39 



ENGLISH STANDARDS. 



Any attempt to study the cider apples of England, or table varieties 

 for that matter, is greatly complicated by the endless maze of names 

 of similar orthography which have been given to apples, both cider 

 and table varieties, and by the fact that there is no recognized 

 authority on the nomenclature of orchard fruits in the entire country. 

 Every local community appears to delight in applying names of its own 

 choosing to the fruits grown, and there seems to be no general dis- 

 position to reduce the nomenclature to a system under some competent 

 authority, as for instance, a national committee on pomological nomen- 

 clature. Of recent writers on pomolog}^ in its broader sense, there 

 are very few, but the older works, as' those of Knight, Marshall, 

 Evelyn, and others are classics of their time. 



The best modern treatment of the subject of pomology, in a some- 

 what limited sense, which was secured is The Apple and Pear as Vin- 

 tage Fruits, by Robert Hogg, LL. D., and Henry Graves Bull, M. D., 

 a charmingly prepared general dissertation upon the subject of cider 

 and perry making, with critical notes and cuts showing many varieties 

 of cider fruits. In the way of recent literature, the Bath and West 

 Society deserves great praise for the efforts it is making to develop a 

 reliable literature on modern cider making. In fact, it is putting forth 

 an effort to arouse the popular interest so necessary to the future 

 progress in pomology as an art, and more specifically as it relates to 

 cider making as an important industry. 



However, in this literature it does not appear that a successful 

 attempt has been made to establish a standard toward which the grow- 

 ers of cider fruits should direct their attention. The nearest approach 

 to a standard as to quality of cider fruits which was found in the 

 works mentioned is in the report of the committee of the Woolhope 

 Club, which visited the congress of the pomological societies of France, 

 at Rouen, in October, 1884. When this committee determined to 

 select a set of French varieties of apples for introduction into Here 

 fordshire they laid down the following rules: a 



(1) The fruit must possess the very best quality of juice. 



(2) The trees must be hardy, vigorous, and fertile. 



(3) They must bloom at varying intervals. 



(4) The fruit must attain maturity in late autumn or winter. 



(5) The varieties must have obtained the highest reputation in the Norman 

 orchards. 



The fact that these gentlemen from Herefordshire recognized the 

 importance of securing some of the best Norman varieties of cider 

 apples for introduction into England indicates that some of the best 

 English growers are alive to the importance of producing fruit of 

 high quality for the upbuilding of the cider industry. But such apples 

 are already very common in England. The oldest English writers tell 



Hogg and Bull, Vintage Fruits, p. 88. 



