FRUIT JUDGING CONTEST. 223 



be ranked fourth without regard to its merit, or if two such 

 plates occur in any one variety they shall be ranked third and 

 fourth, according- to their respective merits. 



(7) In ranking the plates the judges shall be governed by 

 the following score card, though they need not necessarily 

 score each plate. The number of points assigned each quality 

 in the score card is to be regarded as perfection for that 

 quality. 



Uniformity 30 points 



Soundness 30 points 



Size 15 points 



Shape 10 points 



Color 15 points 



Total 100 points 



By soundness is meant freedom from fungous or insect 

 marks, bruises, withering, or other blemishes. As regards 

 size and color, no plate shall be marked down on account of 

 too large or too highly colored fruit. 



(8) The contestants shall rank the 10 plates after the 

 judges have finished and hand the Secretar}^ a copy of their 

 rankings on blanks furnished by him. They shall also note 

 all cases of substitution of varieties by number of the plate 

 concerned, and give the correct name of the variety. They 

 shall be given three hours in wliich to rank the plates and pre- 

 pare their report; provided that the Secretary may extend 

 the time at his discretion. The contestants shall not be al- 

 lowed to consult with each other nor with other persons, but 

 may refer to any standard work on descriptive pomology, and 

 may, if they choose, use the score card given in paragraph 7. 



(9) The Secretary shall, as soon as possible after the con- 

 test, compare the rankings of plates made by each contestant 

 with the rankings given by the judges and mark off for each 

 plate as many points as there is difference between its rank- 

 ing by the contestant and by the judges. For instance, if a 



