PREFACE. xi 



some of these from view, they won't be able to detract from discrimination by taste. If a 

 Louise-bonne pear happens to look like a St. Germain on the outside, there won't be any 

 uncertainty once the fruit is opened. The size of the seeds and the pits that enclose them 

 identify the St. Germain, and its taste will further dispel any doubt. The same can be said 

 for the winter pear compared with the Imperial, the Dauphine plum to the small greengage, 

 the purple peach to the clingstone nectarine, the pear-apple to the gray pippin apple, &c. 

 We conclude that in cases where the outsides of some fruits are deceptive, their aroma, the 

 time that they ripen, and their internal characteristics will identify them. 



So the characteristics of fruit, their shape, size, color, aroma, consistency, & time 

 that they ripen, are more pronounced, better defined, and more reliable than those of other 

 parts of the tree. That's why the Latin phrases that precede each variety of tree usually refer 

 only to the qualities of the fruit. 



If this treatise had been written for botanists, they could fault the length of most of 

 our phrases, & take it ill that only very few of them were taken from illustrious authors 

 whose own phrases are quite widely accepted. Here are the reasons why we departed from 

 this principle: 



1°. Since it's impossible to describe in a few words the common features of a 

 species, as well as the individual characteristics that are unique to each of its varieties, we 

 have tried 



