STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Ill 



the various growers, giving them the score and asking that we 

 be freed from coming to their orchard at this time, mainly on 

 account of expense. So when the time came for scoring we 

 succeeded in getting down to about sixty orchards, the fifty 

 scoring highest last year and about ten additional that we were 

 unable to visit. 



The score card that we used, I think, should require some 

 explanation. The first thing that we considered in going to the 

 orchard was the general appearance of the trees. And wx con- 

 sidered that the general appearance should be perhaps the 

 governing factor, as against pruning and some other items. Of 

 the general appearance, the first thing we considered was color. 

 Of course we figured that the culture methods that had been 

 carried on would be demonstrated pretty fully at least for one 

 season in the color, so that it w^as of sufficient importance to 

 give a credit of 75 points on the basis of 1000. In judging 

 color we took what we believed to be, as near as we could tell, 

 the best color for the variety and judged accordingly. Color 

 was given 50 points and size 25 — color and size together 75 

 points. In the size, we thought that size for variety should 

 be considered ; also the fact that if trees were set as two-year- 

 olds they should be given a little higher standard than trees set 

 as whips. That was figured on as near a mathematical basis as 

 we could get. The first thing in size was uniformity, taking the 

 largest number of trees that were practically the same size as 

 a basis, and scoring the others in proportion. The caliper was 

 scored by taking the actual caliper of each tree about a foot 

 from the ground. It seemed that was as near the ground as we 

 could get a uniform caliper for various conditions in various 

 trees. That was figured out mathematically. The diameter 

 and height of the head were figured in the same way, and in 

 each case, after we had scored a variety, we figured as nearly 

 as we could what a standard should be. Wq did not place the 

 standard as the largest tree, but as a tree that every man with 

 good care could reach. For instance, I spoke of a tree that 

 calipered over four inches. The standard for that variety^ 

 which happened to be a Stark, was three inches, within the pos- 

 sibilities of practically all the trees, provided they were given 

 good care. 



