FUNGI, OF CLAY MINES. 191 



Quite a number of wood-inhabiting fungi were found to 

 be fruiting in a normal manner, but there were evidently 

 others which were unable to form any recognizable sporo- 

 phores. Of these latter, one was very abundant, forming 

 dense rounded masses of white mycelium which were so 

 full of water that they collapsed when taken in the hand. 

 Every place where touched immediately assumed a water- 

 soaked appearance. Still another formed black mats of 

 coarse mycelium upon the outer surface of the timbers. 



Somewhat to the writer's surprise, the fungi found upon 

 the timbers in these mines were not those which are seen 

 most commonly in the forests of the immediate vicinity of 

 the mines but in a number of cases at least, were compara- 

 tively rare ones. 



In one of the mines visited by far the most abundant 

 fungus noted was a bright red one, which usually grew in 

 the shape of an inverted cone, attached upon one side or at 

 its apex. It was also present in 



mines 



numbers. This was identified as Merulius rub 

 Peck. It was present on over one half of the upright 

 timbers, and must be quite destructive, as the timbers 



but 



Sometimes 



dozens of the sporophores on a single timber, and sometimes 

 but one or two. Usually they were scattered, but they also 

 occurred in large imbricated masses. The young stages 



mvcehum 



gularity 



most 



abundant one in the mine is somewhat anomalous in view 

 of its evident rarity in the forests of the vicinity. It has 

 never been found by the writer anywhere in the vicinity, 

 although he has collected quite carefully for several years 

 in that locality. Glatfelter, 1 however, mentions finding 

 it once, about one hundred miles away. 



A single fungus was found occurring upon the pine cross 

 pieces in considerable abundance; it grew in a resupinate 

 form, and was identified as Fomes annosus Fr. This is 

 Vr.™™ tr. ho A<srw>r>ifill v destructive to coniferous timber in 



1 Glatfelter, N. M. Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis. 16 : 81. 1906 



