STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 75 



wound would appear a dark green or brown felt-like growth — 

 their fruiting organs. Here again careful handling would 

 nearly, if not completely, do away with the injury caused by 

 these fungi. 



In 1 8 of the 22 cases of black rot found in the 30 bushels of 

 apples already referred to entrance had been made through 

 bruises. In the other 4 cases the disease germs had apparently 

 made their way through the unbroken epidermis. This shows 

 that while more careful handling would not do away entirely 

 with this decay, it would prevent the larger share of it. 



Other fungi besides the ones mentioned were occasionally 

 found in decaying fruits. The damage they caused, however, 

 was so small they may be disregarded. 



Among the many things of interest brought out by this little 

 investigation one thing stands out preeminently. In Iowa there 

 is seemingly little excuse for the fruit grower being troubled 

 with apple decay. The diseases were almost entirely wound 

 parasites, unable to penetrate the unbroken epidermis of a 

 sound apple. In 90% of the decaying apples examined the dis- 

 ease spore had entered the tissues of the fruit through scab, 

 insect, or mechanical injuries. This means that careful grow- 

 ing to avoid injuries of the first two kinds and careful handling 

 to prevent injuries of the last kind would indirectly prevent 

 90% of the loss now occasioned by apple decays. That this 

 same care would also materially reduce the remaining 10% loss 

 is hardly to be questioned. 



The apple decays of the state of Iowa are the apple decays of 

 the State of INIaine. It is true that some of them may be of 

 relatively greater or of relatively less importance here, but that 

 does not materially alter the one important fact, namely, that 

 they are almost entirely avoidable. Whether the fruit grower 

 of our State will suffer loss from the decay of apples in storage 

 is largely a matter of his own choosing. If he does not prune, 

 cultivate, spray, and otherwise care for his trees, and handles 

 his fruit roughly when matured, he indirectly invites decay. 

 On the other hand if by spraying, pruning, and cultivating he 

 grows fruit without blemish and then handles that fruit care- 

 fully he need not worry about the rotting. 



