RECORDING THE EXPERIMENTS 



of tying a small strip of cloth about the stem of 

 the plant. 



Visitors to my gardens are sure to notice that 

 each bed of flowers has a half dozen or so plants 

 that are thus decorated. In some cases two or 

 three strings may be attached to a single plant, 

 indicating degrees of excellence. Selection having 

 been made in this way, the plants may be allowed 

 to ripen their seeds, and in due course the work- 

 men may gather them without further direction, 

 placing them in labeled boxes to be stored for the 

 winter. 



As regards new fruits, there is particular need 

 of great accuracy, and here it is impossible to 

 avoid a good deal of detail. It will not do at all, 

 in dealing with a valuable addition to the list of 

 fruits, to leave anything to memory as to its season 

 of ripening, size and form, color, flavor, aroma, 

 size of core or stone, length of stem, or any other 

 essential quality. 



An exact record must be kept of these items, 

 and for this purpose a book with removable 

 unruled leaves is the most satisfactory. 



The fruit should be cut in half with a sharp 

 knife. The incised surface may then be placed 

 directly on the paper, and the outline of the fruit 

 traced with pencil. The specimen may similarly 

 be outlined in cross-section. This preserves a 



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