42 SYSTEMATIC PO vfOLOGY 



record always the vertical or principal diam- 

 eter first, and the horizontal diameter second. 

 It is the practice of the writer, moreover, to 

 make all measurements in centimeters or milli- 

 meters usually the latter according to the 

 metric system. This avoids many annoying 

 fractions, and recognizes a scientific principle 

 of measurements which would have been 

 adopted long ago in this country were our 

 people as intelligent and progressive as they 

 give themselves the reputation of being. It 

 is very easy to enter such figures as these: 

 "55x60," and this entry would mean, in the 

 stenography of the present writer, that the 

 fruit in question was 2 3-16 inches high by 

 2 3-8 inches in horizontal diameter. 



The different diameters of any apple or 

 pear can usually be measured most easily and 

 most exactly on the vertical section ; that is, 

 after the fruit has been cut in halves along 

 the axis of the core, one may apply the rule 

 directly to the cut face. Sometimes, however, 

 it is impracticable to cut a fruit, as when one 

 is making a description of some rare exhibi- 

 tion specimen. In the case of ripe peaches or 

 plums this method of measuring the diameter 

 is, of course, plainly out of the question. On 



