Cantaloupes. 7 
However, they ripened (in quantity) faster, and for the next 
ten days gave more ripe melons than any other planting. 
DISEASE OF THE VINE. 
Until recently the industry has advanced at a rapid 
pace, no disease or insect pest causing trouble of any 
consequence. 
A blight or rust first attracted attention in a few fields 
in 1896 , and there was a slight increase in its spread in 1897 . 
No one gave it serious thought at first, and it was not until 
it became prevalent and the damage serious, that anyone 
realized to what extent it might cripple the industry. My 
attention was first called to it in 1898 , when it became so 
prevalent in some fields as to do much injury to the crop 
at about the time the melons were ripe. 
It first appeared in well defined centers on fields 
that had been cropped with melons continuously for some 
years. In 1899 it was apparent that the disease diminished 
as we receded from these centers, and, in most cases, it did 
not appear on the remote fields until later in the season. 
The leaves were found to be covered with numerous 
brown spots, giving them a rusty appearance. The spots 
ran together, eventually killing the leaf. The stem was 
also covered with spots, and in some cases the melon was 
affected, the diseased tissue often extending to the heart of 
the melon. 
Leaves and stems were sent to Prof. Crandall, who 
pronounced the trouble due to a fungus (inacrosporium ), but 
sent the specimens to Ellis and Everhart, who pronounced 
it a new species, naming it “ cucuinerium!' 
To the casual observer, the cantaloupe blight, which is 
caused by a true parasitic fungus, first appears as a number 
of brown spots about the size of a pin head upon the 
leaves in the center of the hill. A careful examination 
of the younger leaves shows where the fungus has been at 
work, sometime before it is apparent by the brown appear¬ 
ance. It can be seen where the leaf tissue has been eaten 
away, and when the injured tissue dies, then it is that the 
brown appearance occurs. These spots gradually enlarge 
until they may attain a diameter of half an inch, and the 
number sufficient to envelop the leaf and cause its death. 
In some badly affected fields can be seen spots of all 
gradations in size, from those just forming on the young 
leaves to those so large as to destroy the older leaf. 
During nearly the whole season the cantaloupe is put¬ 
ting forth new growth that is very succulent, and this 
