198 Report oF THE BoTANIST OF THE 
The fungus probably had nothing to do with the death of the 
trees. It is mentioned here because it is a conspicuous thing 
which might be mistaken for a parasite. 
WINTER INJURY. 
At Athens, Greene Co., three cherry trees 15 years old died 
mysteriously. They had been very thrifty, but last spring when 
the leaves were partly grown the trees suddenly died. They grew 
in a slight depression where water stands in wet seasons. It is 
likely that the trees went into the unusually severe winter of 
1898-9 with ‘wet feet” and were winter killed. This theory is 
supported by the fact that another tree of the same age and 
variety standing only about 16 feet away but outside of the depres- 
sion was not affected. Some pear trees standing within the depres- 
sion and close beside the dead cherry trees were not killed. 
Another case of what we consider to be winter injury occurred 
at Monsey in Rockland Co. Some cherry trees which had been 
planted in the spring of 1898 and made a vigorous growth that 
season were found badly injured in the spring of 1899. <A few of 
the trees were killed outright, but with a majority of them only 
the branches were killed back for a distance of from 12 to 24 
inches from the tips. The affected portions did not put out leaves. 
Trees standing in exposed situations suffered most. The owner 
thought that the injury might have been caused by bands of 
tarred paper which had been placed about the bases of the trunks 
to protect them from mice; but this theory is made untenable by 
the observation that the bark under the tarred paper bands was 
perfectly healthy. 
Some other cases of the unaccountable dying of branches in 
cherry trees may also be due to winter injury. | 
A BRANCH PARASITE. 
(Polyporus sulphureus (Bull.) Fr.) 
On a cherry tree in Greene Co., five pilei of this fungus were 
found on the uninjured bark of a large limb which was rapidly 
dying. The fungus was apparently parasitic. 
