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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1879)
THE WEST SHORE. February, 1879, 48 1 1' fin tin Milium aiiit Hetenllrk Pre I A 101 K MS U Mllhll.MA.Y Hmentillc im 1 tatigat u are continually coming to the Mil "I inn. ih.il worker with rxjilana tioat of the evil which hedge alxmt their work anil iulngar ila multa. These explanations w aaak lor publication, because often a knnwl edge of lh evil auggeat a remedy, anil whore thia ha)y roeult does not follow, there ia atill the aetiafautioii of lieing acquainted with the ocoalt agency which crnaaaa the worker'a path way toward aucceaa in hi aviK-ation. A very inUreating caae of timber ilratrurti.nl hy a fun' gue, which " in ii.tt. the growing tree anil honayoomha ita heart ithout leaving any ex tenor marka hy which the lumlicrmaii can Ml the WHitlileaaneai of the limber liviieath the bark, waa brought to the attention of the fall lomia Aiailemy of Hcieuroa, by Ir. II. V. Ilarknee Aa the raae i of am h wide practical lutareat Ui lumbermen anil tree growera gen- arally, we have maile engravinga to ahow the way in which the fungiia attacks the liber of the tree. Tin ae cligrai Ulga mil lie fully e plained 111 the uouraa of the paxr which Dr. Harkneaa reail at the Aiailemy of Sciencea, anil which we print herewith I luring Ihe t few year the at inly of the luiigmil iiiaoaae.1 all. , tink. vegetation Imn proved to Im one of much iniHirlance, n.it alone owing to ine a. 1. 1. l.li. liilereat atu. lieil In the subject, but aiao to the farmer aa well, whnec heat effort are often thwarted l.y the preaeuce of a nsli laoca lie la powerleaa lo control. The Vnnn.a. ;arn, affecting the aitato, Wmio ami ' aiiioiigat wheat nre capable u( doatrnying the faireal brhla in a single lllght, while the .ViuWraii moronei, uhiii our fruit treea, ami the Afirema and 'nywrea, amongat thi.se of our fnraata, are but tviie of a large order of par ilea which are silently at work converting many of oar (ureal Una ml., their original element'. In many InaUnrea it ia nmlaahlc that the tru haa completed ila growth before it ii attackeil. vat the atlernal eigne are so olax ura aa to mis lead the obaarver, valuable tnva bainj I. .at be fora lha splaaarenre ol iliaeaae 11 even auaiKvted. A noUhle eiainple in t i. ,, l ,m,l , lb l.iuglaaa apmoe of ..or m.ninUina; Una i well known aa one of our Mat lieautiful Uooa, while I. r mai.t NlfOMI the limUr ia ,,( greaj value The IiioiIh rman Buffer, h. wner, a great Iowa ln.ni a Inrm of ilry rot which attacks the living treea, the preeen'ce of which discaae he ia ofton unaMe lo detect until after much la'oor baa been rtaruilel in prriiaring the lumber b.r Market The iliaeaae of thia tree i. maehej , the rariaaence of a new spax-ir of kn,i(ai, (, which I prniaaie Ihe name, . iimn. which Ural Itmta halgmeut heneaUi aoma dead limb. nwiowiag me c.urae ol Uie limb aa it enter the heart woaal ,. the tree, the mycelium login immediately l. branch upward ami downward aim.gine one ..1 ihe Lm.tmlmaJ wa Kami Iving among the it taa the cell cutout ami ilealroya the utility of Ihe trig a eectona of the tree Ihe line of devaautmn rue, . eaauy line l.y the mmuto channel l.tll ,1k k. , - - 1 ft . alien, ine wore 01 the lungu .1... ,,( (V4Mli ... vnr canirary, is greatly aeeeleiatod owing to Ihe greater amount of mouture it in. hth when in recumbent iiu, ,, .(t. . inn our ineo apni.ee a., a. I.aawar Itul lei wv I., annlher. the Hr tree, of ur Kirrtea .w t atill further mt sj the wnrk of ilealm. Uian wn-eghl up,, Iing tree bv Jnnti In the ,we .,( the llr, Ihe fungua .with little doubt rVaanrwa rero.sa l',.kel at laches ileelf to ihe lawk ol the tree; ita nucel man noon rwwelretos to the cambium beneath there It apreaada over a ramahleralale ipaee ( Ywguu to foroe ita tray direatly thronth the aai. wood toward tia. heart Tb toe. d.ww not. howuvcr, rcailily yield to the influence of ita foe, but oomiuanoai lo ilcvelow now Ueeuc, lu onlar to arrot the eitonnion, or partially encynt the fungua. Uyer after layer of new timuio la fnrnioil, until great nnlnotm cxpanmoim aro pro. ducod uem the trunk; the parasite all tho while ia eating it way like a cancer, slowly but surely, into the heart, until liually, after years of conteat, the tree falls a prey to its ileailly enemy. So general is this iliscaso amongst the lire th.it, as .Mr. .lohn Muir asserts, tew, it any, ilie from any other cause. This fungus, like the olio liefore nieutiuncil, continues its work in the fallen trees. In the fungus I am new to speak of there is a diseased, and yet no external aigna appear he which Uiu lumliuiiiiau may determine the dis eased tree from that which ii sound. The method, too, by which the fungus invades the tree is most singularly perplexing. If we ex amine a transverse section of an affected tree we shall liud numerous small openings, as shown in the larger engraving (Fig. 1), and which create the impression of being the work of some animal. Krctjueutly 50 or 6Q such openings may be seen in such a section. These openings vary from one-half to one inch in diameter, A longitudinal section of such a tree reveals the fact that these openings are not continuous throughout tho body of the tree, but are simply . am a.-?y V:':::'yi' ITO. I. (iit)SS SKt'TKIN OK CKDAIi niarkeil i iceiitinn l.,,u..,1.n i-il: r. i . v., vine rrrre. i at' lo. e U. the fungua which ia at work upon our f..We.,,,.,eeu,rM, a tree of great value for timber, the consumption of which ia constantly V1V I t ii'i a NrUTIliX t i l WITH TBI cmiv ii tttl fTMalllta. at a ... . m lU or mere TZ HONEY-COMBED BY THE FUNGUS. elliptical cavities of from three to four inches in length. These openings are shown in the smaller engraving (Fig. 2). i nose caviuoa are lilleil with the dead wood, pervaded with threads of mycelium. The wool so affected becomes contracted in the cavity, is very friable and easily powdered between the lingers; the medullary rays and iibro-vascular bundles, together with tho coll structures in general, maintaining their proper relations to each othor. A singular fact must in this con nection le noted, which is this, that along the lino of this decayed wood, or in other words, the borders of these cavities, there seems to ha no partially decaying or decayed wood. Be tween any two auoh cavities there is a oonsideii aide portion of perfectly sound wood, the myoe hum in some unaccountable manner, finding its way through the living wood, leaving behind not the slightest microaoopio trace of ita prog reaa. The cavities always appear in the dry heart-wood, and, though 1 have diligently sought for them, I have never yet seen one in the nan-wood. Under treatment with suitable reagents, the alleeted wood shows abundant branching throada of mycelium traveraing the entire mass. Along with these are found a considerable number of soosriorea. Thus far I have been wholly unable to detect the presence of any gcrmapores. There is abundant evidenoe, in my judgment, however, that these spores must f """IP 'or iong the root of the tree. Yet their discovery will depend, in a great measure, upon accident, as tho germ may have developed, fruited and disappeared a century before it