IMPORTANCE OF SEIZING THE STRONG MARKS. EXTERNAL; WEIGHT, SHAPE, SIZE, SURFACE. BASIN AND EYE. CAVITY AND STEM. INTERNAL; FLESH, CORE, AXIS, SEEDS, FLAVOR. THESE CONSIDERED SEPARATELY AND ILLUSTRATED. EXPLANATION OF TERMS USED. SHAPE REFERRED TO RELATIONS OF THE DIAMETERS; AXIAL AND TRANSVERSE. LEADING FORMS DESCRIBED AND ILLUSTRATED. SIZE, A COMPARATIVE TERM. SKIN CHARACTERS, COLOR; ITS USE IN CLASSIFYING. PERMANENCE OF STRIPES. LINES. DOTS AND SPECKS. FUNGOUS SPOTS. FORMS OF BASIN AND EYE, OF CAVITY AND STEM, ARE VALUABLE; TERMS USED. THE INTERIOR, AXIS, CORE, SEEDS, FLESH. FLAVOR UNCERTAIN. SWEET AND SOUR GOOD CHARACTERS. QUALITY, TERMS EXPRESSIVE OF. In the description of a fruit, it is very desirable for the writer to catch the strong characters, so that he, who reads, may the more readily identify the specimen he holds in his hand. Among these several characters there is considerable difference as to their permanence and value; some are evanescent, some variable, while others are found to be more reliable and constant. Let us consider some of these in the systematic order by which they will be taken in the descriptions that are to follow. In describing a fruit, the firmness, weight, and external characters, first claim our attention, then the internal; these are taken up in the following order: externally, its shape, size, surface, color, and dots are examined. In the apple and pear the basin is next observed and its characters noted, with any peculiarities connected with the eye, by which term the triangular space is designated that is embraced by the calyx, as shown in an axial section of the fruit; at the same time the length and breadth and shape of the calyx segments are noted. The other end of the fruit is then explored as to the form and markings of the cavity, and the length, size, and peculiarities of the stem. Having thus disposed of the externals, we are now to investigate the nature of the internal structure; to do this, a section is made vertically through the middle of the fruit from the eye to the stem, which exposes the flesh, the axis with its core and the seeds, and which enables us to investigate some very important characters, such as the length of the axis, its form and that of its carpels, and the manner of their union, whether they form an open core or otherwise.