SAP-STAIN, MOLD, AND DECAY IN GREEN WOOD. 3 



yards; to lack of time for the proper air seasoning or kiln drying 

 preparatory to shipment; and, finally, in some cases to a failure to 

 understand the conditions necessary to safeguard the stock while 

 in storage or in transit. Many of these losses due to emergency will 

 be considerably reduced upon return to normal conditions. 



Some manufacturers consider it important that, in order to over- 

 come losses due to checking, certain kinds of stock produced at many 

 of the smaller mills be shipped to them in a green rather than in a 

 partly seasoned condition. They claim that these mills, not being 

 equipped for the proper drying of stock preliminary to shipment, 

 make it necessary for the manufacturer to insist that material from 

 such sources be ship|)ed in a green condition to the factory, where 

 suitable means for storage and drying are maintained. Close atten- 

 tion must be paid to the handling of this material in transit or in 

 storage if deterioration due to fungi is to be prevented. 



The necessity for a careful conservation of timber in the United 

 State is becoming more and more apparent {5S.^ '^4*)- Measures, 

 then, that will assist in preventing or reducing losses due to fungous 

 attacks are of importance. 



This bulletin presents a brief review of our knowledge of sap- 

 stain and mold, a consideration of the causal organisms responsible 

 for such deterioration in green wood stock, the results of the new 

 investigations, and finally a summary of some of the important meth- 

 ods of control. 



SAP-STAIN. 



The "bluing," or sap-stain, of pine timber has been observed in 

 Europe for many years. Both Hartig {17, 18) and Frank {ID 

 refer to it in their investigations of plant diseases. Rudeloff {36) 

 studied the effect of blue stain on the strength of pine wood. Miinch 

 {31) not only examined the properties of blued coniferous wood but 

 also investigated the causal organisms and determined the optimum 

 conditions for their development in the wood. In the United States 

 considerable attention has been given to the subject by such investi- 

 gators as Von Schrenk {^1, h^, 1^3), Hedgcock (/5, 20), Eumbold 

 37, 38), Weiss and Barnum {56, 57), and Bailey (5). Many of the 

 investigations have been made in connection with the sap-stain of 

 hardwoods as well as conifers. 



s The serial numbers {italic) in parentheses refer to " Literature cited " at the end of 

 this bulletin. 



* These two reports on Senate Resolution No. 311 by the Forest Service of the United: 

 States Department of Agriculture may be obtained from the Superintendent of Docu- 

 ments, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C, at 25 cents and 5 cents, respec- 

 tively, per copy. 



