74 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. 
the former fungus, /lammula sapineus, was present in 
larger numbers but both were plentiful. Many of the 
holes had no fungus growing in them, but with a single 
exception these two fungi were never found growing other- 
wise. This exception was a group of two or three indi- 
viduals of //ammula sapineus which were found growing 
at the base of an upright but rotten pine tree. From 
their situation it was judged that they were growing on 
the rotted roots, but this was not ascertained. It was at 
first thought that the borers must have had something to 
do with the situation of the fungi, but everything seemed 
to discredit this supposition. On cutting the wood so that 
the interior was exposed it was found that the fungus 
mycelium invariably extended but a short distance into 
the burrows. In the burrows was always found a mass of 
wood fiber which had been chewed by the borer. This 
extended for several inches into the hole and was coarser 
the farther it was situated from the entrance. That 
located within about two inches of the entrance was more 
or less decayed and blackened. That situated farther in 
seemed to be perfectly sound and was uncolored. The 
pieces of material near the entrance were of the size of 
common sawdust while those located farthest from the 
entrance were often about one-fourth inch long. The 
mycelium was found only in the somewhat decayed ma- 
terial and never in the sound. The fungi seemed to feed 
on the decaying wood fiber, and apparently on nothing 
else. They are known as frequenters of decaying wood 
and this fact probably accounts for the limited distribution 
of their mycelium in the decayed outer portion and not 
in the fresh inner portion of the material. We apparently 
have a case where the spores of a previous crop of fungi 
were blown into the burrows and there germinated. They 
found their usual food material in sufficient quantities for 
them to complete their development and form fruiting or- 
gans. Immense numbers of spores were found under every 
