THE APPLE. 25 



lows; Form: 1, round or olthitc; '1, conical or (JVJitc. Color: 1, pale; 

 2, colored; 3, striped and russet. 



The four color divisions are d(>lined as follows: ], Pah : a uniform 

 color of j'ellow or green, notwitlistanding it may be faintly tinf^ed on 

 the sun side witli orange or pale red. 2, Stri pcd: wlien the only addi- 

 tional color to tliat of the ground-color consists of ilistinet red stripes 

 without any ground-color of red. 3, Colored: wlien the skin is wholly 

 or partially a decided red, and this may be ace()m})anied witli stripes 

 or with some russet. 4, Russet: that in which a russet coat prevails. 

 When a russet coat has a brown or red cheek the fruit is not (jn that 

 account to be classed in the colored class. 



This makes possible a total of 1536 siiljdivisions. In the smallest 

 groups the season of ripening is given as a further lielpi to direct refer- 

 ence to the appropriate description. 



THE ALPHABETICAL APvllAX( lEMEXT. 



1872. Charles Downing, in his Second Revision of " Fruits and 

 Fruit-trees of America," abandoned the arrangement of fruits Ijy 

 classes and periods of ripening, stating his reasons as folh.iws: 



"The distinctive characters of fruits have, during the past (piarter 

 of a century, become so miicli intermingled and hybridized tliat, 

 after carefully stuclymg them, and comparing them "\\ith the orders 

 of classification adopted b}' authors, we haw come to the conclusion 

 that no definite order can safely be made to embrace them. Forms, 

 colors, grow-ths, and pieriods of riiiening are so much interwoven 

 and distributed as to defy all aiiiitrary rule-^ of elassitication, and 

 hence we have without hesitation abandoned it entirely, sulistituting 

 in our work the simple order of the alphaljet as confined to names, 

 believing such course will prove the mo^t availaljle and useful." 



OTHER SYSTEMS. 



The available space will not jiermit of a fuller discussion of the 

 very numerous and elaborate systems of classification propos<'d liy 

 European pomologists. Those alr(>ady given will indicate tlie leading 

 ones. It will be noted that even in the mo^'t comijlete natural sys- 

 tems several classes, based mainly on artificial external characters, 

 are necessary to provide a plr,ce for many varieties not readily classified 

 otherwise. 



