256 PLAIN AND PLEASANT TALK 



white, very tender, juicy and good, with a slight perfume ;" 

 but is it sweet or sour, or subacid, or astringent ? No one 

 can tell by reading the joint desci'iptions of the Hed and 

 the Yellow Ingestries what their flavor is, since it is only 

 said that they are "juicy and high flavored" — but whether 

 the high flavored juice is sweet or sour, does not appear. 

 These are not picked instances. They occur on almost 

 every page of his list of apples. The Summer Sweet Para- 

 dise is, of course, sweet, since we are three times told of it, 

 once in the title and twice in the text. The Sweet Pear- 

 main also, is a " sweet apple " " of a very saccharine flavor." 

 Of course it is sweet. Nos. 67, 68, 69, 74, 75, and very many 

 more, are described without information as to their flavor 

 except that, whatever it is, it is " brisk," or " high," or " rich" 

 — forlorn adjectives unafiianced to any substantive which they 

 may qualify. Sometimes the health of the tree and its hardi- 

 ness are given, and as often omitted. Some times its habit 

 of bearing is mentioned, but oftener neglected. The color 

 of the flesh is given in No. 82, but not in 83 ; in 84, but not 

 in 85 ; from 86-92 inclusive, but not to the second 92, for 

 the Bedfordshire Foundling and the Dutch Mignonne are 

 both numbered 92, The color of the flesh is not given in 93, 

 97, 100, 101, 103, 110, although the intermediate numbers 

 have it given. "Why should one be minutely described, and 

 another not all ? We should regard it an ungrateful requital 

 for all the pleasure and profit which this volume has afforded 

 us to hunt up and display what, to some, may seem to be 

 mere "jots and tittles," w^ere it not that these, in them- 

 selves, unimportant things mark decisively the absence in 

 tlie author's plan^ of a style of description which pomology 

 always needed, but now begins imperiously to demand. 

 And we are confident that a pomological manual on the 

 right design., is yet to be written. Our hearty wish is, that 

 Mr. Downing's revised edition may be that manual. 



2. We are led, from these remarks, to consider, by it- 

 self, the imverfect scale of descriptions adopted by all our 



