227 
Von Schrenk's paper* on " Fungus Diseases of Forest Trees " is fairly modern, 
and is very suggestive. It contains some excellent illustrations. It emphasises the 
point which I have referred to already, and which cannot be too often insisted upon, 
that it is the raw surface of a tree which is the seat of danger; it is the open portal 
which admits the fungus-enemy. Such raw surfaces can be left by the careless pruner, 
but 'by far the most dangerous surfaces are those long and ragged ones which are the 
result of breaks and tears. Such injuries are caused by the wind, by lightning, by 
native animals, by rabbits, by cattle, horses, and sheep ; and damage by animals can 
result in two ways by gnawing and chewing or by trampling of young trees or crushing 
of the branches. It will be thus seen that facility for the ingress of the fungus spores is 
very great. It is indicated that herbivora must be excluded from forests in the most 
rigorous manner. The exclusion of rabbits is not so easy. We sometimes look upon 
the depredations of animals on trees as mechanical merely, but the fungus question 
may be more important still. 
Von Schrenk points out that birds such as wood peckers may bore holes in the 
timber and thus admit fungus spores. Such injuries are very difficult to control, 
wrapped up as they are with the life of birds whose presence contributes to the welfare 
of the forest. Any general crusade against birds may readily destroy more friends 
than enemies. 
I have written only in general terms for the subject is one for the specialist 
but in the hope that the attention of my readers may be drawn to the subject, and 
that they may make observations, and collect specimens of fungi and their effects, 
which may result in the advancement of knowledge. 
(d) Weeds. A general account of forest weeds, and the damage they do, will be 
found in Schlich iv, 344, and it will be there seen how wide the subject is. Some trees 
suffer more from weeds than others, the various drawbacks of weeds are enumerated, 
nursery-beds must be attended to, and so on. At page 354 the removal of lichens from' 
trees, which close their lenticels and deprive them of air, is referred to. In this country 
we only remove lichens from fruit trees, forest trees not being considered sufficiently 
valuable. When forestry is looked upon as a serious occupation in Australia, the weed 
question will be seriously studied too. Most of the methods suggested are well known 
and practised by gardeners; indeed, knowledge of horticulture is of the highest import- 
ance to the forester. 
Weeds, even small, compete with the tree seedlings, and prevent their making a 
fair start in life unless carefully watched. This competition begins in the nursery 
rows, and here the weeds can be kept well under control without much difficulty, but 
the position is different when the seedlings are planted out, and have to fend for them- 
selves. In our coastal areas and better soils especially the soil seems in the highest 
degree of receptivity for weed-seeds, and a few thousands qf transplants may be spread 
over a considerable area. So that what with the natural tendency to the firm estab- 
* " Year-book of Agriculture," 1900, p. 199. 
