788 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



spreading bush if the leaders are removed. 

 The finest of the Eastern Crab Apples is 

 the Japanese P. M. floribunda. Fully 

 grown it makes a low tree with a dense 

 wide-spreading head of slender branches, 

 loaded every May with a profusion of 

 flowers of a pale pink when expanded, 

 and of a brilliant crimson in the bud, 

 when they are most beautiful. No gar- 

 den is well planted if this tree is wanting, 

 as it is hardy, grows rapidly anywhere, 

 and costs little to buy. There are a few 

 varieties of it, one called Halleana having 

 larger and more richly-tinted blossoms. 

 There is also a new kind raised in 

 Germany, as a cross between floribunda 

 and prunifolia, and known as P. M. 



Pyrus arbutifolia pumila. 



Schiedcckeri. It is of fine sturdy growth 

 and wonderfully free, even among these 

 Flowering Crabs, in its large semi-double 

 flowers, vivid crimson in bud, opening to 

 shades of soft rose. Another new wild 

 kind from Central Asia is P. M. nied- 

 wetzkyana, known as the Red Apple. 

 Not only are the flowers a deeper red 

 than in any other kind, but the fruits, the 

 bark of the twigs, and even the leaves, 

 when coming and dying away, all carry 

 deep shades of crimson and purple. 

 The North American Sweet-scented Crab 

 Apple (P. M. coronaria) is a lovely little 

 tree with large pale pink deliciously- 

 scented flowers. There are other orna- 

 mental Apples in the section Malus, but 

 the foregoing include the finest and the 

 most readily obtainable. 



ORNAMENTAL PEARS. Of the true 

 Pearsas ornamental trees little can be said. 

 They are a good deal like orchard and gar- 

 den Pears in growth and flower, and their 

 fruitsare not remarkable. One ortwo,how- 

 ever, may be planted for ornament. One 

 is P. Bollivylleriana, from Central Europe, 

 which produces in spring an abundance 



of small white blooms in clusters ; and 

 another, P. salicifotia (the Willow-leaved 

 Pear), which is well worthy of planting on 

 account of its distinct and beautiful foli- 

 age, has leaves of silvery whiteness. P. 

 olceagnifolia, or Oleaster-leaved Pear, is 

 another Eastern species with hoary leaves. 

 Of the Sorbus section the common 

 Mountain Ash (P. Aucttparia) is a familiar 

 example, but it is too common to need 

 description. There is a rare kind with 

 yellow berries (fructu luteo), another kind 

 with weeping branches (pendtila], a third 

 of erect growth (fastigiata), and a fourth 

 with variegated leaves. The last, how- 

 ever, is not very ornamental, as the 

 variegation is seldom distinct. Other 

 species worthy of attention are P. S. 

 americana, the American Mountain Ash, 

 which is a good deal like our own Mountain 

 Ash ; and P. S. hybrida, a tree of very 

 distinct growth, with a dense pyra- 

 midal head, and leaves intermediate 

 between those of P. S. Aucuparia and P. 

 Aria (the White Beam). The true Service 

 Tree, P. S. domestica, used to be more 



The true Service Tree (Pyrus domestica). 



frequently planted than now. It is a hand- 

 some tree with elegant foliage. Of the 

 White Beam (P. Aria) there are some 

 very handsome kinds. Even our native 

 White Beam is ornamental. Like the 

 Mountain Ash, it is also one of the best 

 trees for planting in exposed places on 

 poor soil, and no tree thrives so well on 

 chalk. Its broad silvery foliage makes 

 it show in the landscape, and it is a valu- 

 able park tree. Its allies and varieties 

 include some beautiful trees, such as lati- 

 folia, with leaves which are broader than 

 the type and quite as silvery. P. A. 

 Hosti is a handsome tree, both in foliage 

 and flower. Its leaves are large and 

 silvery, and its delicate rose-pink flowers 

 are in broad flat clusters. It is a Central 

 European tree, perfectly hardy, and about 

 10 ft. high. The Himalayan Beam Tree, 



