252 CRYPTOGAMIC PLANTS INJURIOUS TO FOREST TREES. 



ground was levelled and laid down with fine grass as a lawn. In 

 the course of the following year the Wellingtonias were planted, 

 without any further preparation being made than digging a small 

 hole for each, and filling it with a barrow-load of fresh soil, into 

 which the young trees were stuck in regular order, no care or 

 thought having been taken whether or not they were placed on the 

 top of an old stump, as in reality some of them were. For a few 

 years they made moderate progress, and all went fairly well till 

 they had reached a height of from 8 to 12 feet in the year 1865, 

 when I took charge of them. The summer of that year was 

 very hot and dry from the beginning of June to the eai-ly part of 

 August, and it was during that period that the trees began to 

 show decided symptoms of declining vigour, by the young growth 

 becoming yellow, then brown, and dropping off from the effect of 

 the roots being overrun with the fungus spawn, which, as it pene- 

 trated its way under the bark and up the stems, caused two of them 

 to succumb to its attacks, as I have already stated, before the end 

 of August. Early in that month a considerable amount of rain fell, 

 and in a few days afterwards numerous fungi began to appear all 

 over the ground in which the trees were growing. In the course 

 of a fortnight afterwards they had increased to such a multitude 

 that a person's foot could not be set down anywhere throughout 

 the whole area in which the old elm roots were buried, a space 

 of about 300 yards long by 12 yards wide, without treading 

 upon fungi. Seeing the fatal effect the mycelium of the fungi had 

 upon the Wellingtonias, I suggested that the whole of them should 

 be lifted, and the ground thoroughly trenched to get out the 

 decaying roots of the elms, which I believed to be the principal 

 cause of the enormous production of fungi. This was agreed to, 

 and in the middle of September the work was begun, by taking 

 out an opening at one end of the ground and trenching it over 

 regularly to a depth of 30 inches, or more where the elm roots 

 descended to a greater depth ; being careful to pick out every 

 chip of decaying wood and root that was met with while the 

 operations were proceeding. All the Wellingtonias, except the 

 two that were dead and the one which I considered hopelessly 

 gone, were lifted, as they were come to during the process of 

 trenching, with as much care as possible, and the roots which 

 were found to be injured or badly infested by the fungus spawn 

 were cut clean away. The trees were then taken to a pond near 

 by where the remaining roots were carefully washed as clean as 



