PYRUS 



MALUS 



Qualities. 



Medicine. 

 Dye and Tan. 



Wood. 



D.E.P., 



vi., pt. i., 

 373-7. 



D.E.P., 

 iii., 449. 

 Pear. 



Propagation. 



Fruit. 



Timber. 



D.E.P., 

 iii., 450. 

 Apple. 



Propagation. 



Seasons. 



Plantations. 



THE APPLE 



small, it should have the calyx cut clean off and then be tied up loosely in a 

 piece of linen cloth. When ripe it is about as large as a full-sized apple, with a 

 hard rind of a brownish-red colour. The quality varies in different localities. In 

 the Lower Provinces and Bengal it is inferior to that of the North- West and 

 hilly regions. By the Natives, a cooling sherbet is made of the pulp, and from 

 remote times it has been valued for its MEDICINAL properties. 



In various parts of India the flowers are used as a red DYE, while the as- 

 tringent rind of the fruit and the bark are valuable TANNING materials. The 

 WOOD is not used for any purpose, but according to Gamble might be substituted 

 for boxwood. [Of. Merian, Insect. Surinam, 1705, tt. 9 and 49 ; Pharmacog. 

 Ind., 1891, ii., 44 ; Cameron, For. Frees of Mysore and Coorg. 1894, 150-1 ; 

 Monographs, Dyes and Dyeing : Duncan, Assam, 1896, 42 ; Hadi, U. Prov., 

 1896, 80 ; Fawcett, Bomb. Pres., 1896, 34 ; Russell, Cent. Prov., 1896, 14-5 ; 

 Agri. Ledg., 1902, No. 1, 43-4 ; Woodrow, Gard. in Ind., 1903, 319-20 ; Firminger, 

 Man. Gard. Ind., 1904, 234-5.] 



PYRUS, Linn. ; FL Br. Ind., ii., 372-80 ; Gamble, Man. Ind. Timbs., 

 1902, 321-4 ; ROSACES. A genus of moderate-sized trees, occurring in 

 the Himalaya, Khasia hills and Burma. Several bear edible fruits, of 

 which the best known are the apple and the pear. In this place may be 

 mentioned the closely allied plant Cydonia vulgaris, Pers. the quince 

 or bilu a small tree cultivated in the Western Himalaya. 



P. communis, Linn. The Common Pear, nashpdti, nak, kishta, bahira, tang, 

 amrud, charkeint, Ii, etc. A small tree blieved to be wild in Kashmir, cultivated 

 throughout the Himalaya, on the Nilgiris, at Bangalore and elsewhere in South 

 India. 



The pear-tree thrives well in most parts of India, and is easily propagated by 

 layering or grafting. The latter operation should be performed in February or 

 March. Cuttings will also strike root if put down in February during the rains. 

 The fruit ripens about August or September ; as a rule, the tree does not come 

 into bearing before it is ten years old. A full account of the method of cul- 

 tivation on the hills is given by a writer in Indian Gardening (Feb.-March 

 1899). The fruit of the ordinary hill-pear is generally hard and flavourless, and, 

 though eaten by Natives, is little used by Europeans except for cooking pur- 

 poses. In Kangra and the lower inner ranges of the Himalaya, pears from 

 imported European stocks are grown to great perfection, and the produce is 

 exported to the hill stations and the plains. In Europe the WOOD is prized 

 for engraving and turning, but especially for drawing implements, such as 

 set-squares, etc. [Cf. Bentham, Rev. of Targioni-Tozzetti, in Journ. Hort. Soc., 

 1855, ix., 158 ; Smythies, in Agri. Ledg., 1894, No. 15, 5, 34-47 ; Coldstream, 

 Rept. on Fruit Cult, in Simla Dist. and Kullu, 1894, 7, 14 ; Woodrow, Gard. 

 in Ind., 1903, 308 ; Firminger, Man. Gard. Ind., 1904, 249-50.] 



P. Malus, Linn. The Apple, seb, kushu, sher, tsunt, sun, ching, Ii, pdlu, manra, 

 sevu, etc. A moderate-sized tree indigenous in Eastern Europe and possibly 

 also in the Western Himalaya, between 5,000 and 9,000 feet ; largely cultivated 

 in the Himalaya, the Panjab, Sind, North-West Provinces, Central India and 

 the Deccan. Stein discovered apple-wood (alma) used in the house-construction 

 of ancient Khotan (see the remark regarding tho Apricot, p. 905). 



In India, apple-trees are propagated by layering and grafting on the common 

 country, or long acclimatised stock. Firminger, quoting General Jenkins, states 

 that cuttings may be planted in January and February near water and also 

 during the rains. When they shoot strongly they should be planted out and 

 cut down to two or three buds, and of these the strongest shoot only should be 

 allowed to grow. This should be trained straight up to a height of about three 

 feet. Grafting takes place in March. A gravelly soil is most suitable. The best 

 fruit is produced in the Kangra Valley, whence it is exported in quantities to 

 Simla and the plains of India. The traffic from Kashmir to Rawalpindi and the 

 Panjab generally has become a large and important one. Government orchards 

 have been established in Kumaon, where apples of choice English sorts are 

 successfully grown. The Municipality of Simla has also made an effort to utilise 

 as an orchard the tract of hills reserved as the catchment area in water supply. 

 Sly (Agri. Journ. Ind., 1907, ii., pt. i., 70-3) reviews the available information 

 regarding the apple cultivation of the hills of India. In Afghanistan, he tells us, 



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