2- vCONSTlT.tfnO'NAL CHARACTERS 



LEAF-BUDS AND LEAVES 



still more important that the cultivator should 

 know whether or not the plant is manageable 

 in the orchard, and, therefore, should have a 

 description of all plant-characters. 



Size of tree is a very reliable character to 

 determine varieties of any of the pome-fruits. 

 The Wagener or Rome Beauty apples, or the 

 Winter Nelis pear, are almost dwarfs as com- 

 pared with other apples and pears. Size varies 

 greatly with environment, it must be remem- 

 bered, in using this character. The terms large, 

 small, and medium are commonly used to 

 designate size. Vigor must not be confused 

 with size. Vigor may be denned as internal 

 energy. Small trees may be as vigorous as 

 large ones. 



The term "habit of growth," as used by 

 pomologists, has reference to the form of the 

 top. In describing the tops of pome-fruit trees 

 a number of self-explanatory terms are used; 

 as, upright, spreading, drooping, tall, low, dense, 

 open-topped, vase-form, and round-topped. 

 Many if not most varieties of pome-fruits may 

 be told by the form of the top. One can tell 

 Sutton at a glance by its upright branches; as 

 he can, also, Rhode Island Greening by its 

 wide-spreading branches; or the Winter Nelis 

 pear by its drooping branches. The form of 

 the top may make a variety easy or difficult to 

 manage in the orchard. 



Constitutional characters. 



Constitution is a rather vague term used by 

 pomologists to indicate the vital power of 

 varieties. It generally refers to hardiness, pro- 

 ductiveness, susceptibility to pests and adapt- 

 ability to climates and soils. 



The degree of hardiness is difficult to use 

 in identification but does identify, and is of 

 utmost importance in characterizing the value 

 of a fruit. Baldwin and Rhode Island Green- 

 ing apples are relatively tender to cold ; Mcln- 

 tosh is hardy and Hibernal is very hardy. The 

 Bartlett pear is tender; Seckel more hardy. 



Productiveness, age of bearing, regularity of 

 bearing, and certainty of bearing are all well- 

 recognized characters of pome-fruits, helping 

 to set the value of a variety, and all count in 

 classifying, although rather difficult to use for 

 this purpose. Length of life, whether long or 

 short, is another character of constitution that 

 must be noted. 



The degree of susceptibility of a variety to 

 fungous diseases or insect pests is a most 

 valuable cultural character and may be used 

 in classifying. Thus, there are great differences 

 in varieties of apples in their resistance to 

 apple-scab, fire-blight, cedar-rust and bitter- 

 rot; or, to codlin-moth, any of the aphids, 

 or San Jose scale. All pears are more or less 

 susceptible to pear-blight and various fungous 

 diseases, as they are also to psylla, San Jose 

 scale, and other insects. Varieties of apples 

 and pears are described in this text as immune 

 to one or more of these pests, and others as 

 especially susceptible to them. 



All of these constitutional characters are 

 much modified by care and environment. Care 

 and environment, also, greatly modify the 



adaptability of varieties to special locations, 

 although nothing is more certain than that 

 some varieties are adapted to a greater range 

 of conditions than others. The Baldwin apple 

 and Bartlett pear have as one of their most 

 valuable qualities great adaptability to diverse 

 conditions. 



Trunk and branch. 



The trunk counts for little in descriptions 

 of varieties because it is usually changed by 

 pruning. The bark may be smooth or shaggy. 

 Color of bark is often a most valuable diag- 

 nostic character, especially in young trees. 

 Many if not most varieties of pome-fruits can 

 be told in the nursery by the color of the bark. 



The branches offer several distinctive char- 

 acters, some of which are very reliable. The 

 long slender branches of Rhode Island Green- 

 ing and Tompkins King apples, and the slender 

 drooping branches of the Winter Nelis pear are 

 examples. The branches of some pears bear 

 spines, and the fruit-spurs borne on branches 

 of all pome-fruits are very characteristic. The 

 branchlets or twigs may be short or slender; 

 long-jointed or short-jointed; straight or zig- 

 zagging; variously colored; some, at certain 

 stages of maturity, are pubescent, others 

 glabrous; the branching angle of branchlets 

 is often characteristic; the epidermis may be 

 smooth or covered with scarf-skin; lastly, the 

 size, shape, color, number, and position of the 

 lenticels on young wood are most important 

 in identifying trees after the leaves have fallen. 



Leaf-buds and leaves. 



Size, length and shape of leaf-buds help to 

 identify dormant trees. The shape may usu- 

 ally be described as acute, pointed, obtuse, 

 conical or plump. If the bud lies close to the 

 twig, it is said to be appressed; if it stands 

 at a considerable angle, it is free. In examin- 

 ing dormant buds, note should be made as to 

 whether the leaf-scar is conspicuous or incon- 

 spicuous. 



While leaves vary much in accordance with 

 the condition of the plant which bears them, 

 they offer a number of valuable distinguishing 

 characters. In the study of leaves, those 

 found on water-sprouts or suckers and those 

 borne on slow-growing spurs should not be 

 used, but, rather, those found on free-growing 

 twigs. 



The size of the leaf, if given in figures, is a 

 most valuable determinant of varieties of all 

 pome-fruits, as is the shape, if depicted in 

 well-chosen words. Thickness counts for some- 

 thing, as do the color of the upper and lower 

 surfaces and the character and amount of 

 pubescence on the surfaces. The margins offer 

 evidence for identification in the character of 

 the serrations, and in the glands and hairs to 

 be found in an occasional variety. The time 

 of the appearance and the fall of leaves 

 characterizes some varieties. Lastly, some 

 sorts have many leaves and others few. The 

 length, thickness, and color of the petiole and 

 its smoothaess or pubescence are sometimes 

 worth noting. 



