INSECTS AND DISEASES 83 



as to keep all sides exposed to light and air as much 

 as possible. The disease, once started in a wet 

 field where no such precautions are taken, spreads 

 very rapidly, and a melon once infected is lost." 



Rust or Blight (Alternaria, sp. Peglion). — The first 

 man to prove that this disease of the cucumber and 

 muskmelon was due to this fungus was Peglion in 

 Italy. About the same time Dr. Erwin F. Smith, 

 of the department of agriculture, worked out the 

 same thing and came to practically the same con- 

 clusions, but owing to difficulty in finding the per- 

 fect form of the fungus, but .little has ever been 

 published on the subject in this country. Next to 

 the bacterial wilt, it is one of the most serious dis- 

 eases with which the cantaloupe grower has to con- 

 tend, as, unless the proper remedies are applied, it 

 will often destroy whole fields of melons in a short 

 time. 



The disease first shows itself in the form of little 

 brown spots on the leaves, and as the disease pro- 

 gresses these spots continue to grow, until they 

 finally run together, and the whole leaf becomes 

 brown and dry. Like most diseases of this nature, a 

 warm, damp atmosphere is very favorable to the 

 germination of the spores, so during a rainy season 

 the disease is usually much more prevalent than 

 during a dry season. We find, too, that if a melon 

 field is somewhat rolling, so that portions of the 

 field are higher than others, those plants on the 

 high places are much more exempt from the disease 

 than are those on the low ground, as there is a bet- 

 ter circulation of air on the high places, and the 

 plants dry off quicker after a rain or heavy dew. 



In some seasons, this disease will make its ap- 



