THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



243 



DESTRUCTIVE FUNGUS ON TJ[E AUSTRIAN PINE. 



Some months ago we were informed by Mr. 

 Edwards, of the Kvergreeus, LaMoille, N. Ills., 

 that his Austrian Pines were suffering griev- 

 ously from the attacks of some insect or other. 

 Not being able to find any signs of insect-work 

 in the specimens of the twigs and leaves sent 

 us, and suspecting the presence of some insect 

 enemj' on the roots, we personally visited the 

 locality. On a close and careful examination, 

 it proved to be, not a bug, but a fungus, that 

 was the author of all the mischief. 



In the Austrian Pine, in its normal and 

 healthy condition, wood that is four or five years 

 old still retains its leaves in a green and living 

 state In trees that are badly infested by this 

 fungus scarcely any green leaves can be found 

 on wood that is more than two years old, those 

 few that still hang on being dead and brown ; and 

 in addition a good portion of the leaves of less 

 than two years growth is dead and brown, 

 especially towards their tips. On a close exam- 

 ination about the last of May, such dead leaves 

 will be found to be banded in many places with 

 a thin white tilm — the Mycelmm of the Botan- 

 ists; and already from many of them there will 

 have burst forth a roundish dark-brown fungus 

 about the size of the head of an ordinary pin. 

 A mouth or two afterwards almost every leaf 

 will exhibit several such funguses, which finish 

 l)y bursting open above and showing the un- 

 palpable black-brown dust which performs the 

 function of the true seed, and is known to botan- 

 ists as ''spores.'' Of course it is through the 

 instrnmeutality of these spores that the disease 

 is propagated from tree to tree, and from bough 

 to bough. 



Mr. Edwards informed us that he first noticed 

 this disease of the Austrian Pine six years ago ; 

 that it has been gradually spreading with him ; 

 and that now fully three-fourths of his nursery 

 trees arc more or less affected by it. Several 

 that he showed us looked as if they had been 

 scorched by a big prairie-fire ; and a large num- 

 ber, as we were informed, were annually reud- 

 ered unsaleable and had to be dug up and des- 

 troyed. He thought that large trees thirty or 

 forty feet high — of which he had six or eight on 

 his premises— were never attacked by this 

 fungus ; but on careful iuspection we discovered 

 one such tree which bore a single limb that was 

 infested. Strange to say, the closely allied Nor- 

 way pine, which grew intermixed with the Aus- 

 trian, showed not the least sign of this peculiar 

 disease ; aud Mr. Edwards states that, so far as 



he is aware, the Austrian Pine is the only 

 species that is ever attacked in this manner. 



Dr. Hull, in the Transactions of the State 

 Horticultural Society (1868, p. .SO) speaks of 

 " one of the blossom-like fungoid plants, grow- 

 ing out of the pores of the leaves of the Norway 

 fir,'' having opened out under the microscope 

 and discharged a minute powder. Hence we 

 infer that a fungus analogous to this of the Aus- 

 trian Pine attacks the Norway fir; and that, as 

 only one species of Evergreen was attacked at 

 Mr. Edwards's place, each species of Evergreen 

 is, as a general rule, restricted to its own fungus. 



Sulphur is so generally effective against these 

 fungoid diseases of living plants, that we 

 strongly recommended Mr. Edwards to experi- 

 ment with it. At some future time we hope to 

 be able to chronicle the result, whether success- 

 ful or otherwise, of any exi)eriraents that he 

 may have made in this direction. 



ASH AND MOUNTAIN ASH. y' 



Every botanist and almost every nurseryman 

 knows that there is no botanical afiinity whatev- 

 er between the tree commonly called "Mountain 

 Ash" and the true "Ash." The former belongs 

 to the Family Rosacea' and to the same geiuis 

 (Pi/rus) as the Pear, the Crab and the Apple : 

 the latter belongs to the Family Oleacea; and to 

 the genus JFraximis. The former bears a fleshy 

 fruit (^wwe) ; the latter a key {samara). In 

 many other respects the two trees are as differ- 

 ent as chalk is from cheese; and if we are to 

 group them together simply because they are 

 both popularly suinamed "Ash," then we ought 

 also to group together the Horsechestuut and 

 the Chestnut, because both ai-e popularly sur- 

 named "(Jhestnut."' 



In a recent Paper on the Bark louse, Dr. Shi- 

 mer has taken leave to inform us, that he found 

 the true Imported or Oyster shell Bark louse 

 of the Apple not only on the Plum, but also ••on 

 the Mountain Ash {Pyrus americana)."* So 

 far so good. We do not doubt these facts ; be- 

 cause we ourselves published them long ago, 

 and there is nothing anomalous or extraordinary 

 in them. 



But Dr. Shimer is not satisfied with register- 

 ing facts, whether old or new, which as a gen- 

 eral rule he is perfectly capable of doing. He 

 has a great propensity for philosophizing upon 

 his facts; and this is where he often breaks 

 down most miserably. For example, after 

 showing that this Bark louse occurs on Apple, 

 Plum, and Mountain Ash, all three of which 



*Tram. III. St. Hort. Soc, 1868, p. 228. • 



