62 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 274. 



Leaf Buds 



In tlie angle of every leaf is a bud which may develop into a branch shoot 

 or fail to grow much, but develop a rosette of leaves. Often it fails to start 

 and eventually falls off. The appearance of the buds is often characteristic 

 of varieties, and in seeking for means of recognizing varieties the buds should 

 not be overlooked. Buds of Wagener are distinct from all other common 

 varieties, being large, broad, and quite woolly, and closely appressed to the 

 shoot. Buds of other varieties are of varying shapes, more or less pointed 

 and lying more or less close to the shoot. The slight elevation of the bark 

 on which the bud grows often has characteristics peculiar to the variety. 



Wood Hardness 



There are considerable varietal differences in the hardness of wood. In 

 general those varieties that are hardy to winter cold have harder wood than 

 the tender varieties. Oldenburg and Yellow Transparent are examples of the 

 former class, while Tompkins King and Stayman have softer wood. Wood 

 hardness is best determined by cutting with a knife or shears but this is often 

 impractical so this character is of minor value in ordinary identification work. 



Lenticels or Dots 



Scattered over the surface of the bark of both shoots and older wood are 

 small corky dots known to botanists as lenticels. They are the breathing 

 pores of the shoot. They vary in number, size, shape and color in different 

 varieties. Within the variety there is some variation, but they are of great 

 value in identification. Because they are often relatively inconspicuous they 

 may escape the notice of many nurserymen. Winesap has few dots while 

 Mcintosh has many. Northern Spy has many dots and one may identify the 

 variety by this peculiarity. In Stayman they are brownish in color, while in 

 Arkansas (Mammoth Black Twig) they are whitish. Most dots are roundish 

 in shape, but among tliose on Wealthy one \yU\ find a few that are elongated. 

 This applies only to the dots on one-year-old shoots. On older wood the en- 

 larging diameter of the shoots stretches the dots so tliat they become much 

 broader and the elongated ones no longer appear. 



In some varieties such as Winesap and Opalescent the dots are even with 

 the surface of the bark, while in Mcintosh and Wealthy they project slightly 

 so that they may be felt on rubbing the thumb or finger over the surface of 

 the shoot. This seeems a very minor character on which to base the identifica- 

 tion of varieties but it is of distinct value in some cases. 



Leaf Characters 



In order to talk understandingly about the leaves, the different parts must 

 have names. These are shown in Fig. 1, which is largely self-explanatory. 

 The leaf is first divided into three parts: stipules, petiole and blade. About 

 one-third of the blade next to the petiole is called the base, and similarly 

 about one-third of the other end, the ape&; beyond this is the narrow point 



