American Pomology Part 22

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 44.--DEEP AND ABRUPT.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 45.--SHALLOW.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 46.--NARROW AND FOLDED.]

Some fruits are _russeted_ at this part of their surface only, but this marking is a variable character and is found in greater or less degree in different localities; thus the Rhode Island Greening, to which it belongs, is sometimes almost entirely divested of the russeting, and in other localities the surface is thickly spread with it half way to the stem; the Westfield Seek-no-further, which is slightly marked with this character in the North, often becomes a russet apple in more southern lat.i.tudes.

The basin of some fruits is very apt to crack into irregular fissures, and this appears to be peculiar to certain varieties, though it is not esteemed a very reliable mark; the term _cracked_ is used to express this. In some fruits, however, we find a very peculiar cracking that forms a permanent character, upon which great dependence may be placed: all the rim of the basin in these is marked with a slightly cracked appearance that does not rupture the skin, and which resembles the incipient breaking of the surface of a piece of dry leather; it has, therefore, received the name of _leather-crack_. This is characteristic of a few sorts, and hence a valuable mark.

Within the basin is the EYE, which furnishes characters of great value. This I consider to mean the meeting of the segments of the calyx, and more particularly in the apple, the triangular s.p.a.ce enclosed by these parts, in which the remains of the stamens and pistils are found. Hence the Eye can only be displayed by making a vertical section of the fruit. There are but a limited number of expressions used in its description; thus the eye is said to be _large_, _small_, _long_ or _short_, and it may be _open_ or _closed_.

The segments of the calyx may be _converging_ or _reflexed_, _persistent_ or _obsolete_, according to their condition in the ripe fruit, and these several characters are quite reliable; but the simple fact that the eye is _open_ or _closed_, may depend upon the accidental breaking away of the segments of the calyx, and is of little value as a sign.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 47.--DEEP, STEM LONG.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 48.--WIDE, STEM STOUT.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 49.--WAVY, STEM CLUBBED.]

The next character to be considered is the attachment of the stem, which, in some fruits, is so depressed as to const.i.tute what is called the CAVITY. In the apple this portion has many variations that are quite characteristic of certain varieties of fruit. In form the cavity may be either _deep_, fig. 47, or _shallow_; _regular_ or _irregular_; _wide_, fig. 48; or _narrow_, and _acute_, _wavy_, fig. 49; and _uneven_, _folded_, and even _lipped_, fig. 50; as when a portion of the flesh protrudes against the stem, as in Pryor's Red, Roman Stem, and other apples, and in some pears. This portion is sometimes defaced by _cracks_ that separate the skin; it is occasionally green, and this is a good and distinguishing character of a limited number of fruits, both apples and pears. The cavity is also _brown_ or "_russeted_" in some fruits, and, though this character is quite variable in its depth, amount and extent, we may consider the _brown_ or _russeting about the stem_ quite reliable in both pears and apples.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 50.--CAVITY LIPPED.]

The stem has its place of insertion in the region we have just been considering. It is the peduncle of botanists, and in some species it separates from the fruit by a joint--in others it remains attached and separates from the twig, when it is considered a part of the fruit itself, as in the apple and pear. The shape, average length, thickness, and other characters, and especially its mode of attachment to the carpos[46] in the pear, give us some important characters, but these are always somewhat uncertain and variable; hence they are rather relative than positive traits. In apples, stems may be _long_, fig. 47, _short_, fig. 48, or _medium_, according to their projection beyond or concealment within the cavity, being called _medium_ when they simply reach the contour of the outline. They are _slender_, fig.

47; _medium_ or _thick_, _fleshy_, _k.n.o.bby_ or _clubbed_, fig. 49, according to the amount of their substance and its arrangement. They are _curved_ or _straight_, and _direct_ and _axial_, or _inclined_, according to their direction and relation to the axis of the fruit; and in pears, they often have a peculiarity of the insertion dependent upon their being more or less fleshy; in both plums and pears, this fullness is often arranged in rings surrounding the base of the stem.

Some pomologists have taken great pains to measure the length of the stems, which they report in inches and lines. As above stated, this is an uncertain quant.i.ty, and therefore of little value, except when taken in relation to other measurements by way of comparison; hence I have preferred to use the above-mentioned terms only in their relation to the axial diameter in describing the apples, unless where their extension is unusual. The variable length of this organ in some varieties is remarkable, and we often find the smallest fruits having the longest stems.

When we come to examine the interior portions of a fruit, if it be an apple or pear, we make a vertical section through the axis from basin to cavity. This exposes the internal structure and enables us to judge of the color and other characters of the fleshy pericarp, the length of the axis, the size of the core and carpels, and the number and appearance of the seeds. These characters are possessed of value, and are quite reliable; in many fruits the seeds furnish distinctive indications, and this is particularly the case with the stone fruits, many of which are readily identified by the form and markings of the stones or pits, the _endocarps_ of botany.

In the apple particularly, we first have our attention drawn to the AXIS, which is sometimes very _short_, so that in some decidedly oblate specimens, with deep basin and cavity, there is scarcely room between them for the core, which is shortened to correspond with the oblate character of the fruit. This is ill.u.s.trated by many of the outlines given in Cla.s.s I. It is well also to observe and note whether the axis be inclined. The form of the _core_ is not very reliable, but it has characters that are permanent and peculiar to certain varieties. Thus it is always _open_ in some, and always _closed_ in other sorts of the apple. In the pear it is _gritty_ in some varieties, and surrounded with fine grained flesh in others. The core is _large_, _medium_, or _small_, and these distinctions are permanent. Its outline, embracing the group of carpels, may be _regular_ or _irregular_, _long_ or _short_, _cordate_, _wide_ or _compressed_; it may reach the eye or otherwise, and it frequently clasps that portion.

The SEEDS are _numerous_ or otherwise; they are _long_ or _short_, _ac.u.minate_ or _rounded_, _flat_, _angular_, _imperfect_, or _plump_, _large_ or _small_; they may be _pale_, even _yellow_, or _brown_, _dark_, and nearly _black_; and these shades are distinctive, often enabling the pomologist to decide upon the variety when other characters are less marked. The peculiarities of the stones of peaches, plums and cherries, and of the seeds of the grape, had better be described in immediate connection with those species of fruit.

In the FLESH of fruits we find characters that most pomologists, even the amateurs, are generally pleased to have under practical consideration. They are also very reliable, for if the fruits be in good condition, they are always the same in any given variety. In its consistency, this tissue is either _firm_ and _compact_, or _spongy_; it is _fine grained_, _granular_, _gritty_, _fibrous_, or _breaking_, on the one hand, or _tender_, _b.u.t.tery_ and _melting_, on the other; the flesh is either _dry_ or _juicy_, and tinted with various shades of color. In some we find a satisfying _richness_, while others are _thin_ and poor. Some have a fine aroma, while others have an unpleasant flavor or are scentless.

So intimately a.s.sociated are our organs of taste and smell, that it is difficult to separate and distinguish the impressions we receive through these senses. For our present purpose it will be best to consider all under this head, whether really belonging to one or the other sensation; and the lexicographers themselves admit the commonalty of taste and smell in the word _flavor_. These qualities of a fruit depend upon so many accidents of season, culture, and especially of the condition of ripeness, that they are of comparatively little value in descriptions, except in their broadest expressions of acidity and its opposite, which indeed are sufficiently p.r.o.nounced to be used in the cla.s.sification of fruits.

With regard to their FLAVOR, fruits may be said to be _vinous_, _sub-acid_, _acid_, and _very acid_, or _sugary_, _sweet_, _very sweet_, and _honey sweet_; they may be _flat_ and _insipid_, or _highly flavored_, _mild_, or _astringent_; and as to fragrance, in which they may remind us of many other agreeable odors, they may be said to be _perfumed_ and _aromatic_, or otherwise.

In deciding upon the quality of the fruit that has thus been subjected to this series of tests, and to this thorough examination, we shall find that the decision will depend upon the individual tastes, the likes and dislikes of those who are called upon to render judgment, and that, at best, the result must be arbitrary. The terms expressive of this division are _inferior_, _good_, _very good_, and _best_.

FOOTNOTES:

[46] From ?a?p??, Greek, for fruit.

CHAPTER XVI.

CLa.s.sIFICATION.

NECESSITY FOR. BASIS OF. CHARACTERS. SHAPE. ITS REGULARITY.

FLAVOR. COLOR. THEIR SEVERAL VALUES. THOMAS' CLa.s.sIFICATION.

GERMAN WRITERS. DIEL'S SEVEN CLa.s.sES. MODIFICATIONS BY DOCHNAHL. ROBERT HOGG'S MODIFICATION BASED UPON SEASON. DIEL'S CONSPECTUS OF CLa.s.sIFICATION. DOCHNAHL'S. THE AUTHOR'S CLa.s.sIFICATION EXPLAINED. EXPLANATION OF TERMS. TOPICS COMBINED. CONSPECTUS OF CLa.s.sIFICATION USED IN THIS WORK.

The need of some cla.s.sification grows more and more pressing, as our fruit lists have become more extended, and they now reach many hundreds. A good and reliable systematic cla.s.sification has become absolutely necessary, and has received a great deal of consideration.

Upon what principle shall this cla.s.sification be founded? The common alphabetical arrangement of most text books may be very convenient for a mere dictionary of fruits, but is utterly useless to the novice who does not know the name of his specimen. The arrangement by season and size has its difficulties in the uncertainty and variation of these characters in the different soils and climates of our extended country, and a sub-division and grouping of fruits by their quality of excellence is not only unreliable, but is altogether arbitrary, and subject to the greatest diversity of opinion arising from the various tastes of different individuals. We must look to some marked and reliable characters that are always present, easily recognized, and permanent or fixed. Among these shape or figure stands pre-eminent, notwithstanding the acknowledged fact that some varieties are almost protean. The shape of the general outline appears to be the best character for the broad divisions of a cla.s.sification. A sub-division may again be made, which is to be based upon the regularity or irregularity of the shape.

The next character, and one of considerable value, is that dependent upon _flavor_ in its broadest characters of sweet and sour, which, though sometimes giving rise to a puzzling question, is, in most varieties, sufficiently marked to const.i.tute the basis of a minor sub-division. _Color_, which is notoriously the poorest character and least esteemed by botanists in their descriptions, on account of its liability to variation, is, however, of sufficient importance in pomology to take a high rank and to appear very prominently in fruit nomenclature. Still it should be reserved for the lowest sub-divisions of a cla.s.sification.

Among our American writers, who deservedly stand prominent as pomologists, the most satisfactory attempt at cla.s.sification is found in the little work prepared by J.J. Thomas. No one who has realized the advantages to be derived from the simple and clear sub-divisions made by this author, will ever be satisfied with a fruit-book that is not arranged upon the basis of some cla.s.sification. Thomas, in his excellent work, makes three great divisions of apples according to their period of ripening, as the _Summer_, _Autumn_, and _Winter_ fruits, to which some of us would desire to add _Spring_, or long-keepers. Each of these he has divided into two cla.s.ses--those characterized by their flavor as _sweet_ apples, and those possessed of more or less acidity; and each of these cla.s.ses is subdivided into two sections, according to their color, as striped with red and not striped; so that in this arrangement we have eighteen groups, and, with specimen in hand, this synopsis enables us at once to decide in which of these groups of moderate dimensions we may look for the description we desire; and, if it be contained in the book, it may readily be found. The labor of searching through the whole list is thus obviated.

The Germans have made many attempts at the cla.s.sification of fruits.

Christ, Diel, Dochnahl, Manger and Sickler, have been engaged in this work; and Diel's Synopsis, though far from perfect, has been generally adopted. He makes seven cla.s.ses, with orders under each. Dochnahl, a later writer, has modified this by making two sections according to the shape, whether _angular_ or _spherical_, and four cla.s.ses also based upon their form.

Robert Hogg, in his _British Pomology_, which is an excellent account of the apples cultivated in England, has given a modification which answers a good purpose for cla.s.sification. He makes three great sections, according to season, _Summer_, _Autumn_, and _Winter_. Each of these is divided into two cla.s.ses, according to shape: 1st, _Round_, _roundish_, or _oblate_; and 2nd, _Oblong_, _conical_, _oval_, or _ovate_. These again are grouped according to their colors: A, _pale_; B, _striped_; C, _red_; and D, _russet_.

As a matter of interest I will give Diel's cla.s.sification.

CLa.s.s I.--RIBBED APPLES.

1. They are furnished with very prominent, but regular ribs around the eye, extending also over the fruit, but which do not render it irregular.

2. Having wide, open, and very irregular cells.

+ORDER I.--TRUE CALVILLES.+

1. They taper from about the middle of the fruit toward the eye.

2. They are covered with bloom when on the tree.

3. They have, or acquire, by keeping, an unctuous skin.

4. They are not distinctly and purely striped.

5. They have light, spongy, delicate flesh.

6. They have a strawberry or raspberry flavor.

+ORDER II.--SCHLOTTER aePFEL.+

1. The skin does not feel unctuous.

2. They are not covered with bloom.