DESCRIBING POME FRUITS 49 



may read " Eye so and so," which would be 

 much better expressed " Basin so and so." 

 The term "eye" can thus be dispensed with 

 to advantage, 



The calyx, which is also sometimes ambigu- 

 ously spoken of as the eye, rests in the middle 

 of the basin. It is sometimes spoken of as 

 the blossom, and though it is, in fact, a part of 

 the original blossom, it is hardly more properly 

 so than the apple itself, or the stem, or the 

 seeds. The calyx may be large or small ; it 

 may be composed of long or short segments, 

 and any peculiarity of this sort should be men- 

 tioned ; it may be open, half open, or closed; 

 and in many cases it is deciduous, when the 

 leafy segments fall off altogether. 



The color of the fruit is always a prime 

 character in the recognition of varieties in the 

 mind of the experienced pomologist, but it is 

 peculiarly difficult to describe in words. One 

 should properly do what he can to distinguish 

 in words the various tints of green, yellow, 

 and red which he meets in apples and pears, 

 but no great satisfaction is to be anticipated 

 in this part of the work. The manner in 

 which the color is distributed over the surface 

 may be described with somewhat greater 



