in his own garden, in his neighbor's orchard, to a county fair or to a horticultural meeting -he is sure to see some interesting specimens of fruit. If he has his note-book with him he can quickly make a memorandum of important characteristics, or he may fill out a complete description. The ordinary fruit grower, who does not expect to write nursery catalogs, books, or experiment station bulletins, will usually prefer the note-book method of keeping descriptions. The book offers the most convenient means of preservation, and as long as there are not so many descriptions but that the owner of the book can readily turn up the one he wants, it is the best

means.

For the working pomologist, the experimentalist, the secretary of the horticultural society, or the nurseryman who has his catalog descriptions to prepare, it will usually be best to keep the descriptions on loose sheets. These can be arranged alphabetically and filed in almost any way. In default of anything more elaborate, it is best to place them in large envelopes of just the right size to receive them. Ten cents will buy a bunch of twenty-five strong manila envelopes, one

for each letter of the alphabet, barring X. These may be lettered from A to Z, and may be fastened together with a rubber band and kept in the writing-desk, on the book-shelf, in the madame's mending-basket, or in any other convenient spot where they are safe and easily found. Into these envelopes the variety descriptions can be distributed alphabetically.

Altogether the best device for filing descriptions, however, is the card catalog cabinet now used in so many different ways. These cabinets are made with drawers, into which the cards fit smoothly, where they may be removed and replaced at need. Alphabetical guides keep the descriptions arranged according to name, or, with other guides, one may follow systematic or numerical arrangements if preferred (Fig. 2).

These card cabinets are made and kept in stock by several manufacturers in the United States. They may be had in various sizes, but the largest standard size drawer kept in stock receives a card 5 x 8 inches. Since there are many advantages in using a standard card and drawer, the writer uses and recommends this size.

For laboratory or classroom use the writer prefers loose sheets of the standard size and form. Where a great many are to be used, it is a matter of economy to have them printed on news or poster paper, railroad manila, or other cheap stock. It is often desirable, for

FIG. 2-CARD CABINET FOR FILING DESCRIPTIONS

other reasons, to have these cheap paper blanks. They can be used in the field for lead-pencil notes, or for making temporary descriptions, which can be copied later on to the permanent cards. The present writer, when he has a large number of samples for description, finds it a great saving of time to dictate the descriptions to a stenographer, who takes them down on these temporary sheets, afterward transferring them with the typewriter to the regular filing cards.

Another plan for laboratory work is that devised by Professor U. P. Hedrick. He has designed a laboratory note-book which contains, first, some printed matter (definitions, explanations, classificatory schemes, etc.) and, second, a number of pages of printed forms for the description of varieties. The style of these blank forms will be better understood by reference to Fig. 3, which is engraved directly from one of the pages. It is considerably reduced in size, however, the original page measuring 6 x 94 inches. Such a laboratory note-book has certain advantages as well as several disadvantages.

It should be noted that the making of accurate descriptions is much a matter of experience. The beginner will find it slow work, and many of his entries will be made with considerable doubt. One must be thoroughly familiar with the vocabulary to select always the most appropriate and illuminating adjective. What is more, many of the statements made in such a description are rather expressions of personal judgment than records of exact fact. Should a certain stem be called long or very long? Is the basin moderately irregular, considerably irregular, decidedly