POMOLOGY IN GENERAL 5 



some of the reasons why such a condition of 

 affairs should have come upon us ; but that 

 is too far aside from the present design. 

 During the last few years there has been a 

 manifest revival of interest in systematic 

 pomology. More really scientific work is 

 being done now in the study of fruits than 

 ever was done before in this country, and 

 more persons are interested in knowing the 

 best methods for the study of systematic 

 pomology. 



Systematic pomology, when analyzed in 

 turn, is found to comprise three distinct sub- 

 jects. These are (i) description, (2) nomen- 

 clature, and (3) classification. 



The first step in getting acquainted with 

 any variety of fruit, be it Ben Davis apple, 

 Clyde strawberry, or something entirely new, 

 is to form an accurate and detailed notion of 

 all its different characters. This involves the 

 making of a description. The description 

 may be merely mental, or it may be fully 

 written out, which is much the better way. 

 In either case, when we examine a specimen 

 closely, or a number of specimens of one va- 

 riety, making mental or written note of size, 

 form, color, markings, and other distinguish- 



