2 BRITISH POMOLOGY, ETC. 



of the styles entirely naked and exposed. The styles in 

 the apple are united at their base into one body, and are 

 generally villous in that part where they adhere to each 

 other : in the pear, however, they are separate at their 

 base. But although the apple and pear very much resemble 

 each other in their botanical characters, they differ very 

 materially in their form, cellular tissue, and specific gravity. 

 Apples have always the base umbellicate, or hollowed with 

 a deep cavity, in which the stalk is inserted, and are 

 generally spherical. The pear, on the other hand, is 

 elongated towards the stalk, and is generally of a pyramidal 

 shape, or nearly so. The cellular tissue of the apple, 

 according to the microscopic^ observations of Turpin, is 

 composed of a great number of agglomerated, distinct 

 vesicles, each existing independent of the other, varying 

 in size in the same fruit, and, in general, larger, as the 

 apple is large and light. These vesicles are colorless and 

 transparent, and vary in their form according to the want 

 of space requisite for their individual development. They 

 contain in greater or less abundance, a sugary, acid, or 

 bitter juice, which is perceivable in the different varieties. 

 The cellular tissue of the apple possesses no stony con- 

 cretions, and its specific gravity is greater than that of the 

 pear ; so much so, that by taking a cube of each, of equal 

 size, and throwing them into a vessel of water, that of the 

 apple will float, while that of the pear will sink. In its 

 natural or wild state the apple tree is of a small size, attaining 

 generally about twenty feet in height, of a crooked habit 

 of growth, with small, harsh, and austere fruit, and small 

 thin leaves. But when improved by cultivation, it loses 

 much of its original form, assumes a more free and luxu- 

 riant growth, with larger, thicker, and more downy leaves, 

 and produces fruit distinguished for its size, color, and 

 richness of flavor. 



Some authors have ascribed the introduction of the apple 

 into this country to the Romans, and others to the Nor- 

 mans ; in both cases, however, without any evidence or 

 well grounded authority. Mr. Loudon says, " The apple 

 was, in all probability, introduced into Britain by the 

 Romans, as well as the pear; and like that fruit, perhaps, 

 re-introduced by the heads of religious houses on their 



