132 
M. J. Le Goc. 
Many of these inoculations have proved successful. The spores 
germinated and the mycelia penetrated the wood in the manner just 
described (Fig 8), the only difference being that the process of 
penetration is at first very slow. But after some months the tissues 
near the place of inoculation are killed and appear blackish-grey; 
the function of the conducting tissue is interfered with, and conse¬ 
quently growth is impeded and the ultimate result is the death of 
the twig, giving the fungus an opportunity of working freely at the 
destruction of the wood and of penetrating quickly the vessels and 
other elements through the pits. The section drawn in Fig. 8 is 
taken at 5 cm. from the place of inoculation after an interval of 
ten months; closer to the wound the work of the fungus is more 
advanced, resulting in the disorganisation of the tissues. 
Summary. 
1. Germination of spores of the Jew’s Ear fungus takes place 
readily and occurs even in situ on the fructifications, if these are 
kept moist for several days. 
2. Germination and growth of basidiospores are of general 
occurrence in suitable nutritive solutions, but occur less frequently 
in distilled water. 
3. Conidia are produced rarely in the material used in this 
investigation and only in distilled water; these conidia germinate 
rapidly. 
4. Cultures in] decoctions of Elder wood + agar or gelatine 
develop well. Gelatine is liquified and rudimentary fruit bodies 
are produced inside the liquid. 
5. The fungus grows readily on Elder, Lime and Elm wood 
in pure culture, resulting in the production of rudimentary 
fructifications if exposed to a fair amount of light. 
6. The penetration of hyphae inside the tissues is very rapid 
resulting in the delignification of the wood which in the case of 
naturally-infected wood is ultimately almost entirely consumed. 
7. Inoculations on healthy living twigs of Elder were successful 
in many instances ; penetration by the hyphae was at first very slow, 
but later on the twigs were killed. 
I wish to express my hearty thanks to Mr. F. T. Brooks for 
suggesting this work and for his kind guidance during the progress 
of the investigations. 
