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FIG. 3-LABORATORY NOTE-BOOK. (HEDRICK)

irregular, or very irregular? Is the quality very good or best? These are all matters of opinion, and a man must be trained by long experience in such things to make his opinion the most valuable.

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GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

THE fruit is of paramount importance in nearly every case in the description of any pomological variety. It receives, properly, the chief attention. We shall be obliged to go more into detail regarding the methods and the terms for describing the various classes of fruits, but first it may be convenient to dispose of sundry matters of a general nature relating to the entire subject.

The tree or vine or bush or plant on which the fruit grows, though less important from the standpoint of systematic pomology, is evidently not to be disregarded. Occasionally, though not usually, the characters of the tree or plant are more striking and easily recognizable than those of the fruit. Whether the characters are peculiar or not, something should be said of the tree.

In speaking of a tree, its form should be described first. This varies so much with different kinds of trees that no convenient set of descriptive terms can be suggested cover

ing all cases. upright, spreading, open, close-headed, roundtopped, or irregular. Beyond this, one has to depend largely on his own ingenuity to invent apt terms of description for particular

Trees are often said to be

cases.

The productivity of the variety is usually mentioned as a characteristic of the tree. Convenience is the best justification for this custom. Thus, under this head, one would say that Elberta peach is prolific, coming early into bearing; that General Hand plum is a very light and late cropper; that Baldwin apple bears abundantly in alternate years, etc.

The hardiness of a tree and the degree in which it is subject to disease ought to be entered here. Hardiness is generally understood to mean the ability to withstand winter damage, but it may mean a variety of things. The man who uses the term ought to be "fully persuaded in his own mind," as Paul said of the meats offered to idols. The susceptibility of trees to disease is often difficult to arrive at, but it is a very important practical observation, and ought not to be omitted if it can be ascertained. So we would say Roseau apple, very hardy; of the Peen-to

of

peach, hardy only in Florida (which might not be true); of the Spitzenberg apple, much subject to canker; of Milton plum, severely attacked by pockets; of Martha grape, subject to mildew, etc.

Vigor of growth should be recorded here. Some trees are strong growing, some weak growing.

The color of the bark, or the color of the young wood, is often characteristic, and such peculiarities should be included in this part of the description.

The foliage as a whole should be described. It is of value to know whether it is abundant, sparse, healthy, dark green, or some other color, subject to disease, or marked by other characteristics.

The individual leaf requires more critical attention in certain cases. Among ordinary varieties of apples and pears leaf distinctions are seldom of enough importance to be worth record; but in certain groups of plums, and in

some peaches, the leaf characters are strongly differentiated. There are a great many different technical terms used in describing leaf characters, but these have been so often repeated in the text-books of botany

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