K.— BOTANY 197 



vulgaris, which forms a black line at the limit of its attack. As these 

 lines bear no relation to the normal orientation of sectioning, peculiar 

 patterns often result. When tempted to purchase furniture so marked 

 it is always advisable to test the wood in the neighbourhood of the line 

 for defect. 



The type of oak known as ' brown oak ' is much valued by timber 

 merchants. K. St. G. Cartwright has recently shown that though the 

 wood is structurally sound, the colour results from the attack of the 

 common beef-steak fungus, Fistalina hepatica, and further, that the 

 colour can be produced by artificial inoculation with the fungus. 



The destruction of logs by fungi is one of the important factors in the 

 life of a forest. It is strange to learn of rotting wood being sold at a 

 fairly high price as cattle food. On Chiloe Island off the coast of Chile 

 and in eastern Patagonia the wood of various trees such as Encryphia 

 cordifolia, Weinmannia trichosperma, and species of Nothofagus is con- 

 verted into a palatable food (palo podrido) by a mould, Mucor racemosus, 

 in conjunction with bacteria. The smell and taste of the altered wood is 

 said to resemble somewhat that of fresh mushrooms : it forms a valuable 

 addition to pasturage. 



It is not surprising that fungi formerly were held in high esteem as 

 cures for various ailments. Ergot (Claviceps purpurea) is the only one 

 which is retained in the British Pharmacopsea. It was not known to 

 classical writers and the beginnings of its history are in German folk-lore. 

 The fungus attacks many species of grass, but is principally known from 

 rye. Periodically, but more particularly in the middle ages before the 

 effects of famine were neutralised by rapid transport, outbreaks of ergotism 

 caused plagues of sufficient severity to be recorded. Two main types 

 of ergotism are recognised, gangrenous and convulsive. The last great 

 epidemic occuned in Russia where from September 1926 to August 1927 

 over 11,000 cases became known to the authorities. A mild epidemic 

 was reported at Manchester in 1927 among Jewish immigrants from 

 central Europe who lived on rye-bread. The use of ergot in midwifery 

 began in the eighteenth century in France, Germany and Italy, but its 

 entry into official medicine took place in the United States early in the 

 nineteenth century. An enormous amount of pharmacological investi- 

 gation has been carried out, and recently A. McCrea has shown that the 

 fungus grown in saprophytic cultures produces the three chief active 

 principles (ergotinine, histamine and tyramine), characteristic of the 

 extracts made from natural sclerotia, in sufficient amount to be of economic 

 importance. 



The two main sources of ergot are a large region in eastern Europe 

 (chiefly Russia and Poland) and a smaller one in the moist north-west 

 corner of Spain and Portugal, though other countries produce enough 

 for their own use. The size of the crop varies from year to year, the 

 average for a number of years being about a hundred tons from Russia 

 and seventy tons from Spain. 



From the time of classical writers Agaricum, or Female Agarick, has 

 been used for many ailments. Dioscorides believed it to be the most 

 efficacious of all agencies in curing disease, and gives a list of its virtues 



