NAT. OUUEU. POMACES. 11 



eighty varieties, of which the pear alone constitutes more tha^Ji one- 

 third. In China, Hindostan, and the southern parts of Germany, 

 the pear is extensively cultivated as a prominent article of food. 



The pear is decidedly one of the most useful fruits in cultiva- 

 tion ; its characteristics, of hardness of the tree, beauty of its 

 flowers, and wholesomeness of its fruit, whether prepared in pre- 

 serves, taken immediately from the garden, or the fruit room, cer- 

 tainly must be considered as one of the choicest gifts of nature. In 

 manv parts of the Eastern continent, where this fruit is so exten- 

 sively cultivated, it forms one of the principal articles of diet, not 

 only for man, but for keeping and fattening of cattle. 



Medical Properties arid Uses. The seeds of the pear are very 

 much esteemed in some parts of Europe and China, in the treatment 

 of fevers; they are considered cooling, and are found to possess 

 considerable astringent, and tonic properties. Culpeper speaks 

 very highly of the leaves of this tree — to be used fresh, after being 

 bruised, as an excellent remedy for wounds, bruises, swellings, stop- 

 page of blood, and reducing inflamation. The fruit, as an article 

 of food, and the flowers for beauty, are the chief peculiarities of 

 this tree, the wood being almost as hard as that of box, for which 

 it is even substituted by wood engravers. 



