ANNUAL MEETING. 17 



lie said that our Society was the outgrowth of a necessity. Michigan's fruit 

 interests were demanding that there he united effort in ascertaining the host 

 methods and varieties. It holds its sessions in various parts of the State, not 

 alone to impart information and enthusiasm, but to receive knowledge into the 

 general fund to he in turn given to others. Thus there is mutual assistance 

 rendered, lie said that statistics would bear him out in the assertion that in 

 no State does fruit hear so prominent a place in relation to general agriculture 

 as in Michigan. A few years ago he sent some specimens of apples to (Jhas. 

 Downing from our State fair, and received the reply that the fruit was beauti- 

 ful, hut he wished people would not persist in sending him the largest specimens 

 they could find, and when assured that those sent to him were simply average 

 samples taken from the plates at the fair, he replied, "Then Michigan should 

 have one-third of her area planted to fruit." 



These introductory speeches were followed by an address by Prof. W. J. Beal 

 upon the 



CLASSIFICATION OF APPLES. 



Many attempts have been made to classify fruits, but a perfect classification 

 which will satisfy every man can never be made, for no two will agree on the 

 relative importance of the characters used in description. A natural classifica- 

 tion would be one in which every distinguishing feature of the plant was duly 

 considered, giving each character its due weight. This would include the pecu- 

 liar features of the young embryo as it began to germinate, following on with 

 every step in its growth to a mature old plant bearing fruit. A natural classifi- 

 cation of apples, or the plant bearing apples, would give due prominence to the 

 mode of growth of the shoots, rapidity of growth, color of shoots ; the shape, 

 size, color, or other peculiarities of the buds ; the position taken by each leaf, 

 its shape, size and color, in regard to general outline in the minutest details ; 

 the shape, color, relative size and other features of all the parts of the flower; 

 all the details of the peculiarities in the fruit and seed ; the tender flavor and 

 quality of the fruit; its keeping qualities, etc. ' In a natural classification noth- 

 ing must escape notice, every point must have its due weight in determining the 

 relations of each variety to all the others. 



An artificial classification is based on some one of a few points of difference, 

 ignoring other points which may be of much importance. As an example, if 

 we divide all apples into two classes, one sweet, the other sour, we divide them 

 artificially, with reference to one character alone, ignoring everything else, as 

 size, color, keeping qualities, flavor, peculiarities of tree, bud, leaf, flower, seed, 

 etc., etc. 



Every attempt at classifying apples by the fruit alone will be an artificial one. 

 For practical purposes a classification is of little use to most men, except to en- 

 able them to find the correct name of an unknown apple. The easiest key to 

 aid in this kind of identification is so constructed that the learner has only to 

 decide between two or three points of difference at a time. The first step taken, 

 two additional points are presented for decision, and so on to the end of the 

 description. 



Dr. Warder, in his "American Pomology,"' gives, on page 309, Diel's classi- 

 fication, in which, I judge, he has attempted a natural classification of apples. 

 Class second he calls "Rose apples," and enumerates nine peculiarities of the 

 class, viz. : 



3 



