TJi'BNTY-FIRST ANNUAL MEETING. 



53 



should be scored ai^ainst. I know this will seem rank heresy 

 to most of you. but I am sure it is not. For the medium- 

 sized apple is the best in quahty and when our consumers are 

 educated, as they ought to be, you will no longer see. as you 

 do now, the price increase just in proportion as the size does. 

 If anyone doubts the inferiority of the over-grown apples, 

 let him select some very large and some medium-sized speci- 

 mens of any variety and test the matter. He will find the 

 big apple invariably coarser in texture and usually poorer in 

 quality. 



The third item in- our score is cohr, which ought to be 

 clear, bright and attractive and cliaracteristic of the variety! 

 As a rtile, the most highly colored specimen should get the 

 prize, other things being equal. But I believe that it is pos- 

 sible to overdo this matter of color and get too dark a spec- 

 imen. A Wealthy, for example, which is so highly colored as 

 to obscure altogether the characteristic stripes of that variety 

 I believe should be scored down. And in such varieties as 

 Rhode Island Greening, where there are two distinct types 

 called for by the market. I believe that we ought either to 

 make two sections in our prize list or else have it distinctly 

 understood that color is not to be considered in making the 

 awards. 



Our fourth point is uniformit}' and the importance of 

 this rests merely on the fact that a lot of fruit which is uni- 

 form in size, color, shape and ripeness is more attractive 

 than one which lacks a uniformity. I believe that this is an- 

 other point which is frequently over-emphasized. 



The fifth point, freedom from blemishes, includes ev- 

 erything that damages the appearance or value of the fruit. 

 Blemishes which indicate neglect in the orchard, such as 

 San Jose Scale, or which really damages the fruit, as a worm- 

 hole or bruise, ought to be scored more severely than a 

 blemish like spray injury, which is due to over-care. 



And sixth, we have quality. This is sometimes omit- 

 ted from the score-card, on the ground that it is not deter- 

 mined by the judges. But I believe that here in New Eng- 



