New Yokk Agricultural Experiment Station. 409 



Color of flesh. — This character is of very great importance in, 

 identifying some varieties. There are, as column six shows, but 

 few colors ; but these are distinctive, as permanent as almost any- 

 other character of the apple and are plainly indicated by the ab- 

 breviations. Color of flesh, as with color of skin, gives no clue to 

 quality in varieties. 



Flavor. — Under flavor, as described in the seventh column, the 

 degree of sweetness and acidity of a variety is described by terms 

 which need no defining. Flavor is a concrete and definite part 

 of quality and should be noted, therefore, in connection with the 

 descriptions of quality as given in the next column. 



Quality . — That undefined thing known as quality is set forth 

 in the eighth column. What is quality % The word is constantly 

 rolled under the tongue by growers and consumers but like good 

 cheer in the fable is fish to one, flesh to another and fowl to a third. 

 As used in this catalog we mean, in brief, that combination of 

 flavor, aroma, juiciness and tender flesh which makes an apple 

 agreeable to the palate. Beside these there is a wholly undeflnable 

 thing in the quality of a fruit which in human beings would be 

 called personality. Some apples, as the Mcintosh, Spy, Spitzen- 

 burg, Newtown Pippin or Grimes — and all sorts of high quality 

 i — have this individuality which separates them from common- 

 place sorts. It is quite impossible for one person to convey to 

 another in a column of abbreviations the flavor, aroma, juiciness, 

 tenderness and " personality " of a variety of apples. All that 

 the authors can do is to express the degree of goodness of quality 

 as it appeals to their tastes by such simple words as best, good, 

 fair, poor, with the adverb " very " now and then used to still 

 further separate the degree,, 



Use. — In the ninth column the use is denominated. The use 

 has been arbitrarily determined by the describers. If an apple 

 is choicely good, it is put down as a " dessert " sort ; if not 

 especially pleasing to the taste it is roughly lumped as a " kitchen " 

 apple. This is not fair to the kitchen but this is the method of 

 separation everywhere in vogue. Some sorts are marked for both 



