ip BULLETIN 722, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
the year are comparatively short, so that the sporophores of peren- 
nial fungi may never at any time be entirely dried out. During the 
late fall, extending into December and coincident with the formation 
of new fruiting surfaces of the Indian-paint fungus, rain falls almost 
constantly. The average annual precipitation is between 20 and 30 
inches, increasing rapidly with elevation, reaching a maximum of 
more than 40 inches in the higher slopes. 
In the spring of 1915 investigations were begun on the river- 
bottom and slope sites of the Priest River valley in Idaho. The 
general altitude of the region is about 2,450 to 2,500 feet. The 
meanderings of the Priest River in former times created a number of 
Fie. 9.—Cross sections ofa hemlock branch in which heart-rot extended 10 feet out from the trunk, showing 
how the larger branches may be affected. 
*. 
swamps and bayous, which are filled with water during the greater 
part of the year. The interlying areas are poorly drained. 
The whole region is one of dense forests, composed of western white 
pine (Pinus monticola), western red cedar (Thuja plicata), western 
larch (Larix occidentalis), Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannr), 
Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga taxifola), western hemlock (Tsuga hetero- . 
phylla), grand fir (Abies grandis), western yew (Taxus brevifoha), 
western birch (Betula occidentahs), and cottonwood (Populus tricho- 
carpa). ) hid 
The soil is a moist sandy loam, with much alluvial material and 
not well drained on the river-bottom sites. There is a great depth 
of humus, litter, and needles. On the above-described site, ten: 
y 
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