280 FOOTNOTES FROM 



mournful impressions of its ruthless hand ; others were 

 so much affected that the leaves resemble tinder, and 

 when the volumes were opened, fell out in dust or frag- 

 ments." There are no means of restoring to a sound 

 state timber thus decayed ; and the dry-rot can only be 

 cured or prevented from spreading by removing the 

 affected parts, clearing away all the fungi, and destroying 

 by a strong solution of iron, copper, or zinc the 

 vegetative sporules with which the stones upon which 

 the timbers rest may have been impregnated. Many 

 practical persons have written upon this disease ; and 

 the remedies proposed are as numerous as their authors. 

 But the only certain preventives of the evil seem to be 

 the removal of the decaying and contagious matter, the 

 impregnation of the surrounding wood with a strong 

 solution of corrosive sublimate, or the white of an egg, 

 and the admission of a free current of air. Much also 

 may be done by cutting timber, destined for building 

 purposes, in winter, when fungi are usually dormant or 

 dead, and properly seasoning it by steeping it in water 

 for some time, and then thoroughly drying it before it is 

 used. Houses, in order to be free from this plague, 

 should be built in dry, open, and airy situations, and 

 efficiently ventilated throughout every part, especially of 

 the wood-work ; when these conditions are observed, this 

 evil will disappear. 



In concluding this notice of the destructive fungi, 

 mention may be made of a peculiar form of Penicillium 

 or mould, which is almost invariably present in the solu- 

 tion of copper employed in the process of electrotyping. 

 It proves an intolerable nuisance, inasmuch as it is often 



