62 SYSTEMATIC POMOLOGY 



tough or brittle, and in the case of plums it 

 may be peculiarly astringent. 



The flesh may be of divers colors. In 

 peaches it is yellow, white, or red, and these 

 differences are of great weight in the classifi- 

 cation of varieties. The color of the flesh 

 in cherries, though it shows less conspicuous 

 differences than it does in peaches or plums, 

 is not of less importance, and should be spe- 

 cially noted. The texture of the flesh may 

 be next described. It will be coarse, fine- 

 grained, stringy, dry, or juicy. 



The stone, or pit, has many distinguishing 

 characters which have to be set down in the 

 description. Its size and form are first to be 

 mentioned, after which the nature of the sur- 

 face should be described. This may be 

 smooth, rough, or pitted. It is usual in this 

 connection also to speak of the important 

 matter of the adhesion of the flesh to the 

 stone. This is relied on particularly in peaches 

 and plums, which may be either free, half- 

 free, or cling. 



The flavor of a peach, plum, or cherry 

 may be sweet, subacid, sour, bitterish, or flat. 

 Sometimes there is a striking aroma to a fruit 

 which can not well be described, but which 



