272 [Senate 



a greater or less degree on all plums; yet the following and many 

 more precisely similar, are from a single work: 



Maitre Claude — " Covered with a thin white bloom." 



Purple Egg — " Skin covered with bloom." 



Swiss — " Skin covered with bloom." 



Early Tours — " Skin covered with bloom." 



Violet Perdrigon — " Skin covered with bloom." 



Red Perdrigon — " Covered with bloom." 



White Diaper — " Covered with bloom." 



St. Julien — " Covered with bloom." 



St. Martin — " Covered with bloom." 



Italian Damask — " Skin wdth a bloom," &c. &c. 



Endless contradictions might be quoted to show the confusion in 

 synonyms. This confusion has been in a great degree removed in 

 England, by the labors of the London Horticultural Society; but even 

 those high standard works, Lindley, and Mcintosh, contain some 

 striking disagreements. For example, the varieties which Lindley 

 describes as Grosse Mignonne, Niel's Early Purple, Pourpree Hative, 

 Royal Kensington, and Superb Royal, are all described by Mcintosh 

 as a single variety under the name of Grosse Mignonne, of which he 

 gives thirty-two synonyms. 



But it is needless to extend these quotations further, and indeed it is 

 no pleasant task thus to exhibit the great neglect and want of care 

 which has more or less characterized this branch of horticultural li- 

 terature. The disease, however, must be known before the remedy 

 can be applied; and the distinguished authors whom I have quoted, 

 should this ever meet their eyes, will, I doubt not excuse me, espe- 

 cially as contradictions do not imply that all are wrong. These great 

 deficiencies I have never seen pointed nut; and the perplexities which 

 I have met with, and the hope of offering something useful, have 

 induced me to furnish these hints, which I shall close by suggesting 

 a few points for attention, in writing descriptions. 



1. A thorough knowledge of the fruit should be obtained by seve- 

 ral years cultivation in different soils and circumstances, and a close 

 examination of the quality compared with that of other varieties, and 

 of the variations in size, shape, color, and flavor, from various in- 

 fluences. 



2. After this examination, all the distinctive and permanent cha- 

 racters should be selected and carefully noted; or if those of a vary- 

 ing nature are employed in description, the fact should be stated. 



3. The most striking and unchanging marks should be taken as a 

 guide to classification; as for instance, in the peach, the glands of 

 the leaves, and the distinctive qualities of pavies and melters. 



As taste is a very important quality, no pains should be spared to 

 describe it as distinctly as possible. As an example, the degrees of 

 sourness in apples, may be expressed by numbers, as follows; — 



1. Sweet — as Tallman Sweeting, Bough, Jersey Sweet, Autumnal 

 Swaar. 



2. Perceptible shade of Acid — as Black Gilliflower, Pennock, 

 Swaar, Rambo, Peck's Pleasant. 



