88 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



ash and the choke-berry. -None of those we regard as true 

 pears have been found on any part of the Western Hemisphere, 

 or south of the equator in the Old World. Several species 

 are found in Korea, China, Japan and Persia and the others in 

 western Europe. There is great variation in the size and 

 (juality of the fruit ; one species illustrated in the book has 

 fruits no longer than grapes. Only three of these wild pears 

 seem to have been drafted for garden use. Of these the 

 most important is Pyriis coniuuinis of southern Europe and 

 Asia. Pynis uiz'alis of southern Europe and P. scrotina from 

 China and Japan are the others. From these by hybridiza- 

 tion have sprung several hundred varieties, few of which 

 have sufficient merit to be of value. Owning to difficulties 

 that attend keeping and marketing pears, this fruit is not as 

 extensively grown in America as are apples and peaches. 

 The present volume ends the series of books devoted to tree 

 fruits, but it is intimated that in time we may have a new 

 series dealing with small fruits. The books thus far issued are 

 invaluable as reference works and unsurpassed in beauty, ac- 

 curacy, and general excellence.. 



After all, where is the flower lore? for the first book, 

 not the last, should contain the poetry of flowers. The Nat- 

 ural System may tell us of the value of a plant in medicine or 

 the arts, or for food, but neither it nor the Linneau to any 

 great extent tell us its chief value and significance to man. 

 There will be pages about some fair flower's (jualities for food 

 or medicine but perhaps not a sentence about its significance 

 to the eye (as if the cowslip were better for greens than for 

 yellows) about what all children and flower-lovers gather 

 flowers for. — Henry D. Thoreau. 



