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The affected leaves are cast in the autumn, the winter-spores begin to form, the snows come and hide the processes, in spring the spores mature; and so does the round of life go on and on. There are beautiful forms in these fragile fungus threads that eat their way into the tissues of the host. There are fascinating phenomena in the growth and reproduction.
If conditions are favorable, the tree is invaded in foliage and fruit. The flower-stems in the unfolding buds are attacked by the winter-spores and the flower falls. The apples become spotted from the invasion of the summer-spores, perhaps misshapen. Late infections may not show at picking time, but develop on the fruit in storage.
On the leaves are spots or lesions, injured or "diseased" infected with the apple-scab fungus. Under a good microscope the investigator finds immature fruiting bodies in these areas. In the early days of Spring, these bodies or winter-spores mature. A rain discharges them in astonishing numbers. The tissue is penetrated and killed so rapidly that the practiced eye soon discovers a "spot."
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