M E S 



M E S 



sides are smooth and green : the flowers come 

 out in bunches at the end of the shoots, are 

 larire and wliite : the petals are lone: and nar- 

 row, and the stamens about ten ni numl)er : 

 the fruit small and sweet, black when ripe. 

 According to Linn»us, while young the 

 branches, petioles, peduncles and under sur- 

 face of the leaves are tomentose ; but when so 

 far advanced as to bear fruit, it puts off ihe 

 pubescence and becomes smooth. It is a na- 

 tive of the South of Europe. 



The fourth species has a smooth stalk, about 

 four or five feet high, sending out slender 

 branches covered with a purplish bark : the 

 •leaves are about two inches long, and one inch 

 and a half broad, yellowish green on both sides, 

 on long slender foot-stalks: the flowers axillary, 

 four or live together in a cluse head, purplish ; 

 with long, narrow, purplish bractes : the fruit 

 small red. While young, it is also woolly, but 

 when further advanced naked. It is a native of 

 the Pyrenees, &c. 



The fifth is a low shrub, seldom more than 

 iive feet high, dividing into several smooth 

 branches, covered with a purplish bark : the 

 leaves grow upon long slender foot-stalks ; are 

 an inch and a half long, and an inch broad, 

 smooth on both sides, and serrate : the flowers 

 come out in small bunches at the ends of the 

 branches ; are about the size of those of the 

 common Hawthorn, and succeeded by small 

 fruit of a purplish colour. It is a native of Ca- 

 nada and Virginia, flowering in April and May. 

 The sixth species is a low spreading shrub, 

 not more than four or five feet high, covered 

 with a smooth ash-coloured or purple bark, 

 when young pubescent, but becoming smooth 

 with age : the leaves alternate, the upper surface 

 bright green and smooth, the lower white-to- 

 mentose, finely netted, about an inch lon^, 

 and three quarters of an inch broad : the pe- 

 tioles two lines in length, channelled above : 

 there are two lanceolate, acuminate, deciduous, 

 reddish stipules at the base of the petioles : 

 the peduncles either solitary and unbranched 

 from the tops of the twigs, or forming little 

 corymbs of three or four flowers, which are pe- 

 duneled, somewhat nodding, round and pubes- 

 cent, with a small bractc at the base. It is a 

 native of many parts of Europe and Siberia, 

 flowering in April and May. 



The seventh has a smooth stalk about eight 

 feet high, dividing into many smooth branciies: 

 the leaves are two inches and a half loug, of a 

 thick substance, dark green on their upper side, 

 but downy on the under, standing upon short 

 foot-stalks : the flowers come out of the sidf of 

 the stalk, upon short small branches, five or six 



growing upon each in a close bunch : the petals 

 areofapurple colour, little longer than the calyx, 

 which is woolly, with blunt segments : the 

 fruit is large, roundish, and of a fine red colour 

 when ri])e. It flowers in April and May. 



The eighth species is a bushy irregulai- shrub: 

 the branches strigose and rugged, testaceous- 

 brown, divaricated, alternately spinuse: the 

 spines are axillary, commonly branched with 

 secondary spines, sometimes gemmiferous and 

 producing branchlets : the leaves scattered, 

 smooth, petioled, continuing till winter, lan- 

 ceolate with a point, crenate; but in the garden 

 serrate: the corymbs copious on the branches, 

 compound, subsessile, or elevated on the leafy 

 branchlets, on divaricating peduncles: the 

 flowers white, scarcely larger than those of 

 Elder : the berry globular, fulvous, the size of 

 a pea, umbilicated with the calyx ; pulpy and 

 five-seeded. But according to Scopoli, the 

 fruit is as large as the common Medlar ; the 

 seeds subovate and compressed. It is a native 

 of the South of Europe, flowering in May. 



Culture. — They are all easily raised by seeds, 

 layers, grafting and budding ; 'but it is the best 

 practice to raise the Medlar kinds principally by 

 grafting orbudding, inorderto continue thesorts. 



In the first method, the seeds should be sown 

 in autumn, in a bed of common earth, as they 

 usually lie a year, or more, before they germi- 

 nate, as in the haw and holly-berries, &c. 



When the plants appear they should be watered 

 frequently in dry weather ; and in the autumn or 

 spring following, the largest be thinned out and 

 planted in nursery-rows, two feet by one 

 asunder j and in another year all the rest may 

 be set out in the same manner ; and in three or 

 four years they will be proper for being planted 

 out in the garden or shrubbery. 



In the second mode the young branches should 

 be laid down in the autumn in the common method; 

 and they will be properly rooted by the autumn 

 following, when they should be planted out ia 

 nursery-rows in the same way as the seedlings. 



The two last methods should be performed oil 

 stalks of the larger Medlar kinds, or sometimes 

 upon those of the White Thorn, raised frora 

 seed, as above ; but the Pear-stock is to be 

 preferred for the common Medlars, when intend- 

 ed as fruit-trees. The operations are performed 

 in the usual way, low in the stocks to form 

 dwarfs ; and for half or full standards, training 

 the first shoot for a stem, or the stock may be 

 let form a stem, and then be wrought at from 

 about three or four to five or six feet in height. 

 See Budding and Grafting. 



Those intended for fruit-trees, whether 

 dwarfsj half or full standards, in training, should,. 

 Q2 



