Fungi. 223 



say what disease. The owners of the tract made haste to 

 get out and work up as many of these dead trees as possi- 

 ble, before their decay should have progressed so far as to 

 render them worthless. But with all their promptness 

 they sustained considerable loss. The entire sap wood of 

 the affected trees was in the condition aptly termed dry rot. 

 Its color had changed to a pale dull yellowish hue, the 

 woody fibres had lost their tenacity, large pieces were 

 easily broken short off; it was in fact, soft, brittle, crumb- 

 ling, dusty, rotten ; and only the heart wood of the trees 

 was of any value. Thoughts of pestilent Fungi had not at 

 that time entered my boyish mind, but at the present time, 

 though it is not affirmed that the trouble was of fungoid 

 origin, I do not hesitate to say that it is probable that some 

 dry-rot Fungus was the author of the mischief. 



If we consider the relations of Fungi to animals we shall 

 find that they as well as plants are subject to the attacks of 

 these parasites and are sometimes deprived of life through 

 their agency. It is, however, more often that benefit rather 

 than injury arises from these relations. In support of the 

 former assertion it is only necessary to call attention to the 

 ravages of Botrytis bassiana among the silkworms, or to the 

 agency of various species of Cordyeeps in destroying multi- 

 tudes of various insects by attacking them in the larval or 

 pupal state. In the former case the injury is wrought 

 both upon the insect, in its destruction, and upon man in 

 his diminished crop of silk ; in the latter, though the insect 

 is destroyed, the farmer is benefited, the enemies to his 

 crops being overcome by a Fungus innoxious to the crops 

 and to himself. The Texas cattle disease is an illustration 

 of the terribly pernicious effects some Fungi may produce 

 in their attacks upon animals, a connection between this 

 disease and Coniothecium Stilesianum having been traced. 

 And there are not wanting men of great learning and 



