S66 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



want of air ; but it is easy to sup- 

 pose, that after the floor is shrunk, 

 an air may be created between that, 

 and thcTacancy between the wains- 

 cot and outer wall, sufficient for the 

 purposes of vegetation. 

 ~ I saw an instance, last summer, 

 in the house of a friend, a student in 

 botany. He was surprised m hen I 

 told him it was a visit from a plant : 

 but so it proved, and always is, and 

 ever was so ; nor does it originate 

 Irom any other cause. 



In my own case, I removed the 

 original soil near the part afl'ectcd, 

 and supplied its place with sand. I 

 then placed pieces of tile ; on those 

 1 laid mortar, and tiles over them, 

 pushing them under the wainscot, 

 so that it had no communication with 

 the joists of the floor. Pillars, in 

 like manner, should be kept from 

 the earth. 



In laying a floor upon the ground 

 I should take away the earth for a 

 foot in breath, and four inches in 

 depth, all round the walls, and place 

 the ends of the joists in mortar, 

 covering them with tiles pressed un- 

 der the floor and wainscot, quite to 

 the outward wall. Iron or tin plates 

 •would do. but are not so cheap as 

 mortar and tiles. 



This plant has no adhesive powers 

 but in contact with wood. If it 

 could pass over brick or mortar, it 

 might be seen to spring from the 

 cellars, and infect half the houses in 

 the kingdom. 



In short, the wainscot is to be 

 kept free from contact with the 

 joists and floor; and I believe it can- 

 not be better efl'ccted than I have 

 described. 



The leaves of the plant appearing 

 exhausted and dead, is owinii to 

 their having imparted all their juices 

 to the wood, which changes it to a 



fungus, and not to a powder, like 

 rottenness from length of time. 



The boletus lachrymans is of the 

 fungus tribe, and is one of the few 

 that have leaves, as the misletoe, &c. 

 Nothing is more easy than to pre- 

 vent the damage from the plant. 

 Besides what I have before said, 1 am 

 positive that a tile laid close along 

 the walls round the room would pre- 

 vent the growth of the plant, even 

 without mortar ; and perhaps it i$ 

 only necessary where the walls are 

 next to the air. 



Charring the ends of the joists 

 for a few inches, and charring the 

 sides of the Maiuscotat bottom next, 

 to the wall, would be sufiicicnt, for 

 the plant cannot adlicre to any 

 thing but wood, and that possessed 

 of its natural juices to a certain de- 

 gree ; so that I question if old dry 

 oak would receive it. All the white 

 soft woods, as beech, poplars, and 

 deals, are for a long time ready tq 

 receive it. Repairing the damage 

 with fresh wood, without removing 

 the earth and plant, is only feeding 

 the evil. 



The plant is of the creeping kind, 

 and cannot rise two inches ; so that 

 w ood, in all cases, must be in con- 

 tact with the earth to support it. 



A fungus broader than the palm 

 of ones hand, and an inch or more 

 in thickness, is commonly seen at th« 

 bottom of an old post, on the sur- 

 face of the earth ; but it is not easy 

 to discern Mhcllier (he wood or the 

 earth furnishes the matter ; so true 

 is the observation of Muller: — 

 '• Dans I'etude dc la nature, on 

 " prut nous comparer a de petits 

 " en fans qui conimencent a ouvrir 

 " les yens ; nous voulons parler 

 " beaucoup, et nous ne faisons que 

 "• begayer." The qualities of this 

 plant are unknown to most English 



botanists, 



