ROTS. 



285 



for while they have the external appearance of 

 soundness, they may go to pieces with the least 

 strain, and bury all on board in the deep. Only that 

 the fungi are not of the right species, such timber 

 would answer the purpose of the mushroom-grower 

 far better than that of the builder or the ship-car- 

 penter ; for the timbers go into their places loaded 

 with mushroom spawn, and, in fact, progress to the 

 state in which that generates ; and so, in as far as 

 oak is concerned in their structure, we have mush- 

 room houses and mushroom ships. 



What is the cause! Why should it be that 

 'when navigation is every day increasing in extent 

 and value, the grand engine of navigation should 

 be deteriorating every day? "The dry rot," is 

 he answer. Well, be it so : what is the dry rot * 



DRY ROT. (Xylostroma Giganteum.) 



"Xylostroma gigantewn, which grows in the timber, 

 like a thick broad patch of dull yellow leather, or 

 serpula distruens in other instances, which is smaller, 

 redder in the colour, and whitish at the edge ; but 

 that last is as often found upon other timber as upon 

 oak." Well, that is not a point worthy of much dis- 

 pute ; the timber is destroyed, and, generally speak- 

 ing, these are fungi ; but it is just about as sensible 

 to call those fungi " dry rot," as it would be to call 



