1 42 
fungi, such as the little scarlet Polyporus igneus and Schizophyllum 
, commune that only attack dead and old timber, beams of houses, etc, 
but I have never seen Pomes semitostus doing so. I have seen it on 
other trees besides Heyea but always on just dying trees, not on long 
dead timber. In the Botanic Gardens, we often have, after a tree 
killed by fungus, a number of its roots left in the ground where these 
are exposed as in a drain, the cut ends producing the fructification of 
Fomes. Often in abundance each root bears the characteristic white 
strands. Wood, however, not affected in the first instance by the 
white fungus, if left lying on this ground, does not produce Fomes. 
Strands of mycelium on or near Para roots have been sent to me 
which are different in colour from the white mycelium strands always 
associated with Fomes. A pink strand has been several times sent 
usually from new cleared land and also an orange yellow one. These 
may belong to some other fungus. There may, of course, be other 
fungi on rubber trees which have white mycelium in strands, which 
mycelium might be mistaken for those of the Fomes, but the char- 
acteristic white bands which causes the death of the Para rubber tree 
and which are well figured by M. Vernet, I think, there can be no pos- 
sible doubt belong to the Fomes. 
Directions are given by M. Vernet for checking the disease in the 
ways already published in the Bulletin and commonly in use. 
2. Corticium javanicum ; this is also described. M. Vernet notes 
its very rapid appearance on occasions sometimes as quickly as in 
•one night, after long and heavy rain. He discusses the relationship 
■of the little beetles xyleborus parvulus and Ptorelophia melanura and 
gives evidence that the xyleborus (shot borer) can penetrate the 
living bark of a Para rubber tree without being killed by the latex, 
and even thick layers of coal tar, and alleges that the statement that 
they are killed by the exudation of latex is due to an error of 
observation, and that they die naturally in the mouths of their 
burrows. This might be so, but we have seen in a case of attack of 
shot borers in a dead piece of Hevea, a large number which attemp- 
ted to escape lower down through the living bark stuck and imbed- 
ded in latex. However, one species may be able to make its way 
through the latex while aiiother cannot. 
The connection of Corticium with these beetles is this. They live 
in parts of the tree attacked by Corticium and when flying away as 
adults can carry the spores to other healthy trees. It seems difficult 
for the mycelium of Corticium to penetrate the bark of Hevea except 
in cases where the bark is already wounded and it is suggested that 
this is effected by the burrowing of these beetles. 
Corticium does not seem to be nearly so common as a pest in the 
Malay Peninsula as in Java and Borneo, though in rainy weather it 
is very common in Singapore in Ramie, Strobilanthes and other 
shrubs. The specimens I have received of Hevea attacked by Corti- 
cium were not attacked by the shot borer, still the point is worthy of 
notice. That shot borers have certainly peculiar habits. Not long 
