eliminary symptoms
begin until nine to fourteen hours after the poisonous mushrooms are
eaten. There is then considerable abdominal pain and there may be cramps
in the legs and other nervous phenomena, such as convulsions, and even
lockjaw or other kinds of tetanic spasms. The pulse is weak, the
abdominal pain is rapidly followed by nausea, vomiting, and extreme
diarrhoea, the intestinal discharges assuming the 'rice-water'
condition characteristic of cholera. The latter symptoms are
persistently maintained, generally without loss of consciousness, until
death ensues, which happens in from two to four days. There is no known
antidote by which the effects of phallin can be counteracted. The
undigested material, if not already vomited, should, however, be removed
from the stomach and intestines by methods similar to those given for
cases of poisoning by _Amanita muscaria_.

"After that the remainder of the poison, if the amount of phallin
already taken up by the system is not too large, may wear itself out on
the blood and the patient may recover. It is suggested that this
wearing-out process may be assisted by transfusing into the veins blood
freshly taken from some warm-blooded animal. The depletion of the blood
serum might be remedied by similar transfusions of salt and warm water."

=Helvellic Acid.=--This very deadly poison is sometimes found in
_Helvella esculenta_ Persoon (Gyromitra esculenta), particularly in old
or decaying specimens. It has been studied and named by Boehm. It is
quite soluble in hot water, and in some localities this species of
_Helvella_ is always parboiled--the water being thrown away--before it
is prepared for the table. It seems to be quite generally agreed that
young and perfectly fresh specimens are free from the poison. As the
poison is very violent, however, this plant should be carefully avoided.

The symptoms resemble in a very marked degree those of the deadly
phallin, the dissolution of the red corpuscles of the blood being one of
the most marked and most dangerous; this is accompanied by nausea,
vomiting, jaundice, and stoppage of the kidneys. There is no known
antidote for this poison, hence the little that can be done would be
similar to that mentioned under phallin.

When poisoning by mushrooms is suspected, one cannot too strongly urge
that the services of a competent physician should be secured with the
least possible delay.

CHAPTER XXIII.

DESCRIPTION OF TERMS AP