238 



WOOD AND FOREST. 



"pores" in which the spores are produced. The wood attacked by this 

 fungus first becomes rosy or purple, then turns yellowish, and then exhibits 

 minute black dots, which surround themselves with extending soft white 

 patches. (Boulger, p. 73.) 



Of the fungi which attack converted timber, the most important 

 is "dry rot" or "tear fungus" (Merulius lacJirymans] , Fig. 80. It 



J 



Fig. 85. 1. Stump of Norway Spruce, with a sporophoreof 

 polyporus annosus several years old; the inner portions of the 

 stump wholly decayed. 



2,. Roots of a diseased spruce tree, with numerous small 

 sporophores of polvporus annosus attached. Forestry Bulle- 

 ttn 22, Plate XIII, Figs. 1 and 2. 



flourishes on damp wood in still air, especially around stables and ill 

 ventilated cellars. It gets its name lachrymans (weeping) from its 

 habit of dripping moisture. 



The fungus destroys the substance of the timber, lessening its weight 

 and causing it to warp and crack; until at length it crumbles up when dry 

 into a fine brown powder, or, readily absorbing any moisture in its neighbor- 

 hood, becomes a soft, cheese-like mass. * * * Imperfectly seasoned tim- 



