Three acrid Russulæ remain to be described, Ag. alutaceus, Ag. emeticus, Ag. sanguineus; all three common, though not perhaps so common as the mild ones, and all to be avoided. The first, A. alutaceus, Fries, is ranked by Vittadini among the safe kinds, he even affixes a misplaced note of admiration after his epithet “esculentus!” and describes it even when raw as “a dainty food, possessed of a most agreeable flavour.”
Mr. Berkeley, who reports it esculent when young, remarks that individual specimens occur, which prove almost as acrid as the Ag. emeticus itself; my own experience of it in England is, that whether young or old, it is always acrid when raw.[170] I have never tried it dressed, which might possibly extract its noxious qualities, as Vittadini reports to have been the case with a caustic variety which he subjected to this test; but since even then, on his own showing, it proved indigestible, I would advise no one to try this species, especially when there are so many others, the good qualities of which are known.
It is easy to distinguish A. alutaceus from any of the foregoing species; to do this it is only necessary to look at the gills, which, in place of being, as in these, white, watery white, or cream-coloured, are of a rich buff; pileus about three inches broad, pink or livid olive, smooth on the surface, and viscid in wet weather; the margin at first even, but in age striate; the gills broad, equal, slightly forked, ventricose, free, connected by veins; the sporules rich buff; the stem one and a half inches long, blunt, surface longitudinally wrinkled or grooved, solid without, spongy within, varying from white to buff.
Agaricus emeticus, Schœffer.
Reports concerning the qualities of this fungus differ widely, some asserting it to be a most deleterious species, of which the mischief was not to be removed by cooking, whilst others, on the authority of dogs whom they persuaded to eat some, pronounced it innoxious. In this state of uncertainty Vittadini, for the sake of science, and peradventure of adventure also, determined to test its effects upon himself; he had previously given at different times large doses, of from six to twelve ounces, to dogs, both in the crude state and also cooked; but without result. “Still,” says he,[171] “thinking that though dogs might eat Ag. emeticus with impunity, it might yet prove injurious to man, I took five specimens of fair dimensions, and having fried, I ate them with the usual condiments; but though pains were taken to have them delicately prepared (oltimamente cucinati), they still retained their acrid bitter taste, and were most distasteful to the palate.” The reader will be glad to learn, that the only inconvenience suffered by this bold self-experimentalist was a slight sense of præcordial uneasiness accompanied with flatulence,—effects attributable entirely, as he believed, to the rich mode in which his dish was prepared: though, more timid apparently for others’ safety than his own, he particularly adds, “though I have clearly established to my own satisfaction, the complete innocuousness of the A. emeticus; still, as there are, or are said to be, other Russulæ of highly deleterious properties and closely allied, the mistaking which for it might be paid for by the loss of life, the safer rule is to abstain from all such as have acrid juices.”
The botanical characters of Ag. emeticus are as follow:—
Pileus more or less rosy, flesh compact, margin striate, epidermis adherent; gills very brittle, arched in front, attenuated towards the stalk, connected below by transverse plaits, generally simple, a few forked, the imperfect gills rounded off behind; the stalk, which is compact, of equal dimensions, and white, is generally more or less stained with red spots of the same hue as the pileus; in the growing fungus, where the epidermis has been removed and the flesh eaten by insects, this soon acquires a tint as lively as that of the skin itself; generally I have remarked that the erosions of insects and slugs do not produce any change of colour, even in the species notorious under other circumstances for manifesting such a change; thus the flesh of the Ag. rubescens, which turns red when it is divided, may be frequently seen half eaten through, exhibiting a white flesh; and the same is the case with the Boletus luridus, the flesh of which, though eroded, remains white till it is broken through.
Ag. sanguineus, Bull.
This fungus, of which the general facies and most of the botanical characters, as well as the taste and other qualities, are similar to those of the last-mentioned Agaric, differs from it in having its gills for the most part forked, many smaller ones being interposed between those that are entire, also in not having its margin striate, as the Ag. emeticus when moderately expanded always has. The smell of this fungus, which is only developed in drying, is, according to Vittadini, “most agreeable,” resembling that of fresh meal; to me its odour is unpleasant and like that of sour paste.