BRITISH FOREST TRKK> 119 



ravages over extensive areas. Gryllotalpa vulgaris, both as 

 grub and perfect insect, feeds on the roots of seedlings, and 

 Melolontha species damage plants of two to three years old 

 both in nurseries and in the open, whilst the weevil Hylobius 

 abietis gnaws their bark ; the sap-wood of poles and trees 

 is devoured by the larvae and beetles of Bostrychus curcidens 

 and Hylastes palliatus, and the timber of felled or fallen 

 trees by those of Xyloterus lineatus, whilst the leaves of 

 both young and old trees are occasionally almost decimated 

 by the caterpillars of Liparis monacha, Tortrix murinana, 

 and Grapholitha rufimitrana. But in comparison with 

 the injuries inflicted on Scots pine or spruce by insect 

 enemies, those to which the silver fir is subject are usually 

 slight ; when, however, a periodical plague of Liparis 

 monacha sweeps across the coniferous forest tracts, its 

 foliage too is requisitioned by the devouring legions of 

 voracious caterpillars. 



Red-rot in the timber is occasionally caused by Polyporus 

 vaporarius, and white-rot by P.fulvus. Like most conifers, 

 it is liable to attacks from Agaricus melleus and Trametes 

 radiciperda at the base of the stem and in the roots, whilst 

 Trametes pint and ALddium elatinnm are often very injurious 

 to the bark and the sap-wood of stems and branches (the 

 mistletoe-like excrescences of twig-clusters called witctts 

 brooms in Germany often seen at the tops of old trees, being 

 due to the latter), and less frequently Nectria cucurbitula in 

 the bark ; sEddium columnare, Hysterium nervisequium, and 

 Trichosphceria parasitica occasion leaf-diseases, but seldom of 

 any very injurious nature. Along with the spruce, it is also 

 subject to injury from Pestalozzia Hartigii in nurseries and 

 young plantations, the bark assuming a diseased condition 

 just above the soil. Roe and red-deer often seriously 

 damage young plantations, especially beyond the natural 

 limits of growth of the silver fir, when it is planted as a 



