414 THE GARDENER. [Sept. 



ON JUDGING FRUITS. 



A PAPER READ AT THE HORTICULTURAL CONGRESS AT OXFORD, ON JULY 21, 1870. 



Da Hogg, after a few preliminary obseiwations, said : Though the judging of fruit 

 has on various occasions occupied the attention of those interested in the subject, 

 and has from time to time been discussed in the public prints by those most 

 competent to deal with it, I am not aware that any common understanding as 

 to the basis on which fruit-judging should rest his yet been arrived at. Notwith- 

 standing this want of a written law on the subject, the practice of judging fruit 

 is followed with results which, though not always agreeable to unsuccessful com- 

 petitors, are, upon the whole, generally accepted and acceptable. 



It is not my intention to submit anything to this meeting which can be regarded 

 in any light as a solution of the question — Upon what principles ought fruit to be 

 judged ? This I will leave to be dealt with by those of my audience who are 

 sufficiently versed in the subject, and who feel themselves competent to do so. 

 All that I shall do is to state the motives which actuate me in coming to the 

 conclusion I do when I am acting the part of a fruit judge, leaving others to set 

 up any other code they may think better and more in accordance with their own 

 views. 



And first, let me remark that, in judging fruit at exhibitions, I think we ought 

 to do so upon different grounds to those upon which we should judge it at our 

 own tables. "We must bear in mind that exhibition fruit is exceptional, and is 

 produced by the greatest effort of the horticultural skill of the exhibitor. It 

 generally receives an amount of attention which he cannot afford to bestow on a 

 general crop, provided his establishment is an extensive one ; and we ought, 

 therefore, to regard the exhibition fruit of a gardening establishment very much 

 as we should the exhibition ox — as the exceptional animal on the farm. In 

 judging fruit, therefore, we must look to those points which exhibit the greatest 

 amount of horticultural skill — and the first of these are size and symmetry. 



In judging size and symmetry we must deal with each variety on its own merits. 

 It would not be fair, for instance, to judge on the same grounds a bunch of Buck- 

 land Sweetwater Grape and one of White Muscat of Alexandria. A bunch of 

 Buckland Sweetwater may be much larger than, and equally as handsome as, one of 

 Muscat of Alexandria, and both may be in every point what gardeners call " well 

 finished ; " but the skill required in producing such a bunch of Muscat of Alex- 

 andria being much greater than that which is required to grow the Buckland 

 Sweetwater, and the Muscat of Alexandria being a much superior fruit, I would 

 give the preference to the latter, although inferior in size to the former. The 

 same may be said of Black Hamburg and Black Prince shown in the same class, 

 though not on the ground that Black Hamburg requires greater skill in the pro- 

 duction of it, but because it is a superior fruit. 



It matters not what description of fruit we may be judging; be it Grapes, 

 Pines, Peaches, or any other fruit, size and symmetry are the features which 

 first attract our attention ; and therefore to size and symmetry, but not to size 

 apart from symmetry, I attach, perhaps, the greatest importance when other 

 points are not greatly de6cient. 



The next important feature is colour, requiring much skill in the development 

 of it. This is by some regarded a3 of even greater importance than size and 

 symmetry. I am rather inclined to give colour second place, except when it is 

 unusually fine, and the difference of size and symmetry between the competing 

 fruit is not great. In such a case I would certainly give the preference to 



