58 SYSTEMATIC POMOLOGY 



characterized by the amount and delicacy of the bloom which 

 adds much to their api)carance. This bloom is excreted by 

 the epidermal cells and consists of minute scales of wax which 

 prevent evaporation from the fruit skins, and should not, there- 

 fore, be removed. The quantity of the bloom varies greatly in 

 different environments. Some varieties of apples are oily or 

 waxy, the material causing the condition being analogous to the 

 bloom in composition and is an excretion from the epidermal 

 cells. Lowell, sometimes called Greasy Pippin, and Tompkins 

 King, are heavily covered with this oily wax. This character 

 must not be confused with glossiness, sometimes spoken of as 

 waxen, as exhibited in the glossy skins of Winter Banana and 

 Maiden Blush. 



There are various other surface characters usually of minor 

 importance which may in a few varieties help materially in 

 classifying. The presence and character of the pubescence 

 about the calyx is one of these. All quinces are thickly cov- 

 ered with felt-like pubescence, the character of which should be 

 noted. In some apples and pears, a suture-like line extends 

 towards the apex from the base. One recognizes Tolman Sweet 

 at once by a very plain line of this kind. 



All other characters of the surface are subordinate to that of 

 color, with which dots and similar markings are included. Its 

 importance must be emphasized by treatment in a separate topic. 



91. Color of pome-fruits. — In spite of the fact that no char- 

 acter of pome-fruits varies more in accordance with environ- 

 ment, color is of first importance in identifying varieties and 

 in all methods of classification. Unfortunately, colors are diffi- 

 cult to describe in words and there are no charts helpful in 

 determining the colors of fruits. The difficulty of describing is 

 further complicated by the fact that no two persons see colors 

 quite alike. Great latitude, therefore, must be allowed in inter- 

 pretation. Red, scarlet, carmine, and pink are applied to the 

 same color in the apples which pass as red sorts. 



Fortunately the way in which the colors of pomes are dis- 

 tributed on the fruit are very distinctive and make safe distin- 

 guishing marks for most varieties. The ground-color of apples, 

 pears, and quinces is the green or yellow-green of chlorophyll 

 on which there is usually an overcolor of tints and shades of 



