54 FUNGI. DRY ROT. 



of which, after it has burst, are seen at d. Agarics in the various 

 stages of their development, are represented in the upper part of 

 Fig. 15. 



59. Of all the Cryptogamia, the Fungi are the most import- 

 ant to Man ; and their influence seems at first sight exerted rather 

 to his injury, than to his benefit. Those minute species which 

 constitute mildew, blight, rust, &c., often destroy, to an immense 

 amount, the fruits of the earth, upon which he relies for his chief 

 support. An instance has been just recorded, in which the lives 

 of animals that administer to his luxury, are also destroyed in 

 large numbers. The decay of timber in the mode commonly 

 termed dry-rot, is caused by the growth of Fungi ; of which 

 several species are frequently concerned in effecting this most 

 injurious process. The ravages which they commit in ships, 

 and in every kind of wooden structure, as soon as a settlement 

 is made, can only be conceived by those who have witnessed and 

 examined them. The devastations they have committed in our 

 navy and merchant vessels, excited attention to the subject ; and 

 led to the invention of the process, now known by the name of 

 Kyanising* (from the name of its inventor) ; but their destruc- 

 tion of house timbers is quite as rapid and complete, though less 

 common. " I knew a house," says Mr. Burnett, "into which 

 the rot gained admittance, and which, during the four years we 

 rented it, had the parlours twice wainscotted, and a new flight 

 of stairs ; the dry-rot having rendered it unsafe to go from the 

 ground-floor to the bed-rooms. Every precaution was taken to 

 remove the decaying timbers when the new work was done ; yet 

 the dry-rot so rapidly gained strength, that the house was ulti- 

 mately pulled down. Some of my books which suffered least, 

 and which I still retain, bear mournful impressions of its ruth- 

 less hand ; others were so much affected, that the leaves resem- 

 bled tinder, and, when the volumes were opened, fell out in dust 

 or fragments." The decay of the wood seems partly due to the 



* This process consists in soaking the wood or other material in water, in which 

 corrosive sublimate has been dissolved ; and in this manner, a change is effected, 

 which seems to deprive the germs of Fungi of the power of obtaining nutriment. 

 The substance termed Krcosote has been lately employed for the same purpose, 

 with very successful results. 



