550 



Canadian Forestry Magazine, November, i()2q 



The species Polyporiis i)ro(liice a 

 fleshy, corky, fruiting body, wliich rarely 

 functions for more than one year. 

 Hoxv the Fungi Work. 



The spores of the bracket fungi are 

 borne on groups of four, each in a tiny 

 spine at the ends of the branches of the 

 myceHum which project .from the inner 

 sides of the tubes. When mature these 

 spores are shot from their attachment 

 with just enough force to bring them to 

 the centre of the tube, and they then droj) 

 out of the open end at the bottom. 



The spores are very Hght and the 

 slightest breeze carries them long dis- 

 tances. Millions of spores emerge from 

 a single fruiting body a few days after 

 they become mature ; they are sticky and 

 adhere to any surface with which they 

 come in contact. A large number find 

 lodgement in wounds where infection is 

 possible. 



The germ tube of the spore produces 



Photo by James Kay. 

 HOW A LOG TELLS ITS EARLY HISTORY 



This Western Larch is 335 years old, and is 33 

 inches in diameter. At fifteen years of age it was 

 damaged by fire and again at 150 ycJirs. The scars 

 are plainly visible. 



short branches of mycelium which im- 

 mediately begin the decay of the wood at 

 the point of infection, and soon a large 

 growth of the mycelium occurs, which 

 spreads rapidly. 



Conditions in the forest are ideal for 

 the development of these fungi. Large 

 quantities of windfall and branches are 

 lying around; the logger leaves tops, 



Photo by James Kay. 

 How the ever-ready fungus falls upo.i the weaker, 

 ed tree to complete the work of destrucdon by inner 

 rot. Tliis Western Larch has been darnjiged by fire 

 and the Brown Heartwood Rot has qu'ckiy formed. 

 Photo taken at Yahk, B.C. 



culls and slash everywhere. These form 

 an ideal nursery ground for the perpetu- 

 ation and spread of wood destroying 

 fungi. 



It has be^i stated that by eliminating 

 the factor oi decay in forms of timber 

 now in use, the saving in the annual cut 

 for replacement would amount in the 

 United States and Canada to nearly one 

 hundred million dollars. Stated in an- 

 other way we would need to produce less 

 than half the timber now used, of the 

 factor of decay were eliminated. "In the 

 forest under the present system of ex- 

 ploitation in this country the losses from 

 wood-rot reduce immensely the yield of 

 timber." 



A simple method of disease control in 

 the forest is burning the slash and all 

 diseased trees at the time of cutting. 



