POINTERS FOR FRUIT EXHIBITORS. 



301 



Judging Fruit* 



W. T. MACOUN, HORTICULTURIST^ C. E. F"., 

 OTTAWA. 



IN judging fruit one of the first defects 

 to be looked for are blemishes. No 

 fruit should be exhibited in competition for 

 prizes that has a worm hole, bruise, spot or 

 any other blemish unless it is impossible to 

 get a specimen without such, or unless the 

 blemish is very small and the fruit perfect 

 in every other respect. 



The uniformity of the specimens is equal- 

 ly as important as the freedom from blem- 

 ishes. Irregularity is never attractive in 

 fruit, and the specimen which attracts the 

 eye on the dining table, in the shop window, 

 and in the barrel or box is the specimen 

 which approaches nearest the typical shape 

 of the variety in question. Furthermore, 

 the irregularity of one specimen gives an 

 uneven appearance to the whole, and par- 

 ticularly is this the case when there are 

 only five apples together. 



High color is as desirable as uniformity, 

 and it is difficult to decide just how far from 

 perfect uniformity, highly colored fruit may 

 be and yet score as high as a perfectly uni- 

 form plate with only fairly colored fruit. 

 It is sometimes puzzling to the exhibitor to 

 know just why a plate of apples receives a 

 prize ; but all these points are carefully 

 weighed by the judge. 



The time when size was considered the 

 first essential in exhibition fruit has passed 

 away, at least with the best judges, and 

 large size is only preferred when the speci- 

 mens are uniform, highly colored and free 

 from blemishes, and equal in every other 

 respect to those a little smaller. Apples 

 which are of good size for the variety, and 

 perfect in every other respect, will stand the 

 best chance for first prize, as it is difficult to 

 get large specimens which are as highly col- 



*Extract from an address delivered at the last annual conven- 

 tion of the Prince Edward Island Fruit Growers' Association. 



John M. Fisk 



John Manson \ isk, President of the Quebec Pomological Society 

 for 1905, was born at Abbotsfoid, P. Q., Dec. 13, 1836. As a boy 

 he developed a taste for horticultural pursuits by sowing apple seeds 

 and planting trees, andl after coming into possession of his father's 

 farm, established a nursery, where many varieties of apples, pears 

 and plums were tested, the trees from which now form the nucleus 

 of many a commercial orchard in his native province. He was one 

 of the originators of the Abbotsford Fruit Growers' Association, 

 firmed in 1874, and which published the first fruit list for the prov- 

 ince of Quebec in 1875, and ever since has been one ot its leading 

 members. The Pomological and Fruit Growing Society of the 

 Province of Quebec was organized at Abbotsford in 18^4, by repre- 

 sentatives from different parts of the province, at which Mr. Fisk 

 was elected its first president. Each year since he has taken an 

 active part in the work of the society. 



ored and as perfect as those a little smaller. 



There is also a certain undefinable thing 

 called " finish " about an apple which is re- 

 garded by the judge. This may be ex- 

 plained, in part, by a clearness of skin and 

 a thorough maturity of the fruit. No bet- 

 ter evidence could be given of the stability 

 of the soil and the care in growing the fruit 

 than the finish which the fr' '^ has. 



When comparing dilferci^t varieties, 

 quality, of course, should and does receive 

 due consideration ; especially is this the case 

 when judging collections of fruit. In judg- 

 ing collections, however, the value of the 

 varieties shown from a commercial as well 

 as a dessert standpoint receives attention. 



