66 FAMILIAR TREES 



also is P. rohindifo'lia Beclisfc. and presumabty the 

 variety described by Mr. N. E. Brown under tlio name 

 decip'iens. P. minima Ley, from Brecon, and P. 

 intermedia Ehrh., from Arran, Wales and the West of 

 England, may also be classed with P. Aria taken in 

 a comprehensive sense. P. fen'nica Bab. may be a 

 hybrid between the last-mentioned and the Mountain 

 Ash; and P. pinnati'fida Ehrh., chiefly known in 

 cultivation, is also possibly the result of the crossing of 

 some form of White Beam with the Rowan. We may, 

 therefore, defer the consideration of these. P. domes' - 

 tica Ehrh., the True Service-tree, is a very distinct 

 species ; but, though common on the Continent, has 

 no claim to rank as British. It was long represented 

 by a single tree, and that probably introduced, in 

 Wyre Forest, near Bewdley, in Worcestershire. The 

 Wild Service-tree (P. torminalis Ehrh.) also occurs 

 in the same locality, and both trees seem to be known 

 there as " Whitty Pear," a name more appropriate to 

 P. domes tica, seeing that it only has a whitish under- 

 surface to its leaves and a truly pear-shaped fruit. An 

 attempt has been made to derive the name from the 

 Old English word " witten," to know, meaning the 

 wise tree, as there was formerly a belief in these trees 

 and in the Rowan as protections against witches. 

 The hard little fruits were hung up for this purpose 

 in houses ; but in Worcestershire the Rowan was 

 distinguished as the Witchen tree and considered 

 the less efficacious of the two. 



The true Service-tree, known in France as 

 cormier, grows from twenty to sixty ieet high, and, 

 contrary to statements which have been made, is 



