268 NATURAL HISTORY. 



vinegar. Thrushes feed greedily upon the fruit. The 

 hard wood is esteemed in some departments of cabinet 

 work. h. 



The Apple Tree (Pyrus malus) has oblong, abruptly- 

 acuminate leaves, mostly downy on under surface ; stem 

 fifteen to twenty-five feet high ; branches geniculate ; 

 fruit depressed, globous or oblong, umbilicate at base. 

 Branches and twigs spreading towards the top from a 

 broad, bushy crown. Brought originally from Middle 

 Asia, but now grows wild in Germany and other parts 

 of Europe so abundantly that it is reckoned as native. 

 The Romans, according to Pliny, cultivated twenty-two 

 varieties, but there are now, it is said, one thousand vari- 

 eties, if not more, raised in the United States. The 

 Wild or Common Crab Apple, native of the Middle 

 States, although rough, hard, and sour, so as to be alto- 

 gether uneatable the common ancestor of the present 

 race is now becoming scarce in the old settlements of 

 Pennsylvania. In former times the ripe fruit was much 

 sought after, as it was much used for preserves. Its 

 loss, however, is more than made up for by the excel- 

 lence of the present race. The apple, conducing in so 

 many various ways to the nutriment and comfort of man, 

 may be considered as being not among the least of the 

 many gifts bestowed so liberally by the Beneficent Cre- 

 ator, h. 



The Common Pear (Pyrus communis), Linn., Endl. 

 Branches more erect than those of the apple tree ; leaves 

 smooth, notched, and oblong. In a wild state, found 

 armed with thorns, which are lost when the tree is culti- 

 vated. Found wild in the forests of Europe, but has 

 been known and planted in gardens from the earliest 

 times. The Romans had twenty-two varieties (Pliny). 



