224 
Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 
treating wounds, large or small, of fruit trees with any of the substances in 
common use. At the same time he points out that had the experiments 
extended over a longer period it might have turned out that the treatment 
saved the wood from decay which often sets in on exposed wood of fruit 
trees. Here, however, it is pointed out that the injury caused by the 
dressings might overbalance the protection afforded against decay. 
The whole question of dressing wounds with disinfectants would appear 
to be well worth serious attention, and especially with reference to particular 
fungi. Further work along the lines followed by Humphrey and Fleming 
would give interesting and valuable results. 
Summary. 
The paper deals with a heart-rot disease in Ptairoocylon utile (Sneeze- 
wood) caused by Fomes rimosus, Berk. 
The distribution of the fungus and the effect it has on the wood of 
Ptderoxylon utile are fully recorded. 
It appears to have been generally held that this fungus limits itself to 
Bohinia Pseudacacia, or members of the Leguminosae, and it is therefore all 
the more interesting to know that in the Union of South Africa it has thus 
far been reported on 11 genera belonging to 8 different natural orders. 
Ptaeroxylon utile is one of our hardest and most valuable trees, and with 
endeavours that are being made to get back some of our forests of the past, 
particular attention should be given to the presence of this fungus in areas 
demarcated, and every means taken to prevent its spread. 
This is all the more important since we now know the fungus attacks a 
large number of trees belonging to different orders. 
The fact that fruiting bodies are not developed after the tree is dead 
somewhat simplifies the control of the disease along the lines suggested. 
f 
Acknowledgment. 
I have to express my indebtedness to various officers of the Forestry 
Department for much useful assistance and information. Through the kind 
assistance of Mr. C. Ross, Conservator of Forests of the Eastern Cape 
Conservancy, and the District Forest Officers of his conservancy, a large 
number of Polyporaceae have been collected, and we are well on the way 
towards learning more of the fungi responsible for the destruction of our 
indigenous trees and also of those living on dead stumps. My thanks are 
especially due to Mr. J. D. Keet for the great interest he has shown in this 
important phase of forestry and for the large number of specimens. A good 
general idea of the destruction caused by Polyporaceae was obtained by the 
