18 BULLETIN 190, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGKICULTUEE. 



In classifying the sporophores according to the positions occu- 

 pied on the trunk of the host it was found that the largest percentage 

 of them (28 per cent) developed on the west side of the tree, with 

 the smallest percentage (3.3) on the southeast side. Most of the 

 largest ones were found near the upper end of the group on each tree. 



On the slope sites, out of a total of 662 trees 22 per cent were 

 found bearing sporophores. In this connection it must be remem- 

 bered that a much higher percentage of the trees on the slope sites 

 was in the 120 to 160 age class, which bore the maximum number of 

 sporophores. The sporophore-bearing trees carried a total of 531 

 sporophores both dead and alive, of which 495, or over 93 per cent 

 (93.2), were alive and 36, or nearly 7 per cent (6.8), were dead. 

 These figures give an average for the total stand of 34 live sporo- 

 phores to every 10 trees, 2.5 dead sporophores to every 10 trees, and 

 36 live and dead sporophores to every 10 trees. Considering all of 

 the trees of the six age classes given and not limiting the figures to 

 sporophore-bearing trees alone, an average of eight sporophores both 

 dead and alive was found for every 10 trees. Of the largest sporo- 

 phores, which varied in size from 1 by 1 by 1 to 6 by 10 by 10 inches, 

 94 per cent were found alive and 6 per cent dead. The average of the 

 ages of the largest sporophores is recorded as approximately 12 

 years and the average height on the trunk was 5.5 feet. Most of the 

 sporophores on this site were found grouped on the north side of the 

 trunks, 21 per cent being on the north side and the smallest, or 5 per 

 cent, on the southeast side. Most of the largest ones were found at 

 about the middle of each group of sporophores. 



In comparing the two types of site some interesting figures are 

 disclosed. The bottom sites, to begin with, have a larger percentage 

 of sporophore-bearing trees and a slightly larger average number 

 both of living and of dead sporophores per sporophore-bearing tree. 

 In the 81 to 100 age class the bottom sites have 22 per cent of the 

 total trees bearing sporophores, while for the slope site there are 

 none. In the 101 to 120 age class on the bottom sites 41 per cent of 

 the total trees were found bearing sporophores, with only 7 per cent 

 in the slope sites. In the 121 to 160 age class are found the maximum 

 figures. In this age class for the bottom sites 43 per cent of the total 

 trees bore sporophores and for the slope sites 45 per cent. The aver- 

 age of the ages of the largest sporophores is also greater on these sites. 

 On the other hand, the slope sites have a greater percentage of the 

 larger sporophores alive than the bottom sites. It is very interesting 

 to find that the percentage of live and dead sporophores to the total 

 number of sporophores is practically the same for both types of 

 site. This would seem to indicate that site does not appreciably 

 affect the vitality of the sporophore, although it apparently affects 

 the number of sporophores produced. 



