THE ROMANCE OF OUR TREES 



species is indigenous to western France and Eng- 

 land, and has a round, or slightly turbinate, fruit 

 about half an inch in diameter. The Pear in a wild 

 and naturalized state is pyramidal in habit and is 

 armed with spines. 



The pears of the Orient are flattened and depressed 

 top and bottom like our apples and not of the famil- 

 iar pear-shape; a few are egg-shaped. They are very 

 firm and gritty in texture, rich in a sweet watery juice, 

 and one group is generally known as Sand Pears. At 

 present it is certain that two species (Pyrus serotina 

 and P. ussuriensis) have been concerned in their 

 evolution, but whether other species have played a 

 part or whether there are hybrids between the above- 

 named species has yet to be determined. Much 

 attention is now being given in parts of this country 

 to these Pears for stock on which to work our 

 own Pears and for breeding purposes. We are 

 entirely without knowledge as to how long the 

 Chinese have cultivated their Pears but three thou- 

 sand years is not an exaggerated estimate. The 

 Sand Pear was introduced into Japan more than a 

 thousand years ago and is very extensively culti- 

 vated there to this day for the Japanese, like the 

 Koreans and Chinese, prefer them to our pears. 



The Sand Pears, of which there are brown- and 

 green-skinned kinds, are characterized by the ab- 

 208 



