182 A Mushroom Disease. [Sess. 
VIIN.—A MUSHROOM DISEASE. 
By Mr G. T. MALTHOUSE. 
(Read Feb. 27, 1901.) 
I was asked last summer to examine the mushroom beds in 
Scotland Street Tunnel, Edinburgh, as they were attacked by 
a “blight.” From the appearance of the mushrooms I felt con- 
vinced that the “blight” was due to the attacks of a fungus, 
and subsequent investigations have proved that this idea was 
correct. Mr Paton informed me that the disease first made 
its appearance in 1893, and since then it has spread through- 
out the whole tunnel, the loss caused by it being enormous. 
A year or two ago the Scottish Mushroom Company com- 
menced to grow crops in Law Tunnel, Dundee, but in a very 
short time the disease broke out in that place also, and it was 
recently closed for a time. The rapidity with which the 
fungus spread in such congenial surroundings was so alarming 
that the advice of experts was sought on every hand, and 
several recommendations for disinfecting the tunnel were 
made, but none have proved effectual up to the present time. 
The appearance of the disease in Law Tunnel, Dundee, is a 
point of great interest, for it illustrates in a very striking way 
how easily fungoid diseases like the one under notice can be 
spread. It is quite evident that the disease was carried to 
Dundee from Edinburgh by workmen who had been employed 
in Scotland Street Tunnel, and who took tools with them from 
Edinburgh. The tools and boots of the workmen would carry 
sufficient spores to give the fungus a good hold in the new 
tunnel as soon as operations commenced there. 
I have, as yet, been unable to work out the complete life- 
history of the fungus, and therefore only propose to describe 
the form in which it appears on the diseased mushrooms, and 
then give an account of the experiments made with fungicides 
with a view to stamping it out. The appearance of a bed of 
mushrooms attacked by this disease is very striking. Instead 
of the symmetrical form exhibited by sound specimens (fig. 1) 
diseased ones present many curious malformations (figs. 2-10). 
These malformations may be divided into three types :— 
