THE PEAR 133 



grace that does not belong to the more straggling 

 Apple-tree, though the rosy blossoms of the latter 

 may be more attractive than the wan bloom of its 

 congener. The dwarf shoots or spurs of the Wild 

 Pear are generally spinous, and marked with crowded 

 ring-scars. The branches spring from the main stem 

 in an ascending manner at an angle of less than 

 forty-five degrees, afterwards curving outwards and 

 downwards. 



The leaves are scattered alternately along the 

 young shoots, but crowded together in bunches 

 or " fascicles " on the old wood. Country-bred folk 

 learn to distinguish at a glance the leaves of the 

 Pear from those of the Apple. The leaves of the 

 Pear are generally on a longer and more slender 

 stalk than those of the Apple, and are consequently 

 more pendulous. Speaking only of our wild forms, 

 they are also slightly smaller, not exceeding one and 

 a half inches in length. They are sometimes heart- 

 shaped at the base, and vary in general outline from 

 " ovate," i.e. broadest near the base, through " oblong," 

 i.e. with approximately parallel sides and broadest 

 across the centre, to " obovate," i.e. broadest near the 

 point. On young trees the leaves are often lobed, as 

 in the allied Service-trees, and in all cases they are at 

 first pubescent, at least on the under surface. They 

 vary, however, in different soils, especially on the 

 Continent, where those of several of the mountain 

 forms are as white on their under surfaces as those 

 of the White Beam (P. A'ria L.), and the form is 

 sufficiently variable to acquire such names as 

 " Willow-leaved " and " Sage-leaved " for some of 



