188 



Diseases of Economic Plants 



Upon leaves, where injury is less common than upon the 

 fruit, the spots are at first watery and translucent; later 

 the leaf wilts, and is soon reduced to a decayed mass. The 

 disease progresses so fast that a plant may be practically 



Fig. 103. — Part of waterinelon with .stein-end-rot. After i\Ici( 



destroyed in a few days. Immediate and thorough spray- 

 ing may be of service. 

 ■ Soft-rot 218' 219 {Bacillus melonis Gidd.). — This soft-rot 

 was described first by Giddings as causing 25 per cent loss of 

 muskmelons in certain fields in Vermont in 1907. The decay 

 usually Ijegins on the lower side of the fruit, resulting in 



