164 ARMILLARIA MELLEA, 
Consequently, they must be carefully watched. During 
September and October it is wise to search through all 
woods for the fructifications, and to mark on a map the 
localities where they are found. Armed with the knowledge as 
to which parts of the woods are infected by the fungus and 
which are free, a forester knows what risks he runs in plant- 
ing, and he should refrain from planting the more susceptible 
species, such as Scots pine, Sitka spruce, and Weymouth 
pine, in or near infected areas. Where it is necessary to 
plant conifers in infected land it will probably be a remunera- 
tive expenditure to grub up and burn all the infected stumps. 
The fungus spreads by its rhizomorphs and bears fructifica- 
tions at some considerable distance from these stumps ; but 
it must be remembered that the fungus in an area round 
a stump is actually living on it, and when the latter is 
removed the fungus will cease to spread unless it has already 
found other feeding grounds. 
Where, through shortage of labour or other causes, it is 
impossible to grub up the stumps, some good may be done 
by boring holes in them and filling them with commercial 
sulphuric acid, though this may kill a few trees in the 
immediate vicinity. 
Stumps which are not yet attacked are nevertheless 
liable to form centres of infection in the future, so that all 
means which hasten their decomposition are of service. 
Decomposition may be brought about by the honey fungus 
itself, or by one of several other species of fungi; but it is 
seldom that we find two species of the higher fungi growing 
simultaneously on the same part of a stump. Consequently 
encouragement should be afforded to other fungi, so that 
by getting their mycelia well into the tissues of the stumps 
they may render them at any rate partially immune to the 
honey fungus. It is well to look for other stumps which are 
already attacked by harmless fungi and to infect newly-cut 
stools with these fungi. This is best done by cutting off the 
fresh fructifications, and laying them with their naturally 
lower side downwards on unrotted stools. See that all 
parts of a stool are brought into touch with the fungi and 
