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MEDLAR. MESPILUS. 



Natural order, Pomacea. A genus of the Icosandria 

 Pentagynia class. 



Medlar-fruit, delicious in decay." 



THIS fruit was known to the ancient Greeks, as it is 

 mentioned by Theophrastus : but it appears not to have 

 been cultivated in Italy in Cato's days. Pliny mentions 

 three kinds : the Anthedon, the Setanian medlar, which 

 he describes as the largest and palest in colour, and the 

 Gallicum, or Bastard French Medlar. 



Some authors affirm it to have been originally a German 

 fruit ; but the name Anthedon was doubtless given to it 

 from its being brought from a city of that name in Greece ; 

 while the Gallicum is declared by Pliny to have come 

 from France : the Setanian seems to have derived its name 

 from its growing near the marshes of Setia. The Medlar 

 appears also to have been indigenous to this country, as 

 it is mentioned by all our early writers. Tusser calls the 

 fruit Medlers or Meles. Gerard says, "The medlar-tree 

 oftentimes grows in hedges among briars and brambles : 

 being grafted on a white-thorn, it prospers and produces 

 fruit three times as large as those which are not grafted 

 at all, and almost the size of small apples. We have/' 

 says he, " divers sorts of them in our orchards." He 

 mentions the Neapolitan Medlar, with leaves like the 

 hawthorn ; and the Dwarf, growing naturally upon the 

 Alps, and hills of Narbonne and Verona. 



The Dutch Medlar, which is much larger and finer- 



