NOTES AND QUERIES. 209 



to draw than it would be otherwise. The expense in removing 

 timber, where the trolley can be suitably worked, is greatly 

 reduced, thereby increasing the value of the timber. 



Alexander MacPherson. 



CUCURBITARIA PITHYOPHILA, FrieS. 



In May 1907 I found a parasitic fungus on stems and 

 branches of living Scots pine in a plantation near Inver (Torvald 

 Wood) on the Dunkeld estates. Mr Carleton Rae, of Worcester, 

 to whom specimens were sent for identification, named it 

 Cucurbitaria pithyophila. Fries., but could not at the time tell 

 whether it was British or not. Tubeuf and Smith mention this 

 fungus as occurring on the living branches of various conifers, 

 e.g. Pitius Cefftbra, but do not say that it had been found in 

 Britain. 1 



Since 1907 the fungus has also been found in the neighbour- 

 ing plantation of Ladywell. 



The trees in Torvald Wood vary from 30 to 40 years of age, 

 while those in Ladywell Plantation are somewhat older. Both 

 plantations are said to have been made with plants raised from 

 foreign seed, and this is not unlikely, as the trees assume a 

 spruce-like appearance which is not common in the other trees 

 in the locality. 



The parasite can be seen with the naked eye, and appears 

 as minute, black, globose bodies, closely clustered together in 

 patches i to 3 inches long and nearly as much broad. Some- 

 times it forms a ring right round the stem or branch ; in other 

 cases it forms a patch at one side. When a stem or branch is 

 ringed by the parasite it soon dies. In the case of the stem a new 

 leader may be formed ultimately, or in many cases a fascicle of 

 twigs, resembling the " Witch's Broom " which occur on many 

 trees, is produced. When the parasite is confined to one side of 

 the stem or branch, swellings and contortions are produced, and 

 the wood becomes flooded with resin. Indeed, the effects pro- 

 duced resemble those arising from Peridermium pini corticola 

 (Cronartium sp.). 



Where the parasite has been present the parts attacked have a 

 blackened and scorched appearance. This scorched appearance, 



^ Tubeuf and Smith, Diseases of Plants indtued by Cryptogamic Parasites, 

 1897. 



VOL. XXIX. PART II. O 



