82 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 159. 



the apple. Each of these may be conic, iiarrow, rounded, broad or even 

 flatte7ied. 



The cross section should be taken midway between the ends of the 

 apple and at right angles to the axis. Two questions are to be answered 

 under this heading — the first, whether the general outline approximates a 

 circle, in which case it is said to be round, or if the apple is compressed, 

 when the cross section will be oval; the second question is whether the 

 outline is regxdar, irregidar or pentagonal. Commonly, one cheek of an 

 apple develops more fully than the opposite one, due apparently to better 

 exposure to the sunlight, in which case the sides are said to be more or 

 less unequal. As with size, we may find much or little uniformity in form 

 within a variety. If a single specimen is being described no entry can, of 

 course, be made under uniformity. 



Color. — In the description of color a sharp distinction ought to be made 

 between the greenish or yellowish ground color and the reddish over-color, 

 for they are entirely different in their nature and significance. The former, 

 designated simply as color, is some shade of gree?i, yellow or, rarely, almost 

 white; the latter is generally defined as some sort of red, either as light or 

 dark, though some may prefer to consider red as a generic term and use in 

 description such terms as scarlet, crimson, etc. The amount of over-color 

 should be stated in the percentage of surface covered, and if more than 

 one specimen is considered two numbers should be given, one representing 

 the poorest and the other the best colored specimens. The disposition of 

 the color is likely to be characteristic. It may be evenly spread over the 

 fruit, in which case it is said to be blushed, or it may be unevenly disposed, 

 streaked, striped or splashed, according to whether the markings are long 

 and narrow, extending over nearly the whole cheek of the apple, of medium 

 length or short and broad. Combinations of streaks, stripes and splashes 

 often occur, and almost always with one or more of them there is inter- 

 spersed other coloration that may be disposed irregularly and is said to be 

 mottled, so that often an apple is striped, splashed and mottled, and on the 

 sunny side the color may deepen to a blush; that is, the stripes and splashes 

 are obscured by the higher development of color over the whole cheek. In 

 naming colors or kinds of distribution it is best to always give them in 

 order of abundance, giving the prevailing kind first. Russet maj^ appear 

 over the whole fruit or in the cavity only. In the latter case it finds men- 

 tion under cavity markings, while in the former case it is described under 

 russet as dense or tJun, or it may be irregular, especially if it is not normal, 

 but the result of unfavorable environmental conditions. 



Bloom. — • The amount of bloom is best ascertained by scraping the sur- 

 face with a sharp knife, and recorded as iniich or little and the kind as 

 waxy or greasy. 



Skin. — -The judgment of the observer of the thickness of the skin, 

 whether thick, medium or thiii, and the toughness, whether tough, medium 

 or tender, are to be recorded under the proper heads. Under "surface" we 

 note whether it is smooth, rough or lumpy, and whether it is shining or dull, 



