ROT-FUNGI AND THEIR WORK 85 



treat the cut surface as just suggested, preferably 

 drying out the hole with a gasoline torch before- 

 hand. Do not fill such a hole until the success of 

 the cure is certain. If the trouble arises in a crack 

 which cannot be gouged out, the only things to do 

 are to make the drainage as good as possible and 

 to spray the crack often with a copper solution. 

 There seems to be no better place than this to 

 throw in a reference to mistletoe, which is a serious 

 pest in some parts of the South. When possible 

 the infested limbs should be removed. Attempts 

 to prune off the parasite, or even to gouge out its 

 roots, are not often successful. 



