90 SYsrKMATir J'OMOLOGY 



135. Descriptive blanks. — Tlu- lal)()r of inakiii«r descriptions is 

 frreatly lessciu'd, and nsually tlie resnlt is better, if a formal 

 outline is used. If many are to l)e made, a i)rinted blank is 

 very convenient. Those shown in this text have been found 

 by tiie New York Agricultural Ex})eriment Station, where many 

 thousands of fruits have been described, to answer the require 

 ments of full plant portraits. Modifications of particulars in 

 these outlines may improve them for special purposes. There 

 are many advantages in uniformity, and if pomologists would 

 use similar descriptive forms and similar arrangement of ma- 

 terial in their published accounts, comparisons would be made 

 much more easily and would be much more accurate. Pomol- 

 ogists have much to learn from botanists in descriptive work, — 

 indeed, thorough grounding in systematic botany is good train- 

 ing, almost indis^^ensable, for the sj'stemati-st in pomologJ^ 



In describing a fruit, the pomologist must use all the keenness 

 of insight he possesses. After he publishes, he can never escape 

 the responsibility for his work, w^hich, especially in the ease of 

 new varieties, is of considerable mao-nitude. His descriptions 

 will be estimated by their clearness, accuracy, and the use of 

 differential characters. The beginner in descriptive work often 

 makes the mistake of following too closely the printed form with 

 the result that his description is a lifeless skeleton; to put life 

 in this skeleton he must indicate the relative diagnostic impor- 

 tance of the characters, note important characteristics that may 

 not appear in the outline, show relationships between the plant 

 in hand and similar ones, — in a ^vord, paint the truest picture 

 possible of the plant he is describing. 



136. Terminology of descriptive pomology. — The special 

 terms pertaining to a science or art constitute its terminology. 

 It is necessary that every science and art have a technical 

 terminology to increase clearness and save space in descriptive 

 discussions. One who does not know the terminology of po- 

 mology might take a large page to describe the Concord grape, 

 while one versed in grape terminology" could more clearly de- 

 scribe the fruit and plant in a quarter as much space. A good 

 command of pomological and botanical terminology enables 

 fruit-growers to use more sympathetic means of intercommuni- 

 cation among themselves and to work side by side with those 



