TtJE DISEASES OP FKUtTS. 



229 



spots upon the fruit, usually the upper side being the most 



affected, which is often dwarfed, and the flesh may crack and 



expose the inner substance to the inroads of the gray mould 



previously mentioned (see Fig. 287.) The growth of the 



scab fungus seems to depend largely upon the conditions which 



obtain upon the upper side of the 



fruit, whether this be the greater 



heat upon the sun-exposed side, or 



the fact that the spores are more 



apt to find lodgment there than 



elsewhere. This scab is similar in 



its results to that of the apple and 



pear, but not the same as either of 



them, and therefore no spreading 



of the disease may be expected 



from the pomaceous fruits to the 



stone fruits. This fungus, when 



Upon the foliage, produces Spots of FJ G. 287. A half-grown Peach, 



dead tissue which, falling out, leave 

 round vacant places, sometimes 

 called " shot holes." The same ap- 

 pearance is often caused by Cercospora persica Sacc. 



Remedies. It has often been observed that overladen trees 

 are more affected than those with only a proper amount of 

 fruit, and this suggests that one of the best methods of hold- 

 ing the scab in check is by judicious thinning, which should 

 be done as soon as the time for the natural dropping ("June 

 drop ") is past. It is likewise true that the best way to thin 

 the fruit is by using the pruning shears early in the season. 

 The young peaches, when attacked by the scab, are so thickly 

 coated with fuzz that it almost prohibits any close contact of 

 a liquid fungicide with the fruit. Sulphur dusted through the 

 trees has been recommended, but the satisfactory method of 

 dealing with the scab is yet to seek. 



THE APRICOT. Rust (Puccinia pruni Pers.) of the apricot is 

 very destructive to the orchards in California. It attacks al- 

 most all the drupaceous fruits from prune to almond, but it is 

 only in the warmer portions of the United States that it is a 

 serious pest. 



Remedies This is one of the few genuine rusts that have 



showing the Scab upon one 

 side with cracks in the fruit. 

 (From Smith.) 



