88 MANUAL OF FRUIT DISEASES 



disease in the United States. Subsequent reports indicate 

 that it is widely distributed throughout the northeastern 

 United States. It apparently does not occur west of Michi- 

 gan nor south of Virginia. It is said to be common in Canada, 

 and is also reported from Germany. No doubt the greatest 

 losses are incurred by fruit-spot in New England ; and often the 

 disease is very appropriately called the New England fruit- 

 spot and the New Hampshire fruit-spot. In these sections of 

 the United States 50 to 90 per cent of the fruit is spotted in 

 epiphytotic years. In the state of Maine the disease is so 

 common on the Yellow Bellflower that the spots have come to 

 be regarded as characteristic markings of this variety, and thus 

 affected fruits have been awarded prizes at fairs and fruit shows. 

 But affected fruit must be graded as a second-rate product, 

 thereby incurring considerable loss to apple-growers concerned. 



Symptoms. 



The disease has been described on the Baldwin fruit some- 

 what as follows (Fig. 24) : Spots are first seen about the middle 

 of August. They are deeper red on the colored portion of the 

 apple and darker green on the lighter portion. The affected 

 tissue is at first only slightly sunken, if at all. Usually each 

 lesion centers about a lenticel. There are from two to ten 

 times as many spots on the blossom-end as on the stem half of 

 the apple ; this is due in a great measure to the larger number 

 of lenticels at the blossom-end. The spots enlarge slowly and 

 never attain great size ; the color is finally dark-red, brown or 

 black and the surface of the spot more sunken than at first. 

 In this stage the disease has some semblance to black-rot. 

 At first the spots are superficial, and only in the later stages is 

 the flesh noticeably discolored. In no case does the discolora- 

 tion extend more than a small fraction of an inch into the pulp. 

 The tissue beneath the discolored skin is rendered brown and 

 corky. Black specks abound on the surface of the lesion : 

 usually one appears in the center of the affected area and others 



