72 sysfh:}f.\fi(' roMOUfCy 



The flesli may be codrsc- or Jiiic-f/rdint d ; hmyh or tender ; crisp, 

 nielfiiuf, or watery; and tliat of peaches and plums may be 

 str{}}(/ij. 



110. Flavor. — As in eolor and form, each of the several thou- 

 sand sorts of the dilferent druiK'-fruits has a flavor and an 

 aroma quite of its own. Tliosc who ori<i:inate new peaches, 

 plums, and cherries know them ])y their taste, and many who 

 ^row a lar^e assortment can reco<i:nize them from flavor and 

 aroma. No i^en, however, can depict flavor and aroma so that 

 a reader can identify any variety of fruit. One can only put 

 down the outstanding: flavor about which the peculiar flavor 

 of the fruit is centered. Thus, one would first note whether the 

 variety in hand is sweet or sour, tart, suhacid, or mild; whether 

 hitter, astringent, or austere; lastly the kind and amount of 

 aroma. One can be fairly definite in the use of this meagre 

 vocabulary, but must end a description of flavor by an opinion 

 as to quality to which others may not ag-ree. As with pomes, 

 qualit}' is rated as poor, fair, good, very good, and best. De- 

 marcations of flavor and quality are the most unreliable parts of 

 fruit descriptions. 



111. The stone. — The species of drupe-fruits may be distin- 

 guished by the stones without recourse to any other structure of 

 fruit or plant; groups of varieties maj^ be differentiated with 

 several species; and it is possible to identify almost every one 

 of the several hundred varieties of the peach at least from their 

 stones. The markings on peach stones are as distinctive as the 

 finger-prints of men. A stone of a drupe may be considered 

 as a leaf which has been folded along the midrib and united at 

 its margins. The midrib of the folded leaf as it appears in the 

 stone is the dorsal suture ; the united margins form the ventral 

 suture. If the suture has but one crease it is grooved; the 

 grooves may be deep or shallow. If there are tw^o or more 

 creases, the suture is furrowed. Sometimes there are narrow 

 thin blades projecting at right angles from the suture, in which 

 case it is winged. 



Within a species the relative size counts; a stone may be 

 large or small, thin or plump. There are divers forms of which 

 the most common are round, ovate, obovate, oval, and elliptical. 

 The stones of some plums have a short neck at the base ; or base 



