252 SYSTEMATIC POMOLOGY 



is ten times as interesting as one without the 

 fruit. But whether it can be done at this sea- 

 son or not, it should not be omitted. In these 

 field exercises students should be required to 

 make note of peculiarities of soil, exposure, 

 drainage, etc., which may account for differ- 

 ences in trees or fruit. It is always difficult, 

 with healthy boys of effervescent spirits, to 

 keep a field excursion up to the level of a 

 laboratory exercise or a classroom recitation. 

 The critical condition, however, is that some 

 specific subject of inquiry must be kept before 

 each student. This must be something which 

 he has to find out for himself, not something 

 which is going to be told him very simply by 

 the instructor in the field. 



4. Some unusual fruits should now be taken 

 up. Persimmons, kumquats, tangerines, or 

 pomegranates can usually be secured through 

 the marketman. Even bananas or tomatoes 

 will answer in a pinch. The student should 

 then be required to form his own descriptive 

 outline for these. If the teacher has sufficient 

 ingenuity and perseverance, these exercises 

 can be made to cover a wide range, and they 

 will then be found to be very instructive. 

 They will greatly broaden the field of the 



