THE POME-FRUITS 111 



apples with the modifier "Improved" prefixed have been tested 

 under the eyes of the writer in the past few years, every one of 

 which was literally a "chip of the old block" — not a whit 

 different. Usually they have been sent out with what the intro- 

 ducer calls a "pedigree," with the statement that the improved 

 strain was produced through selection. 



162. The classification of varieties of apples. — The first 

 formal attempt to classify apples was made by Valerius Cordus, 

 a German, nearly 400 years ago. Cordus died in 1542, although 

 his History of Plants, in which appeared his discussions of 

 varieties of fruits, was not printed until 1561. Many attempts 

 at a classification of apples followed in Germany, chief of which 

 are those of Jonston in 1668, Manger 1780, Diel 1792, and Diel- 

 Lucas 1856. Only two Americans have published classifications 

 worth noting; namely, Thomas, 1849; and Warder, 1867. Two 

 good classifications have also come from England, those of Hogg 

 1876, and of Bunyard 1920. Besides these major classifications 

 there are many minor ones printed and in manuscript — probably 

 most of the men who have studied varieties of apples have at- 

 tempted some sort of classification. 



All classifications of varieties of apples prove more or less 

 serviceable, but none has been sufficiently satisfactory to assure 

 either permanence or wide use. After recurring periods of 

 studying and using the several systems of classifications of 

 apples, and man}^ attempts to improve them, the writer is forced 

 to the conclusion that a comprehensive classification of all apples 

 for all regions is quite impossible. Tree and fruit are so variable 

 under different conditions, and man}^ varieties are so similar, 

 that distinctions of general application cannot be made. This 

 failure in classification of varieties is the great hindrance to 

 systematic work with cultivated apples. It can be overcome 

 only by having a classification for apple regions of comparatively 

 small territory throughout which varieties are approximately 

 the same in tree and fruit. 



In pomologies containing many varieties in many regions, one 

 may choose between two rather unsatisfactory arrangements of 

 varieties. One may arrange them alphabetically as did Downing 

 in his F) nits and Fruit Trees of America^ and as did the present 

 writer in his Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits; or in a few arbitrary 



