CRAB AVFLK—F^rus Malus. 



Class IcosANDRiA. Ordei' Pentagynia. Nat. Ord. Rosacea. 

 Rose Tribe. 



Few, indeed, are the wild fruit-trees of our 



laud, aud fewer still are those which can claim 



to be true natives of our soil, for some of those 



now growing wild were introduced by the 



Romans. The Crab Apple, however, is a truly 



British plant, and its richly tinted blossoms 



grace our spring woodlands, and the fruit is 



ornamental at a later season of the year. Our 



wild apple is of little use, save that its juice 



forms the verjuice of commerce ; yet the harsh 



austere crab of the wild tree is the origin of 



all the valuable apples, the blossoms of which 



render the orchard grounds of some counties 



so beautiful. 



Besides the many uses which Ave, in modern 

 days, make of the Apple, it was employed for 

 many others by our ancestors. Thus, a cosmetic 

 was formerly made from the juice, and in some 

 diseases physicians prescribed, as a remedy, 

 that the patient should hold, both sleeping and 



