THE PEAR 135 



occupies a higher relative position i.e. is farther 

 from the stalk in the Pear than in the Apple. The 

 outline of the fruit, tapering gradually, as it generally 

 does, into its stalk, though very characteristic of the 

 Pear, is no more absolutely so than is the depression 

 into which the stalk is usually inserted in Apples. 

 A more universal distinction in structure between 

 the fruits of the two species is the presence in that 

 of the Pear only of the well known " grittiness," 

 due to small clusters of cells, thickened with woody 

 deposits in their walls, which are scattered through- 

 out the fleshy part of the fruit. Few Wild Pears 

 produce fruits one quarter the size of the common 

 cultivated varieties ; nor does their texture or flavour 

 render them fit to eat. 



In some favourable autumns the Pear exhibits 

 beauties that perhaps surpass those of the pure white 

 and virginal green of spring, its leaves turning to a 

 vivid crimson. Though the tough and indestructible 

 character of its fallen leaves may render the Pear 

 undesirable on a lawn, it well deserves for its beauty 

 alone a place in the cottage-garden, the farm-close, 

 or the shrubbery. Few more delightful surprises 

 await us in our rural walks than to come upon a 

 well-grown Pear-tree standing apart in a small 

 woodland clearing, whether it be decked in the snow 

 of spring or the crimson of autumn. 



Of our three wild varieties, none of which can be 

 termed common, P. Py raster Borkh. has "acuminate" 

 leaves, which, though downy beneath when young, 

 become smooth, and a typically Pear-shaped or " tur- 

 binate " fruit, tapering gradually into its stalk ; P. 



