FRUIT-GROWING 



FRUIT-GROWING 



1295 



usually performed very early in the season, before the 

 vitality of the tree has been taxed, and after the normal 

 "drop" from non-poUination has occurred. 



(6) Spraying of fruit plantations has now come to be 

 a definite purpose and an established orchard practice; 

 no good orchardist is now without his spraying appa- 



that considers characters of flowers as well as of fruits, 

 but such schemes are usually impracticable because 

 fruit-growers cannot secure flowers and fruits at the 

 same time. For examples of chissificatory schemes 

 the reader may consult the various fruit manuals, but 

 the following examples from the older literature will 





mM 



7 



1S94. Various spraying rigs. 1. A tall platform rig, to enable one to spray very high trees. 2. A simple barrel outfit for small 

 orchards and small trees. 3. Compressed air outfit. 4. A low rig, with barrel. For larger machines, and other patterns, see pages 

 1058-1060 (Vol. H). 



ratus any more than he is without his tillage tools. 

 When spraying was first advised, the practice seemed 

 to be so revolutionary that great emphasis had to be 

 laid on its importance to induce people to undertake 

 it. How and when to spray and what materials to use 

 are matters that will always be discussed, because the 

 practices must vary with the season, the kind of fruit, 

 the geographical region, the insects and fungi to be 

 combated. Spraying may not be necessary every year, 

 and certainly not equally necessary in all geographical 

 regions; but the fact that spraying is necessary as a 

 general orchard practice is now completely established. 

 A proof of the firm hold that spraying has taken of the 

 fruit-growing business is afforded by the great numbers 

 and the mechanical excellence of the machinery and 

 devices now on the market; and this fact also attests 

 the vitaUty of fruit-growing as an occupation. A special 

 literature has developed on fruit diseases and fruit 

 insects and the means of combating them, and the 

 grower must keep fully informed by means of the 

 government, state and provincial publications. 



(7) Perhaps the most gratifying modern develop- 

 ment in fruit-growing is the demand for instruction in 

 fundamental principles, or in the reasons why. Years 

 ago, the grower was satisfied if he had definite direc- 

 tions as to how to perform certain labor. He was told 

 what to do. At present, the pomologist wants to be 

 told what to think. There seems to be a tendency in 

 horticultural meetings to drop the discussion of the 

 mere details of practice and to give increasingly more 

 attention to the underlying reasons and the results that 

 are to be expected from any line of practice. Knowing 

 why a practice should be undertaken and what the 

 results are likely to be, the grower can work out the 

 details for himself, for every fruit plantation and every 

 farm is, in a certain way, a law unto itself. There must 

 be a rational procedure; the details and the applica- 

 tions are complex: therefore the fruit-growing sub- 

 jects become effective means of education. 



Systematic pomology. 



The classifying and describing of the kinds of fruits 

 is a particular kind of pomological knowledge that is 

 left to speciahsts, who are for the most part WTiters. 

 With the increase in numbers of varieties, it becomes 

 increasingly more important that the most careful 

 attention be given to describing them and to assem- 

 bling them into their natural groups in order that 

 similar kinds may be compared and also that it may 

 be possible to determine the name by analyzing the 

 specimen. Necessarily, all classificatory schemes for 

 varieties are imperfect since the varieties often differ 

 by very slight characters, and these characters may 

 vary in different regions and under varying conditions. 

 Theoretically, the most perfect classification is one 



show something of the range and method connected 

 with the problem: 



John J. Thomas' scheme for classifying peaches: 

 Di\-ision I. Freestones or Melters. 

 Class I. Flesh pate or liglil-colored. 



Section 1. Leaves serrated, witiiout glands. 

 Section 2. Leaves crenate, with plobose glands. 

 Section 3. Leaves with reniform glands. 

 Class n. Flesh deep yellow. 



Section 1. Leaves crenated. with globose glands. 

 Section 2. Leaves with reniform glands. 

 Division II. Clingstones or Pavies. 

 Class I. Flesh pale or light-colored. 



Section 1. Leaves serrated, without glands. 

 .Section 2. Leaves crenate, with globose glands. 

 Section 3. Leaves with reniform glands. 

 Class II. Flesh deep yellow. 



Section 1. Leaves serrate, without glands. 

 Section 2. Leaves with reniform glands. 

 Class III. Flesh purplish crimson. 

 Section 1. Glands reniform. 



Following is John A. Warder's scheme for classifying 

 apples, adopted "after a long and careful consideration 

 and study of this subject." See Figs. 1595, 1596. 

 Class I. Oblate or flat, ha\-ing the axis shorter than the trans- 

 verse diameter. 

 Order I. Regular. 

 Order II. Irregular. 

 Section 1. Sweet. 

 Section 2. Sour. 



Subsection 1. Pale or blushed, more or less, but self- 

 colored and not striped. 

 Subsection 2. .Striped or splashed. 

 Subsection 3. Russeted. 

 Class II. Conical, tapering decidedly toward the eye, aiid be- 

 coming ovate when larger in the middle and tapering to 

 each end, the axial diameter being the shorter. 

 Orders I and II, as above. 

 Sections 1 and 2. as above. 



Subsections 1, 2 and 3, as above. 

 Class III. Round, globular or nearly so, having the axial and 

 transverse diameters about equal, the former often shorter 

 by less than one-quarter of the latter. The ends are often 

 so flattened as to look truncated, when the fruit appears 

 to be cylindrical or globular-oblate. 

 Orders, Sections and Subsections as above. 

 Class IV. Oblong, in which the axis is longer than the trans- 

 verse diameter, or appears so. These may also be trun- 

 cate or cylindrical. 

 Orders, Sections and Subsections as above. 



Robert Hogg's classification of pears ("Fruit Man- 

 ual," 5th ed., London): 



A. The length from the base of the stalk to the base of the cells 



greater than from the base of the cells to the base of the eye. 

 Section 1. Length from the base of the stalk to the base of the 



eye greater than the lateral diameter. 

 , Section 2. Length from the base of the stalk to the base of the 



eye less than the lateral diameter. 

 Section 3. Length from the base of the stalk of the base of the 



eye equal to the lateral diameter. 



B. The length from the base of the stalk to the base of the cells 



less than from the base of the cells to the base of the eye. 

 Section 1. Length from the base of the stalk to the base of the 



eye greater than the lateral diameter. 

 Section 2. Length from the base of the stalk to the base of the 



eye less than the lateral diameter. 

 Section 3. Length from the base of the stalk to the base of the 



eye equal to the lateral diameter. 



