78 SYSTEMATIC POMOLOGY. 



pounded or obscurely heart-shaped at base and inclined to be 

 3-lobed, on slender - smooth petioles; flowers on long, smooth 

 pedicels; fruit bright green^ flattened lengthwise. Useful for 

 eider, jelly, etc. Of value for hybridizing. 



P. loensis, Bailey. Westfhn Ceab Apple. — Leaves oblong 

 or obovate-oval, variously notched and toothed, the lower siirf ace 

 as well as the petioles, short pedicels and young growth, white- 

 pubescent; fruit spherical or oblong; dull green with minute 

 light dots. Hybridizes naturally with P. Mains. Several prom- 

 ising varieties have resulted from such crosses. 



The classification of the apple is attended with many difficul- 

 ties. The fruit has long been cultivated and there are now a 

 multitude of varieties — ^2,000 named varieties in America at 

 the very least. It would be an enormous task, indeed, to study 

 and classify all of these. Another difficulty, and a great one, is 

 that the custom has been to arrange varieties of apples and pears 

 according to characters of the fruit quite regardless of the tree — 

 a wholly artificial method. But little information has been 

 accumulated, then, looking toward a natural classification. 

 Again, the fact that the fruit must be studied at a time when for 

 the most part' it is impossible to consider the blossoms and foli- 

 age, is a real difficulty. No American pomologist has sought 

 to overcome these difficulties though several foreigners have 

 attempted natural classifications. For practical work these are 

 worthless for us and we must rely on one of the several artificial 

 classifications, the best of which is, all things considered, 

 Warder's. 



