﻿Kepobt 
  of 
  the 
  Botanist. 
  33 
  

  

  loss 
  as 
  light 
  as 
  possible 
  they 
  made 
  haste 
  to 
  open 
  roads 
  in 
  the 
  

   forest 
  that 
  they 
  might 
  draw 
  out 
  and 
  work 
  up 
  as 
  many 
  dead 
  

   spruces 
  as 
  practicable 
  before 
  decay 
  should 
  render 
  them 
  entirely 
  

   worthless. 
  But 
  with 
  all 
  their 
  promptness 
  they 
  suffered 
  no 
  

   inconsiderable 
  loss, 
  for 
  these 
  dead 
  trees 
  soon 
  became 
  too 
  much 
  

   decayed 
  to 
  make 
  marketable 
  lumber. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  asked 
  lumbermen 
  and 
  others 
  who 
  have 
  been 
  aware 
  

   of 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  the 
  spruces, 
  what 
  theory 
  they 
  held 
  in 
  

   respect 
  to 
  the 
  cause 
  of 
  it. 
  Their 
  theories 
  are 
  various, 
  but 
  the 
  

   most 
  prevalent 
  attribute 
  it 
  to 
  excessive 
  dry 
  weather 
  or 
  to 
  the 
  

   agitation 
  of 
  the 
  trees 
  by 
  high 
  winds. 
  The 
  few 
  observations 
  

   that 
  I 
  have 
  been 
  able 
  to 
  make 
  lead 
  me 
  to 
  adopt 
  a 
  theory 
  quite 
  

   different 
  from 
  these, 
  and 
  though 
  the 
  discussion 
  of 
  it 
  belongs 
  

   rather 
  to 
  the 
  province 
  of 
  the 
  entomologists 
  than 
  of 
  the 
  botan- 
  

   ists, 
  such 
  is 
  the 
  importance 
  of 
  the 
  subject 
  that 
  I 
  cannot 
  with- 
  

   hold 
  a 
  brief 
  account 
  of 
  my 
  investigations 
  and 
  conclusions. 
  

  

  In 
  August 
  a 
  collecting 
  trip 
  was 
  undertaken 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  

   of 
  Lake 
  Pleasant, 
  Hamilton 
  county. 
  While 
  there 
  it 
  became 
  

   apparent 
  to 
  me 
  that 
  I 
  was 
  in 
  a 
  region 
  where 
  the 
  spruces 
  were 
  

   dying. 
  Standing 
  near 
  the 
  outlet 
  of 
  the 
  lake 
  and 
  looking 
  upon 
  

   the 
  distant 
  mountain 
  slopes 
  toward 
  the 
  north-east, 
  east 
  and 
  

   south, 
  patches 
  of 
  brown 
  appeared 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  mingled 
  

   with 
  the 
  usual 
  dark 
  green 
  hue 
  of 
  the 
  forest. 
  The 
  inhabitants 
  

   toid 
  me 
  that 
  these 
  brown 
  patches 
  were 
  groups 
  of 
  dead 
  

   spruces 
  ; 
  that 
  the 
  spruce 
  trees 
  were 
  then 
  rapidly 
  dying, 
  and 
  

   had 
  been 
  for 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  years 
  previous, 
  and 
  that 
  in 
  conse- 
  

   quence 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  woodland 
  was 
  greatly 
  diminishing. 
  

   One 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  conspicuous 
  of 
  these 
  brown 
  patches 
  was 
  on 
  

   the 
  slope 
  of 
  Speculator 
  Mountain, 
  a 
  little 
  more 
  than 
  half 
  way 
  

   from 
  the 
  base 
  to 
  the 
  summit. 
  Preparations 
  were 
  therefore 
  

   made 
  to 
  visit 
  this 
  locality. 
  Once 
  on 
  the 
  ground 
  it 
  needed 
  but 
  

   little 
  observation 
  to 
  satisfy 
  me 
  that 
  the 
  destructive 
  process 
  was 
  

   then 
  in 
  operation. 
  The 
  ground 
  under 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  spruces 
  

   was 
  thickly 
  strewn 
  with 
  their 
  fallen 
  leaves, 
  yet 
  green, 
  and 
  

   every 
  agitating 
  wind 
  was 
  bringing 
  down 
  more 
  of 
  them. 
  The 
  

   bark 
  of 
  these 
  trees, 
  and 
  of 
  others 
  already 
  dead, 
  was 
  perfo- 
  

   rated 
  in 
  many 
  places 
  with 
  small 
  round 
  holes 
  scarcely 
  one- 
  

   eighth 
  of 
  an 
  inch 
  in 
  diameter. 
  Upon 
  stripping 
  a 
  piece 
  of 
  bark 
  

   from 
  the 
  trunk 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  affected 
  trees, 
  the 
  apparent 
  cause 
  

   of 
  the 
  mischief 
  was 
  at 
  once 
  revealed. 
  The 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  wood 
  

   and 
  the 
  inner 
  layers 
  of 
  the 
  bark 
  were 
  abundantly 
  furrowed 
  by 
  

  

  5 
  

  

  