SERVICE TREE. 



SORBUS. 



POMACEJE. ICOSANDRIA TRIGYNIA. 



French, sorbier ; Italian, sorbo. 



THE Service tree,Sorbus Domestica,is called in French, 

 sJlizier, in Italian, Bagolaro, Loto. From which last 

 name it is suspected to be the Lotus of the Romans, 

 especially as it seems to agree with the description given 

 by Pliny (Hist. Nat. 13, 17,) of that tree. It is of a 

 middle size ; its growth is very slow, and it attains a 

 great age before it produces any blossom. The leaves 

 are pinnate, and alternate ; the leaflets of which they are 

 composed are opposite, and vary in number from six to 

 nine pairs, with an odd one at the extremity. The blos- 

 soms are of the colour of country cream ; the fruit pear- 

 shaped, of a reddish hue, and spotted ; it is harsh to the 

 taste, and not fit for eating until mellowed by frost or 

 time, when it becomes brown and very soft. 



This tree has been found wild in some parts of Eng- 

 land, and is a native generally of the warmer parts of 

 Europe, where it becomes a much larger and loftier tree 

 than it is here. It flowers in May. The wood is very 

 hard, and is much esteemed for mathematical rules. 



The Wild, or Maple-leaved Service, Sorbus Tormi- 

 naliS) French, Alisier Torminale, Italian, Ciavandello, is 

 a native of England, and many other parts of Europe, 



