Observations on the " Slime-fluxes" of trees. 167 



OBSERVATIONS ON THE "SLIME-FLUXES" 

 OF TREES*. 



By Lawrence Ogilvie, M.A., B.Sc. {Abdn.)., (late Fullerton 

 Research Scholar, Aberdeen University; Government Plant 



Patholog ist. Berm uda) . 



(With one text figure.) 



INTRODUCTIOy. 



At the suggestion of Mr F. T. Brooks the writer undertook, 



in the autumn of 192 1. the investigation of certain pecuhar 

 exudations from the trunks and branches of trees, especially 

 elms, horse-chestnuts, apples and \^tL1ows. These have long been 

 known in scientific hterature under the name of "slime-fluxes" 

 ((jerman, " Schleimfluss ") but it might be preferable, on account 

 of the possible confusion of the term with the popular name 

 for the Mycetozoa, to refer to them as "mucilaginous exu- 

 dations" (French, "ecoulements muqueux des arbres") or 

 the "weeping" of trees. The latter term appears to be in use 

 in England. 



RE\'IEW OF LITEiL\TURE. 



The first papers on the so-called "slime-fluxes" were pub- 

 lished by Dr F. Ludwig of Greisz in the year iSS6(i, z), and 

 dealt with a pecuhar pathological appearance on oak trees, from 

 the bark of which there flowed out a beer-like froth in con- 

 siderable quantity. This he called the " alcohoHc flux " or "white 

 slime flux" of oaks. 



In iSSS a paper by Lud\\igi3i announced the discover\- of 

 a new kind of flux, the "brown flux" of apple-trees, horse- 

 chestnuts and elms. 



There next followed communications by Hansen -i- and 

 Lindau(f ), and. in 1S96, a sur\'ey by Ludwig of the work accom- 

 phshed up to that year ^6). A useful summary- of Lud\Wg's work 

 up to 1S97 will be found in Tubeuf and Smith's text-book (?>. 



In the same year a note from Massee appeared in the Kev: 

 Bulletin on the occurrence of the brown flux on fruit trees in 

 England (S). 



A long series of communications was published bv Holtz in 

 I90i(9>, in which he dealt thoroughly with the whole question. 

 A complete bibhography up to that date was appended. 



In 1906 a short note on the slime flux of beech trees appeared 

 in the Journal of the Board of Agriculture {lo), while Massee (n), 

 in 1907, recorded the occurrence of the white flux at Kew. 



* Part of a dissertation sabmitted for the Degree of M.Sc. at the University 

 of Cambridge, 1923. 



