268 CONIFEROUS TREES 



instances the trees have been cut down and others 

 planted in their stead. 



Usually the attacks take place in young plan- 

 tations, say, between the age of ten and fifteen 

 years ; but it must be remembered that at no 

 period of its existence is the larch immune, though 

 in old trees the difficulty of the disease spreading, 

 probably owing to harder bark and wood, has 

 caused less dread of infection. Soil would not 

 appear to count, for trees growing on chalk, gravel, 

 deep loam, and vegetable mould have all become 

 a prey to this fell disease. Low-lying, badly- 

 drained land is certainly the home of the disease, 

 and especially where mists and frosts prevail ; 

 but the moist climate of Britain generally favours 

 the spread of the fungus. At one time, some 

 dozen years ago, it was thought that larch growing 

 on the Irish peat -bogs were exempt from the 

 disease, but unfortunately this is not the case. 



The first indication of the larch disease is a 

 gouty swelling on the stem or branch, which 

 quickly splits open and causes the resin to flow 

 copiously, giving a dark, glistening appearance to 

 the affected parts. Gradually the wound becomes 

 larger, pieces of dry, hardened bark peel off, and 

 the whole has a dark, scurfy appearance. The 

 fungus in itself is small and cup-shaped, in colour 

 bright yellow, with a greyish margin, and is widely 

 propagated by means of the abundantly produced 

 spores. 



Though we have known instances in which 

 cankerous trees have partially recovered, yet it is 

 generally accepted that, once a tree has fallen a 

 prey to this insidious disease, it rarely attains its 



