228 ON CERTAIN SMALI.-FIUITKD PKVRg. 



nitidis punctulatis laciniis calycinis demum ileciduis. Fulioruni 

 limbus lonp;iorum 12-18 lineas longus. Tyridia ceraso vix 

 majora, Buhse 1 c." Boissier describes the same plant thus: 

 " Frutex vel arbor parva, gemmis glabriusculis ; foliis ovato-orbi- 

 cularibus minute serrulatis junioribus ciliatis adultis glaberrirais, 

 petiolo tcnui sub-brevioribus ; corymbis simplif ibus ; potalis parvis 

 orbiculatis; pcdnnculis fructiferis fasciculatis gracilibus; t'ructu minute 

 globoso pubduplo longioribus." 



It will thus be seen that, jude;ing from the description, the Persian 

 plant and the French one resemble one another more closely than they 

 do the Devonshire plant. Apart from the foliage the petals of the Persian 

 plant are described by Boissier as orbiculate, whicli they are certainly 

 not in the Devonshire plant. The fruit in the Persian form is described 

 in one case as scarcely larger than a Cherry — by Boissier as " magni- 

 tudine Cerasi." The word Cherry (Cerasus) is rather a vague indica- 

 tion as to size. Decaisne, as wo have said, compares the fruit of the 

 French plant to a large Pea or to the fruits of the JUrd-cherry (Cerasus 

 Avmm), and the specimens I have seen conform to this standard, as do 

 also the Plymouth fruits. It would hence seem as if the Persian 

 fruits were rather larger tlian those of the French or of the English 

 forms. As to the time of fruiting, Boissier says it is in " ultimis 

 Septembri diebus raaturans." This difference may be dependent on 

 difference of climate, for Boissier adds: " Valde singulare est banc 

 speciem in Gallia occidentali et, ut videtur, spontanee occurrere, 

 specimina exagro Audegavensi praeter pedunculos et petioles juniorea 

 magis tomcntosos Persicis quoad folia et fructus siroilia videntur." 



This leads us to the consideration of how a Persian plant comes to 

 be found in Western France — and possibly in Devonshire also. It is 

 worth mention in the first instance that Prof. Karl Koch, who travelled 

 for four years in the Caucasus and Persia, considers that the present 

 races of Pear-trees originated from three different species — P.persica, 

 Desv., with its numerous synonyms, and from which the Bergamots and 

 Rousselets have descended; 2. P. eleaf/ri/olia, a native of Caucasus; 

 and 3. P. sinensis or its wild representative, which may be identical 

 with Maximowicz's P. nssuriensts* 



Decaisne, in the work previously cited, looks on the principal 

 species of Pyrus as having been, under the influence of cultivation, the 

 parents of certain secondary forms which were the progenitors of our 

 present varieties. All the cultivated Pear-trees are supposed by liim 

 to belong to one species, which has become subdivided into six races. 

 1. The Celtic race, including P. cordata, Desv. 2. The Germanic 

 race, including P. communis, P. AcJiras, and P. Piraster. 3. The 

 Hellenic race, including P. jyt^fvijlora, Desf., P. sinaica, Thouin, and 

 others. 4. Tlie Pontic race, including /*. eleagrifolia, Pall., and others. 

 5. The Indian race, comprising P. Paschce, Don., etc. ; and 6. The 

 Monsolic race, of which P. sinensis, Lindl. { = P. ussuriensis, Maximo- 

 wicz) is the type. We cannot pursue this part of the subject, but must 

 simply refer the reader to ^I. ])ecaisne's book for further information. 



As to the Celtic race, to which the Persian, French, and Devonshire 

 forms belong. Dr. Phene's remarks are of the greatest interest, and we 

 may therefore cite in this place the following passages, embodying 



• See " Gardeners' Chronicle," March 21, 1874, p. 382. 



