FOREST INSECTS AND FUNGI 1 23 



have a shiny white hning, and between the holes will be thin 

 layers of wood only partially destroyed. The best outward 

 indication of the disease is the pitch which exudes on the bark, 

 sometimes in considerable quantities. 



The fungus^ is spread by spores blown by the wind. 



These come from fruiting bodies located usually at old knot 

 holes and on the stubs of dead branches, although on spruce at 

 least the fruiting bodies may form in dry crevices of the bark. 



The light reddish-brown color of the lower surface of the 

 fruiting bodies is characteristic, but their form varies from a 

 bracket shape to that of a plate, following the configuration of 

 the trunk or branch. 



There is no practical method for use in forestry of combating 

 Trametes pini. Diseased trees, as soon as discovered, should be 

 cut and utilized, but as such trees are often scattered it is not 

 always possible to remove them. If all diseased trees could be 

 discovered quickly and removed the loss from this fungus would 

 be greatly lessened. 



Poly poms schweinitzii. 



This fungus is common on balsam, red and white spruce, 

 white pine, and arborvitae; it attacks living trees of all ages and 

 causes extensive losses. 



The fungus first enters underground, through the root system, 

 but soon spreads to the trunk, up which it may extend its 

 growth for forty feet or more. Diseased trees are ordinarily 

 found in groups, because the fungus spreads from tree to tree 

 through the ground. As the disease progresses the root system 

 and trunk become weakened and finally the tree is uprooted or 

 broken off near the base. 



Like Trametes pini this fungus destroys the lumber value of 

 the infected portion. Probably the greatest loss is found in the 

 balsam, of which species nearly all the older trees are attacked. 



1 A detailed description of Trametes pini will be found in U. S. Division of 

 Vegetable Physiology and Pathology, Bull. 25, entitled, " Some Diseases of New 

 England Conifers," by Von Schrenk. 



