43 



was noted for a particular tree during the past summer. This tree, a 

 large White Spruce, had been blown down some years when first seen. 

 The standing stump was 12 feet (3| meters) in height, and on its south 

 side there developed in August of 1897 a large number of the sporo- 

 phores. These dried and broke away during the following winter. 

 During the summer of 1898 no sporophores appeared on either the 

 standing stump or the fallen log, and it was not until August, 1899, 

 that a new lot of the brackets appeared, and then in the greatest num- 

 ber. Three large patches broke out on the north and northwest side 

 of the trunk, and the lower side of the fallen log was literally covered 

 with the yellow brackets. No mention of this periodical occurrence 

 of the fruiting portion has been found, and it will be of considerable 

 interest to see what will take place this year. Several other large 

 Spruces in the immediate neighborhood were caused to decay by this 

 fungus, but no sporophores have so far developed on their trunks. 



The shape of the pileus varies materially with the position which it 

 happens to occupy. When on upright trunks several sessile sporo- 

 phores usually occur one above the other, the upper surfaces of the 

 lower ones touching and uniting here and there with the lower surfaces 

 of those above. The individual parts are comparatively thin plates, 

 which have radiating lines and depressions extending outward to the 

 margin. The body of each is soft and fleshv when young and full of 

 a clear yellowish liquid. The upper surface when 3'oung is verj^ 

 moist, somewhat hairy, and when ])ruised turns brown. As the plant 

 grows older it becomes verj^ much harder, and when completel}' formed 

 is quite hard and brittle. Masses of the young plants have a peculiar 

 fungous odor, which l)ecomes very intense as the parts grow older. 

 The lower surface of the shelf is smooth and even. The pores are 

 formed verj- early in its development, and almost as soon as thej' are 

 completed the formation and discharge of spores begin. The sporo- 

 phores are very short-lived. They l)egin to appear on the trunk as 

 small I'ounded knobs, formed by thick-walled hypha?, which come out 

 from between the bark scales. Their growth is very rapid, even more 

 so than that noted for Polyporm schvjeinitzl i . The various small 

 kno])s soon flatten into a number of plates, consisting of strands of 

 hyphai, some of which grow out horizontally, increasing the width of 

 the pileus, while others grow downward to form the pores. When 

 the sporophores develop on the under side of a log they grow out in 

 all directions from a central point, and sometimes forms with a distinct 

 stipe are met with. 



Numerous drops of the clear liquid mentioned before were found 

 hanirino- from the under surface of the shelves on some days.' The 

 api)earance of the drops does not seem to stand in any relation to the 

 amount of moisture in the air, for they weie found alike on very dry 



* Fries notes this fact — Epicrisis, etc. 450. 



