THE CLASSIFICATION OF APPLES 149 



societies of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and 

 South Dakota, in 1898. This committee met 

 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, August 30 and 31, 

 1898, "in order," as it was said, "to revise 

 and simplify the nomenclature of the Russian 

 apples." The service performed by the com- 

 mittee, however, was much more important 

 and far reaching than the mere revision of 

 names, for their report really presented a sys- 

 tematic and natural classification of the varie- 

 ties discussed. The arrangement was doubt- 

 less open to some criticism such things are 

 seldom perfect and it covers comparatively 

 few varieties, and those of small general in- 

 terest ; yet the principle of the classification 

 is vital and unexceptionable.* 



Groups of Russian Apples 



The committee, at the outset of its work, 

 unanimously adopted the following resolution 

 as a preamble to their findings : 



The varieties here grouped as members of the same 

 families, while in a few cases differing somewhat in 

 characteristics of tree, are so nearl) r identical in fruit 

 that for exhibition and commercial purposes they are 

 practically the same and should be so considered. 



* The full report of the committee may be found in the Min- 

 nesota. Horticulturist, 27 : 41. 189 ). (Minn. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 27.) 



