BULLETIN :No. 208. 



DEPARTMENT OF POMOLOGY. 



LEAF CHARACTERS OF APPLE VARIETIES. 



BY J. K. SHAW, 



It is as eas}' to recognize varieties of apples by their tree characters as 

 b}^ their fruit, yet all fruit growers know varieties by the fruits much bet- 

 ter than by the trees. This is doubtless because they come into closer 

 contact wdth the fruit. They pick, handle and eat the fruit, while contact 

 with the trees is less frequent and intimate. Nurserymen are more familiar 

 with the tree, and many old nurserjonen know varieties by the nursery 

 trees better than by the fruit. As trees have been studied less than the 

 fruit, there has been less written about them. Variety descriptions deal 

 mostly with the fruit. John J. Thomas, himself a nurser3nnan of many 

 j^ears' experience, discussed tree characters at some length in his "Ameri- 

 can Fruit Culturist," but his work along this line has been given little 

 attention by other WTiters. 



In recognizing varieties, especially with nursery trees, one depends largely 

 on the leaves, and it is our purpose here to discuss the leaf characters by 

 which we may know one variety from another. Characters of the bark, 

 buds, branches and general habit of the trees are very useful, perhaps 

 equal to the leaves, but they will receive only incidental mention here, 

 being reserved for further study and later discussion. 



In order to talk understandingly about the leaves we must have names 

 for their different parts. These are shown in Fig. 1, which is largely self- 

 explanatorj'. 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 apex; beyond 

 this is the narrow point called the tip. The midrib is a continuation of 

 the petiole to the tip of the leaf. The saw-Uke notches along the edge of 

 the leaf are called serratures or serrations, and are of the greatest impor- 

 tance, being rarely exactly alike in two varieties. 



