1 208 Relation of Color to Flavor in Fruits & Vegetables. [December, 



The large red is said to have " purplish white ' flesh, and to be 

 "stronger flavored than that of the yellow or earlier red varie- 

 ties." 



But of more value than all the testimony of impressions and 

 quotations, is the result of a careful investigation of existing vari- 

 eties. Do the varieties of fruits and vegetables, as described by 

 unprejudiced horticulturists, when put to the test of figures, show 

 clearly that mildness and sweetness accompany light colored 

 flesh to a greater extent than dark colored ? This is the test 

 question. In the tables that follow, the testinr^ony on the fruits is 

 gathered mainly from Downing's " Fruits and Fruit Trees of 

 America," and that on the vegetables from Burr's " Field and 

 Garden Vegetables of America." 



I have gathered in the table only such terms as express a defi- 

 nite quality, and which apply to my present purpose. Many 

 terms are used, such as " delicious," " pleasant," " agreeable," 

 " good," etc., which convey nothing specific in regard to flavor. 

 Many shades of color are also delineated which are intermediate 

 between the extremes, such as " greenish white," " yellowish 

 white," " greenish yellow," etc. These I have not used, as the 

 number of varieties to which they are applied is, in most cases, 

 small, and they do not apply directly to the present purpose. 

 Sometimes, for the purpose of simplifying the table and increas- 

 ing the number of varieties, I have united two or more terms, 

 which mean very nearly the same thing, into one. Thus the 

 " deep yellow " as applied to the peach in the table, includes 

 those described as " orange," " deep orange," " orange yellow," 

 " rich yellow,'' etc. 



In the table of vegetables the numbers are too small to make 

 the testimony of much value, though so far as it goes the evi- 

 dence is decidedly confirmatory to the hypothesis : 



