to its use than adults. The fungus containing muscarin is said to produce sym])toms of intoxication, and symp- toms of narcotic poisoning rather than of bowel irritation. Digitalis is also recommended as an antidote. Of its tincture 10 to 20 drops in water may be given repeatedly to an adult, 2 or 3 drops to a child. The Morel [Morchella esculentd) grows in Britain, but is largely imported from Germany in a dry state. It is used for gravies. Truffles {Tuber ciharium) are underground fungi, not growing at all above the surface. They are of a fleshy structure, dark in colour, covered with nodules, varying in size from a plum to a potato. They are found in Wiltshire, Hamp- shire and Kent in England, especially in oak and chestnut forests. Dogs are trained to un-](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28124674_0002_0073.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
