IDENTIFICATION OF APPLE VARIETIES 61 



Souie varieties show these forms very distinctly, but many do not fall clearly 

 in any one class and are said to be more or less irregular, as Baldwin and 

 Mcintosh. Most varieties are intermediate and require qualifying terms to 

 convey with any accuracy an idea of the form of the top. 



As one looks down the rows of two-year trees of different varieties in the 

 nursery, the form of the top shows up very distinctly. The narrowly upcurv- 

 ing trees of Wagener make narrow rows with a wide space between, while the 

 broad-topped varieties have little space between the rows. A group of trees 

 growing from the buds of a single bud stick is often betrayed to the observer 

 by their different form of top. 



Bark Color 



The color of the bark in young trees is of great importance in identifying 

 varieties. The tips of growing shoots are always some shade of green and all 

 varieties are nmch alike. With the maturing of this wood later in the season 

 characteristic colors appear. This color may change the next year; therefore 

 one should pay attention to the bark color of the one-year shoots below the 

 growing tips and also of the older bark. Bark color is generally some blend 

 of green, yelloic, and red. Innumerable shades and blends of these three 

 colors appear, and in few cases are two varieties exactly alike in bark color. 

 It is impossible to convey in words a picture of the color of any variety. It 

 can be expressed only roughly, but one should always note bark color and 

 compare different varieties very carefully. 



Some varieties have irregularly distributed over the surface shreds and 

 patches of a silvery grayish bark called the Scarf-Skin. This is often seen on 

 Stayman and is helpful in distinguishing it from other varieties of the Wine- 

 sap group. Stark shows distinctly a considerable amount of Scarf-Skin. 



Bark color in dormant trees is always darker than in growing trees. It is 

 more constant and becomes of great value in identifying varieties in the 

 dormant condition. 



Shoot Characters 



There are certain peculiarities of the shoots or twigs (growths of the cur- 

 rent growing season) that are of help in recognizing varieties. Mention has 

 been made of the varying degrees of curvature that determine in part the 

 form of the top. Some varieties, as Stayman and Rhode Island Greening, 

 have stout shoots while those of Yellow Transparent and Jonathan are 

 slender. In some varieties many of the buds start into shoot growth giving a 

 dense top. Examples are Yellow Transparent and Grimes. Others make a 

 more open top. In Northern Spy and Rome many buds fail to grow at all, 

 leaving bare spaces on tiie two-year wood. However, in these two varieties 

 most of the buds that do start grow into shoots instead of spurs, giving a 

 rather dense top. In Tompkins King most of the buds grow into short spurs 

 while only a few develop into long stout shoots. These characteristics of shoot 

 growth are more evident in young orchard trees than in nur.sery trees. 



There are other shoot characters that are useful. Some varieties make a 

 zigzag growth, while others are straight. In the former the direction of the 

 successive internodes (space between the buds or "eyes") is not in a straight 

 line, while in tiie latter the siioots are straight from node to node though they 

 may be more or less curved. 



