94 MANUAL OF FRUIT DISEASES 
Control of soft-rot. 
It is to be remembered that the spores of the soft-rot fungus 
are everywhere in the air, and on objects of all sorts. Rotten 
apples cannot be cured. But obviously there are many things 
which the grower and dealer can do or can refrain from doing 
which will reduce the disease to a profitable minimum. ‘These 
facts should be borne in mind: (1) the fungus is omnipresent ;” 
(2) it gains entrance to apples only through wounds; (3) a 
rotten apple is a menace to its neighbors in the barrel or bin. 
Therefore, precautionary measures should be used in handling 
the fruit. Certainly the modern commercial grower expects 
to raise apples free from scab; at least there are two reasons 
why he should: to avoid scab itself, and to indirectly prevent 
storage rots. A scabby apple is not a number one when it goes 
into the barrel, and no miraculous handling of the fruit can bring 
it out in better condition than it was in when barreled. The 
chances are it will be rendered worthless through the agency 
of the soft-rot organism which finds easy entrance at the scab 
spot. For most manual labor a careful manicuring is not 
essential; but for picking apples it is highly important that the 
finger-nails be short or that smooth gloves be worn. No care- ~ 
ful grower will approve of having the fruit bruised in any way 
during the. picking and packing operations. Every precaution 
should be taken to avoid bruising the tissue or breaking the 
skin of the apple. Cold storage cannot mend these wounds, 
nor does it seem to wholly prevent soft-rot. Doubtless cold 
storage does a great deal toward lessening the amount of soft- 
rot from year to year. Some refer to the process as refrigera- 
tion; but in any case the principle involved is briefly this: the 
temperature is reduced to a point where the fungus can develop 
no further, but at which point the apple is notinjured. In proper 
storage the fruit is not only not injured, but benefits, other than 
by the prevention of decay, are derived. The period for dis- 
tribution and for consumption is increased. When apples are 
