22 THE ^'bluing" and the "red rot" of the pine. 



becomes equally rapid. The blue color appears around the beetle 

 holes soon after the entrance of the ' ' blue "' fungus. Usually it f oitqs 

 two rings extending from the hole along the wood fibers. Various 

 stages of this first appearance of the color are shown on PL IX. The 

 spread of the "blue"" fungus within the wood, through the agency of 

 wood-boring beetles, is an occurrence frequently found in man}" conif- 

 erous woods. The central figure at the bottom of PL IX is from a 

 photograph of a log of western hemlock found in the Olympic Forest 

 Reserve, in Washington, which shows an even more striking case of 

 the spread of Ceratostomella from holes made by Gnathotricus occi- 

 dentalis Hopkins MS. This particular piece of wood was cut from 

 a fallen trunk, about 6 inches in from the bark. 



FRUITING ORGANS OF THE •"BLUE*' FUNGUS. 



The "blue"' fungus forms its fruiting bodies on the surface of the 

 wood in which it is growing. Air seems to be necessary for the for- 

 mation of the fruiting bodies. A good deal of moisture in the sur- 

 rounding air is necessary likewise. No fruiting organs are formed in 

 dry air. In the forest they occur in the cracks formed when a blued 

 trunk is broken ofi', on broken branches, and at such other points as 

 are exposed to the air. So far the writer has been unable to find the 

 perithecia of CeratostomeUa on the surface of standing trunks under 

 the bark, although a diligent search has been made for them at all 

 seasons for two 3'ears. When, several months after the beetle attack, 

 the bark becomes loose, so that it separates from the wood, a space 

 is left between the bark and wood. In this space numerous fungi 

 develop in quantities, among others a species of Alternaria which lines 

 the pupal chambers of the DendroctonuH^ and a species of YerticiUiiun. 

 The whole atmosphere of this region is surcharged with moisture, and 

 yet the •"blue" fungus does not fructifv here, for there is probably 

 not enough air. 



The black perithecia of the "blue" fungus, Ceratodomella inlifera 

 (Fr.) Winter, are familiar objects on blued boards or shingles, where 

 the}' occur in thousands side by side. The perithecia are formed 

 within a few hours when the conditions are favorable. At various 

 points on the surface of the wood, in some instances out of every 

 medullaiy ray, masses of h3'pha? grow out forming a dense mass which 

 gradually develops into an egg-shaped bod}- (PL VII, 4). The surface 

 of the young perithecium shows irregular polygonal markings, which 

 gradually become indistinct as the perithecium turns jet black almost 

 to its tip. At the tip of the young perithecium a number of hyphte 

 grow out parallel with one another (PL VII, 4) in a direction perpen- 

 dicular to the substi'atum. They remain colorless at the tip. These 

 hyphfe grow in length with remarkable rapidity and form a long 



