228 HORTICULTURIST'S RULE-BOOK. 



3. First fruit ripe. 



4. All leaves, or more than half of them, colored. 



Typical and average plants should always be selected for 

 observation, and they should be few in number. A dozen well- 

 selected species will afford more satisfactory records, year by 

 year, than observations made at random upon a great variety of 

 plants. For the sudden moods of spring, the peach and dande- 

 lion are useful for observation, but such plants those which 

 respond quickly to every fitful variation of the early season 

 are not reliable for the staple records of the years. Useful 

 plants for study are the following : 



Apple. Cultivated Strawberry. 



Pear. Lilac. 



Quince. Mock Orange or Syringa. 



Plum. Horse Chestnut. 



Sweet Cherry. Red-pith Elder. 



Sour Cherry. Common Elder. 



Peach. Flowering Dogwood. 



Choke Cherry. Native Basswood. 



Wild Black Cherry. Native Chestnuts. 

 Japanese or Flowering Quince. Privet or Prim. 



Cultivated Kaspberry. Red Currant. 



Cultivated Blackberry. Cultivated Grape. 



