COMMON APPLE-TREE. 



297 



and pear is not less different than the leaves and flowers. The apple is gener- 

 ally concave at the insertion of the peduncle, depressed at the top, of a softer 

 texture, less astringent, but more acid than the. pear; whereas, the latter, which 

 may vary in shape, size, colour, taste, &c., by cultivation, is generally convex, 

 and lengthened out at the base. The apple has woody threads passing through 

 it to the peduncle, ten of which are regularly disp6sed round the capsules, tend- 

 ing towards the calyx ; and it is said that the fruit decays when these are broken. 

 The pear also has these threads, but less distinct, on account of the gritty matter 

 which prevails in many of the varieties, and especially in wild pears. The cells 

 of the two fruits are likewise differently shaped. Those of the apple are narrow, 

 and pointed at both ends ; while in the pear, they are obovate, broad exteriorly, 

 and drawing to a point at the centre of the fruit. 



Varieties. The common apple-tree, by itself, or conjointly with other species 

 or races, is the parent of innumerable varieties or sub-varieties, generally termed 

 by the British and Anglo-Americans, " cultivated apple-trees," and by the 

 French, "pommiers doux," or " pommiers a couteau." Many of them are not 

 only derived from the wild apple or crab, of Europe, but from the crabs of Sibe- 

 ria and Astrachan. As it is utterly impossible to trace the multitude of cultivated 

 sorts to the wild forms from which they have been obtained ; and as it appears 

 very doubtful to us whether the wild crabs of Europe, northern and western 

 Asia, and of North America, are specifically distinct, we have considered them 

 only as varieties of the Pyrus mains. We are aware that objections will be made 

 to this mode of classification, as it deviates from what is considered as established 

 authority. Those, however, who differ from us in opinion, will find no difficulty 

 in recognizing the names, as given by Ue Candolle, Loudon, and others, and will 

 be enabled to know under what head they are described. 



1. P. M. ACERBA, Loudon. Soiir-fruited Apple or Common European Crab- 

 tree ; Pyrns acerba. of De Candolle ; Pomm,ier sauvageo?i, of the French ; Holz- 

 apfelbaum, of the Germans ; and Melo sylvatico, of the Italians. This form is 

 a native of woods and way-sides, in Europe, and may be known by its ovate, 

 acute, crenated leaves, glabrous even when young, as is the tube of the calyx. 

 The flowers occur in corymbs ; and, according to De Candolle, there are manv 

 sub-varieties, with sour fruit, commonly called cider apples in Britain, and porn^ 

 mes a cidre in France. 



2. P. M. coRONARiA. Thc Garlaud-flowering Apple-tree or Am,erican Sweet- 

 scented. Crab; Pyrns coronaria., of De Can- VTW^~ 

 dolle, Torrey and Gray, and Loudon; Mains J-A^K'i 

 coronaria, of Michaux ; Pommier sauvage^ of rL^v^^^f 

 the French ; and Amerikanischer Holzapfel- 

 baum, of the Germans. This variety is a na- 

 tive of North America, from Canada to Louis- 

 iana, and was introduced into Britain in 1724, 

 where it is common in collections, and has also 

 been naturalized. It is found in fertile soils, 

 in cool, moist places, near the borders of woods, 

 where it usually grows to a height of fifteen to 

 eighteen feet, with a trunk six or seven inches 

 in diameter, and under very favourable cir- 

 cumstances, it sometimes attains nearly double 

 these dimensions. In some parts of Britain, 

 as at White Knights, and at Pepper Harrow, 

 near Godalniing, it has become naturalized in 

 the woods ; and plants of various ages are 

 found wild, which have sprung up from seeds 



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