48 
FETCH : 
view that this horse -hair blight in Ceylon is merely epiph5rtic . 
The fungus may obtain its nourishment at first from the dead 
bark of the older branches, and later from the leaves and twigs 
of the tangle. But that all “ horse -hair blight ” is the same 
and will have the same effect is, however, by no means 
probable. 
A parasitic white mycelium of normal texture, usually 
known as thread blight, grows on branches and leaves in the 
same position as horse -hair blight, though it follows closely 
the course of the branch, and only passes from one leaf or 
twig to another when these are in contact. This often occurs 
with horse -hair blight in the West Indies and Ceylon, and the 
association has given rise to the idea that the two are forms 
of one fungus. But in Ceylon they are quite as often found 
separate, and are, in fact, totally distinct fungi. Any damage 
done to the tree when the two are found together is due to the 
thread blight ; indeed, it is most probable that in these cases 
the horse-hair blight only begins to grow after the thread 
blight has killed some of the twigs. There is no doubt that 
they are distinct fungi ; the horse-hair mycelium produces a 
Marasmius, but the immature fructifications of the Ceylon 
thread blight are small white sessile pilei with hardly a trace 
of gills. The fructification of horse-hair blight may easily be 
obtained ; that of thread blight refuses to grow under similar 
conditions. The horse-hair blight of the West Indies has not 
been studied apart from thread blight, and no definite decision 
as to its possible parasitism has been arrived at. 
The fructification of this horse-hair blight occurs fairly 
frequently on the mycelium on the tree, but is usually very 
poorly developed in that situation. It generally arises 
laterally from a free portion of the cord, not from a point of 
attachment to a leaf or branch. Many of them arise not 
directly from the horse-hair mycelium, but from the decayed 
twigs in the tangle. The stalks are 2 to 10 mm. long ; there 
is a slight thickening at the point of origin, but elsewhere they 
are about the same diameter as the cord. As a rule, the pilei 
do not exceed 2 mm. in diameter, but after continued rains 
they may attain 5 mm. They are yellow-brown to red-brown, 
somewhat membranous, hemispherical, umbihcate, deeply 
