Hales (1727I 733) discussed the rotting of wounds, cankers, &c., but much had to be done with the microscope before any real progress was possible, and it is easily intelligible that until the theory of nutrition of the higher plants had been founded by the work of Ingenhouss, Priestley and De Saussure, the way was not even prepared for accurate knowledge of cryptogamic parasites and the diseases they induce.
But undoubtedly the most importapt of the woody excrescences on trees are cankers.
It occurs in UK, but is not known to cause cankers.
Such frost-cracks, sun-cracks, &c., may then be slowly healed over by callus, but if the conditions for necrosis recur the crack may be again opened, or if Fungi, &c., interfere with occlusion, the healing is prevented; in such cases the local necrosis may give rise to cankers.
However Q. robur and Q. petraea trees with oak decline do not usually exhibit bleeding cankers of the main stem.
