36 SYSTEMATIC POMOLOGY 



form, especially when grown in different locali- 

 ties ; yet it is true that the expert depends 

 very largely on this character for the identifi- 

 cation of varieties. The local variations, due 

 to climatic or soil influences, are very inter- 

 esting, too, and should be noted with special 

 care. Apples are round when the two diame- 

 ters are approximately equal. An apple ap- 

 pears round, however, when the main axis, 

 running from stem to calyx, is considerably less 

 than the horizontal diameter, and some allow- 

 ance may be made for this fact. That is, it 

 is better to make the definition of round de- 

 pend more on the judgment of the eye than 

 on the measurement of the calipers. This 

 remark applies also to the other forms. Ap- 

 ples are said to be oblong ^}\^n the vertical 

 diameter is greater than the horizontal diame- 

 ter, but this rarely occurs at least, among 

 American apples. An apple may appear to 

 the eye to be oblong, however, even when 

 the main axis is less than the equatorial 

 diameter ; and, as already pointed out, it is 

 better to rely on a trained eye rather than on 

 measurements made with a rule. An apple 

 is oblate when its main axis is distinctly shorter 

 than the horizontal diameter. When we were 



