With regard to their FLAVOR, fruits may be said to be _vinous_, _sub-acid_, _acid_, and _very acid_, or _sugary_, _sweet_, _very sweet_, and _honey sweet_; they may be _flat_ and _insipid_, or _highly flavored_, _mild_, or _astringent_; and as to fragrance, in which they may remind us of many other agreeable odors, they may be said to be _perfumed_ and _aromatic_, or otherwise. In deciding upon the quality of the fruit that has thus been subjected to this series of tests, and to this thorough examination, we shall find that the decision will depend upon the individual tastes, the likes and dislikes of those who are called upon to render judgment, and that, at best, the result must be arbitrary. The terms expressive of this division are _inferior_, _good_, _very good_, and _best_. FOOTNOTES: [46] From καρπος, Greek, for fruit. CHAPTER XVI. CLASSIFICATION. NECESSITY FOR. BASIS OF. CHARACTERS. SHAPE. ITS REGULARITY. FLAVOR. COLOR. THEIR SEVERAL VALUES. THOMAS' CLASSIFICATION. GERMAN WRITERS. DIEL'S SEVEN CLASSES. MODIFICATIONS BY DOCHNAHL. ROBERT HOGG'S MODIFICATION BASED UPON SEASON. DIEL'S CONSPECTUS OF CLASSIFICATION. DOCHNAHL'S. THE AUTHOR'S CLASSIFICATION EXPLAINED. EXPLANATION OF TERMS. TOPICS COMBINED. CONSPECTUS OF CLASSIFICATION USED IN THIS WORK. The need of some classification grows more and more pressing, as our fruit lists have become more extended, and they now reach many hundreds. A good and reliable systematic classification has become absolutely necessary, and has received a great deal of consideration. Upon what principle shall this classification be founded? The common alphabetical arrangement of most text books may be very convenient for a mere dictionary of fruits, but is utterly useless to the novice who does not know the name of his specimen. The arrangement by season and size has its difficulties in the uncertainty and variation of these characters in the different soils and climates of our extended country, and a sub-division and grouping of fruits by their quality of excellence is not only unreliable, but is altogether arbitrary, and subject to the greatest diversity of opinion arising from the various tastes of different individuals. We must look to some marked and reliable characters that are always present, easily recognized, and permanent or fixed. Among these shape or figure stands pre-eminent, notwithstanding the acknowledged fact that some varieties are almost protean. The shape of the general outline appears to be the best character for the broad divisions of a classification. A sub-division may again be made, which is to be based upon the regularity or irregularity of the shape.