NAT. ORDER. 



Pomacea. 

 \ 



PYRUS SPECTABLIS. A CHINESE PEAR. 



Class XII. IcosANDRiA. Order IV. Pentagynia. 



Gen. Char. Calyx, five-cleft. Petals, five. Pome, inferior, five- 

 celled, many seeded 



Sj?e. Char. Leaves, ovate, oblong, acuminate, serrate, smooth. 

 Umbells, simple, sessile. Claws of the corolla shorter than the 

 calyx. Styles, smooth. 



This species oi'pear is a native of China, where it attains the 

 height of fifteen to twenty-five feet ; the leaves are ovate, oblong, 

 pointed, crenate, and stand in pairs ; the Jlowers which appear so 

 numerous, grow in clusters — they are large, aggregated, and at first 

 of a blood red color, afterwards more pale, and at last, before the 

 petals fall, they become almost entirely white ; the petals ai*e nu- 

 merous, but do not exclude the existence of stamens, and pistils ; 

 pistils five ; stamens more than twenty, all attached to the calyx — 

 the number of the stamens is not always the same in all the 

 flowers. 



The pear tree which is eo universally spread over both conti 

 nents, has now become naturalized to many parts of the United 

 States, where, with proper cultivation and a rich soil, it ripens its 

 fruit and flourishes equally well, if not better, than in its native 

 country, China. From history, we leai-n that it was introduced into 

 England immediately after the first settlement of that country, from 

 which time it has been constantly cultivated, and various improve- 

 ments made by grafting and inoculation. The natural order poma- 

 ceae, contain, according to the best authorities, nine hundred and 



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