THE FRUIT. 59 



4th. Different properties of fruits : 



Besides the principal divisions which have been alluded 

 to, fruits are considered in regard to their size, color, form, 

 texture, flavor, and season of ripening. 



1st. The Size. Besides the natural difference in size 

 that exists among different varieties of the same species, 

 as, for instance, between the Bartlett and Seckel Pears, or 

 the Full Pippin and Lady Apples, there are great dif- 

 ferences between the same varieties, owing chiefly to the 

 following circumstances: Soil. We find that, in new 

 and fresh soils, the nutritive properties of which have not 

 been impaired by cultivation, as in the virgin soils of the 

 West, fruit of the same variety attains nearly double the 

 size that it does in older parts of the country, where the 

 soil has long been under cultivation ; and that in the same 

 orchard, the tree growing in a deep, alluvial soil, will give 

 fruit much larger than the one on a hard, gravelly knoll. 

 Culture. This has an important influence on the size of 

 fruits. If an orchard has been for several years neglected, 

 and the ground about the trees become covered with grass 

 and weeds, the fruit is small ; and if the same orchard be 

 plowed up, some manure turned in around the roots, 

 and the ground be kept loose and clean by tillage, the 

 fruit will double in size in a single season. Seasons. In 

 a dry season, when the supply of moisture at the roots 

 and in the atmosphere is very limited, fruits are invari- 

 ably smaller than in seasons of an opposite character. 

 Number of fruits on the tree. This affects the size of the 

 fruit to a great extent in all seasons, soils, and climates, 

 and under all grades of culture. 



It is perfectly obvious, that the greater the number of 

 fruits a tree bears, the smaller they will be ; for, as they 

 derive their sustenance from the tree, a large number 

 cannot be so well supplied as a smaller number. We 

 cannot go into an orchard where there are many varieties 

 without seeing an illustration of this. Here is a prolific 



