THE APPLE. 



223 



a. Apples. b. Pears. 



d. Medlar. 



THE APPLE Pyrus malus. 



The apple is distinguished as the fruit of the colder 

 climates. It is at once the most brisk and refreshing 

 of any of the common hardy orchard fruits. It re- 

 mains the longest in season, is used in the greatest 

 number of ways, and, therefore, is the most generally 

 cultivated. The stone fruits of the English orchard 

 keep only for a few days, unless they are preserved; 

 and in this state they lose that natural flavour on which 

 their value chiefly depends. Many of the finer pears 

 keep only for a short time, when they become vapid 

 and flat : but there are apples of very rich and vinous 

 flavour, which, with care, can be preserved till the 

 early sorts of the succeeding season come in to sup- 

 ply their place. 



The useful qualities of the apple have extended its 

 cultivation throughout Europe, as far as the 60th 

 degree of latitude. It has been observed by a dis- 

 tinguished traveller, that the commoner fruit-trees, 

 such as apples, pears, cherries, and apricots, grow 



