94 SYSTEMATIC POMOLOGY 



to identify, dcscrilx', classify, and make (M)nij)aris<)ns of the 

 products of llic orcliai'd. Here, students in a<::ricuit ui-al colleges 

 and schools and j)r()fessi()nal i)oni()lo|^ists <,Min technical i)erfee- 

 tion in the appraisement of varieties. The exercise of jud<^inj^ 

 fruits at these exhibitions is in voj?ue in colleges and schools 

 as a part or as a substitute for a course in systematic pomoh)gy. 

 Kxcellent in itself, such fruit judgin«i- should not take the place 

 of work covering: a niuch wider field. The student in jud«^ing 

 ai)i)i-aises but a few characters of the fruit, none of the tree, and 

 has no opportunity to study tlie pomological and botanical rela- 

 tions of fruits. Fruit judginj^ is excellent practice for persons 

 who have completed a course in systematic pomology, but is a 

 poor substitute. 



In fruit exhibitions as now conducted the country over the 

 standing of the displays entered are gauged by comparisons. 

 Decisions are reached by deciding whether this fruit or this 

 collection is better than that or than any number of other ex- 

 hibits in the same class. The display which carries off the palm 

 of merit is usually awarded a prize. ]\Iost experienced judges 

 carry the comparisons they must make in the mind but some 

 use a score-card, the footings . on which determine where the 

 prizes shall go. In student contests the score-card is indis- 

 pensable, and those controlling exhibitions usually suggest or 

 insist that the judges follow a particular score-card for the 

 entries in their exhibit. Score-cards are many and almost as 

 varied as the fruits and the regions in which fruit is grown, 

 but the principle is the same in all, and it must suffice for this 

 text to set it down and then give a typical example of the cards 

 now in common use. 



139. Score-cards for fruit exhibits.— A score-card is a tabu- 

 lated form giving the chief features of a fruit, in which a 

 number of points is stated for each, the total summing 100, or 

 1000 for perfection. The judge appraises the characters of the 

 entries against the scale of perfection. Thus, as in the score- 

 card printed in the next paragraph for a plate of apples or 

 pears, form counts 15, size 15, color 25, uniformity 25, freedom 

 from blemishes 20, total 100. The judge decides what rating 

 a plate of fruit should have within the limits set for the five 

 features named. The plate scoring the highest number of points 



