32 THIRTY-FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 
all affected pumpkins or squashes at once from the vicinity of the 
unaffected ones; second, cut out and destroy all the affected spots as 
soon as detected; third, keep in as low a temperature as possible with- 
out freezing. ; 
Mycologists have instituted two genera of molds that are very closely 
related. In one, which they cali Mucor, the globose head that contains 
the spores bursts irregularly when mature. In the other, which they 
eall Ascophora, it collapses or falls down over the top of the stem, and 
then presents an appearance similar to that of a miniature spread 
parasol, or of a saucer inverted and supported on a slender stick. In 
the black squash mold both these characters exist, for sometimes the 
head collapses and sometimes it bursts irregularly. If young specimens, 
while yet white, are placed in a warm dry place their further develop- 
ment is sometimes checked and then especially the heads collapse as in 
Ascophora. Thus it will be seen that satisfactory generic characters 
and generic limits have not yet in all cases been ascertained. 
Fusicladium dendriticum, Wallr. Apple peel Fungus. (Plate 4, 
tigs. 1-3.) Probably every one has observed the small, round, black- 
ish spots common on apples, but perhaps not every one is aware of 
the cause of them. These spots are not always uniform in color, but 
are varied by lighter and darker patches or circles. ‘They often have 
a cracked or scaly appearance. Sometimes they are bare and nearly 
smooth and then they have a dull reddish tint, but generally they have 
a blackish or blackish-brown color, more or less tinged with gray or 
dark-green, They are generally from one-eighth to one-fourth of an 
inch in diameter, but sometimes they are even larger. There may be 
but one or two on an apple, but usually they are more numerous, 
sometimes even so numerous and close that two or more run together. 
When examined microscopically it is found that they are produced by 
a fungus, whose dense stratum of threads and spores gives a somewhat 
velvety appearance to the surface. The fungus develops beneath the 
epidermis or thin outer skin of the apple, which at length ruptures, 
breaking up in small flakes or fragments which remain attached for 
some time, giving a grayish tint tothe spot. The margin is generally 
well defined but minutely irregular. It may be either darker-colored 
or paler than the center. ‘The threads and spores are colored and 
very variable, scarcely any two being exactly alike. Some of the 
threads are long and prostrate, others short and upright. The spores 
vary from subglobose to elliptical, fusiform, oblong or narrowly pyri- 
form. ‘They are generally simple, but sometimes when old they are 
divided by a single transverse septum or partition. Occasionally they 
contain one or more nuclei or shining oil globules. The fungus does 
not affect the apple deeply, its injury being limited to the surface. It 
is all taken off with the peel and does not detract materially from the 
weight or quality of the flesh. Still it injures the appearance of the 
fruit, and possibly in this way affects the sale of it. It is said that it 
sometimes opens the way for the attack of other fungi by cracking the 
epidermis of the apple, but this isnot a common result. All varieties 
of apples are not equally subject to its attacks. Common fruit and 
especially that growing on trees in the borders of woods seems more 
liable to its attucks than fruit on thrifty, well-cultivated trees. This 
