THE OUTLOOK FOR TROPICAL FRUIT& 7 



not grow where the temperature falls much below 40 (where 

 temperatures are mentioned in this work, they refer to the 

 Fahrenheit scale) are here termed strictly tropical ; by tropical 

 plants are meant (following P. H. Rolfs) those of the zone in 

 which the coconut can be grown; and by subtropical plants, 

 those of the zone of the orange. The next region, in point of 

 minimum temperatures, should be termed the semi-tropical, 

 but this term is frequently confused with subtropical and had 

 better be avoided by stretching the use of the word subtropical 

 to cover the region in which the loquat, the pomegranate, and 

 the date can be grown. It must be borne in mind, however, 

 that knowledge regarding the frost-resistance of plants is still 

 meager. Because a certain species has safely passed through a 

 temperature of 25 above zero in a particular instance in 

 California, it need not follow that the plant will withstand the 

 same temperature in another region, nor even that the same 

 individual specimen in California would withstand again 25 

 if in different physiological condition. 



With a few exceptions, the common names for the fruits are 

 those recommended by the American Pomological Society 

 (Proceedings 1917). The pomological nomenclature (names of 

 fruit varieties) also follows, so far as is possible, the Code of 

 Nomenclature of that Society. In spelling names which have 

 come into the English from the Arabic or some other oriental 

 alphabet, the system has been followed elaborated by the Inter- 

 national Congress of Orientalists at Geneva in 1894, and now 

 generally adopted by those having to do with the transliteration 

 of oriental names ; which is, that vowels should take the value 

 they possess in Spanish and other Latin languages, and con- 

 sonants the value they possess in English. The names in this 

 work most affected by the application of this principle are those 

 of varieties of the mango, date, and pomegranate, and the 

 common names of a few minor fruits. Current spellings rejected 

 as incorrect are given in the synonymy of varieties. 



