12 BE A UTIES OF BRITISH TREES. [Nov., 



Ijuiiches or ' fascicles ' on the old wood. Country-bred folk learn to 

 distinguish at a glance the leaves of a Pear from those of the Apple ; 

 but, though it is largely on leaf-characters that the separation of the 

 varieties of the furiuer depend, it is by no means easy to explain 

 those characters in words. The leaves of the Tear are generally on a 

 lonoer and more slender stalk than those of the Apple, and are con- 

 sequently more pendulous. Speaking only of the wild forms, they 

 are also sli'ditly smaller, not exceeding one and a half inches in length. 

 They are sometimes heart-shaped at the Ijase, and vary in outline 

 from ovate, i.e., broadest near the base, through oblong, i.e., with 

 approximately parallel sides, broadest across the centre, to obovate. 

 i.e., broadest near the point. On young trees the leaves are often 

 lobed, and in all cases they are at first pubescent, at least on the 

 under surface. Tiie^'' are acutely pointed, though the apex varies 

 from an abrupt point {cuspidate) to a long and tapering one 

 {a^juminate). 



By about the middle of April the Pear-trees ought, in favourable 

 seasons, to be in full bloom ; a snowy sheet over the landscape of our 

 suburban orchard-gardens that has, at that early date in spring, quite 

 a chilly effect upon the senses. The flowers, however, continue for 

 some time, being generally over by May 15th, and sometimes earlier, 

 thus preceding the warmer-tinted Apple blossom by about a fort- 

 night ; and in this time the young foliage has made rapid strides, so 

 that the white mass of blossom is soon relieved by a delicate back- 

 ground of tender green. The flowers are grouped in flat-topped, or 

 * corymbose ' clusters, and each one of the bunch is an inch or an inch 

 and a half across, the same size, that is, as those of the Apple, from 

 ■which they are technically distinguished not by their colour, but by 

 having their styles distinct to the base instead of being united below. 

 This union, of course, takes place later, when the so-called * calyx- 

 tube' binds together the five carpels into the single Pear. Then, 

 when the more or less top-shaped (turbinate) or pyriform fruit 

 furnishes another specific distinction from the Apple, the Pear, in 

 favourable autumns, exhibits a charm which perhaps surpasses those 

 of the pure white and virginal green of spring, its leaves turning to a 

 most vivid crimson, to a tint, in fact, which in other British trees is, 

 as a rule, confined to a leaf here and there among duller hues. Thus, 

 apart altogether from the value of the fruit in the cultivated varieties, 

 the Pear-tree well deserves a place in the cottage garden, the farm 

 close, or the shrubbery. Its deciduous character may render it 

 undesh-able for the lawn ; but I can imagine few more delightful 

 surprises than to come upon a well-grown Pear-tree standing apart 

 in a small woodland clearing, whether in spring or in autumn. 



Of the three wild varieties, none of which can be termed common. 



