INTRODUCTORY 3 



morphosis of organs receives more attention. These are only 

 slight differences but they are worth noting to show as exactly 

 as possible the place of descriptive pomology, to emphasize its 

 slightly closer relationship to systematic pomology. Descriptive 

 pomology has nothing to do with the functions of plants or their 

 organs which is, of course, plant physiology, the two quite dis- 

 tinct divisions of botany and pomology being necessary supple- 

 ments in a full study of plants or fruits. 



5. Relations of pomology to botany. — Broadly speaking, all 

 knowledge about plants is botany, but as the term is generally 

 used, it is restricted to the philosophy of plant life, while applied 

 botany, that which has to do with the culture and uses of plants, 

 is agriculture, horticulture, or forestry. Systematic pomology 

 is more closely allied to botany than to horticulture ; one phase, 

 putting varieties into species, species into genera, and genera 

 into families, is botany pure and simple. It follows that a 

 student of this text must be equipped with a knowledge of 

 structural and systematic botany. He should, also, know some- 

 thing about ecology so that he can estimate better the influ- 

 ence of environment on fruits ; physiology because physiological 

 characters are assuming greater and greater importance in the 

 characterization of species; and genetics in order to follow the 

 development of fruits through hybridization and mutation. 



6. Relation of systematic pomology to practical fruit- 

 growing. — Perhaps no other factor is more important to suc- 

 cess in fruit-growing than the choice of varieties. To choose 

 well, the fruit-grower must have a vivid knowledge of the 

 characteristics of trees and fruits. The first task of a man 

 contemplating fruit-growing is to make a systematic study of 

 fruits and varieties. He begins with systematic pomology. The 

 progress of his profession depends very largely on the intro- 

 duction of better varieties, which, in turn, is dependent on inti- 

 mate knowledge of existing varieties. Contemplation shows that 

 at every turn the practical fruit-grower relates his work to sys- 

 tematic pomolog>\ It is significant that the men who brought 

 fruit-growing into being in America and nourished it to 

 maturity, as Coxe, Prince, Kenrick, ^Manning, Hovey, Elliot, 

 Cole, Hooper, Warder, the Downings, and Thomas, were first 

 of all systematic pomologists. The literature of fruit-growing 



