A Family History. 223 



rapidly overrun the whole country-, because the fruit- 

 eaters are very fond of it, and scatter its seeds broad- 

 cast over the length and breadth of the land. 



The common medlar is nothing more than a haw- 

 thorn with a very big overgrown haw. In the wild 

 state it bristles with hard thorns, which are wanting 

 to the cultivated form, and its flower almost exactly 

 resembles that of the may. The fruit, however, only 

 becomes edible after it begins to deca}', and the bony 

 covering of the seeds is remarkably hard. It seems 

 probable that the medlar, originally a native of southern 

 Europe, is largely dispersed, not by birds, but by 

 mice, rats, and other small quadrupeds. The colour 

 is not particularly attractive, nor is the fruit particu- 

 larly tempting while it remains upon the bush ; but 

 when it falls upon the ground and begins to rot, it may 

 easily be eaten by rodents or pigs, and thus doubtless 

 it procures the dispersion of its seeds under conditions 

 highly favourable to their proper growth and success 

 in life. 



The little Siberian crabs, largely cultivated for 

 their fruit in America, and sometimes found in Eng- 

 lish shrubberies as well, give us one of the earliest 

 and simplest forms of the real apple group. In some 

 respects, indeed, the apples are even simpler than 

 the hawthorn, because their seeds or pips are not 



