A Maple Tree Fungus 1 



By Arthur Hollick 



Until about six months ago a row of large silver maples, Acer 

 saccharinnm L., was a prominent feature along the border of 

 the Heineken property, now owned by Dr. Carl Walser, at the 

 corner of Richmond Terrace and Livingston Place, Sailor's Snug 

 Harbor. They ought to be still in their prime, but about twenty 

 years ago they began to show indications of waning vitality, 

 which became more and more evident in recent years. The ends 

 of the branches and finally the branches themselves died and were 

 broken by wind and snow, and last autumn the trees were cut 

 down. 



The trunks of these trees, at a distance of about three feet 

 from the ground, have an average diameter of 32 inches. The 

 annual rings are somewhat obscure toward the exterior, but they 

 apparently average about fifty. 



The main trunks are sound and healthy, without any indica- 

 tions of decay, but I have a section of one of the large limbs, 

 about sixteen inches in diameter which tells a different story. 

 About thirty-six annual rings are distinguishable. The first inner 

 eighteen are relatively wide and are well defined, indicating a 

 normal, vigorous growth during the first eighteen years, but after 

 that they become narrower very rapidly, and near the margin 

 they are so close together that it is practically impossible to dis- 

 cern them as separate rings. Evidently the tree was rapidly 

 declining in vital energy, and the growth was very slow in recent 

 years. About twelve inches represents the increase in diameter 

 during the first eighteen years of the limb's growth. About- four 

 inches represents the increase during the last eighteen years. 

 In other words it grew three times as fast in the first half of its 

 life as it did in the second half. 



1 Presented April 17, 1909. 



190 



