The Apples 



Wild Crab Apple (Malus coronaria, Mill.)— A low, bushy 

 tree, with thorny angular twigs, rarely 30 feet high. Bark 

 reddish brown, scaly. Wood heavy, fine grained, weak, reddish 

 brown. Buds small, blunt, bright red. Leaves ovate or trian- 

 gular, 3 to 4 inches long, half as broad, velvety beneath, blunt 

 pointed, sharply serrate, often lobed near base; petioles i^ to 2 

 inches long. Flowers May to June, after the leaves, in 5 to 6 

 flowered umbels, perfect, white to deep pink, spicy, fragrant — 

 I to 2 inches across. Fruit flattened, yellow, i inch in diameter; 

 flesh hard, sour. September. Preferred habitat, upland woods, 

 in moist, rich soil. Distribution, Ontario to Minnesota; south 

 along Alleghanies to Alabama; Nebraska to eastern Texas; New 

 York to South Carolina. Uses: An ornamental, flowering tree. 

 Fruit made into jellies and preserves. Wood used for levers, tool 

 handles, etc. 



The wild, sweet-scented crab apple! The bare mention of 

 its name is enough to make the heart leap up, though spring be 

 months away, and barriers of brick hem us in. In the comer 

 of the back pasture stands a clump of these trees, huddled together 

 like cattle. Their flat, matted tops reach out sidewise until the 

 stubby limbs of neighbouring trees meet. It would not occur 

 to anyone to call them handsome trees. But wait! The twigs 

 silver over with young foliage, then coral buds appear, thickly 

 sprinkling the green leaves. Now all their asperity is softened, 

 and a great burst of rose-coloured bloom overspreads the treetops 

 and fills the air with perfume. It is not mere sweetness, but an 

 exquisite, spicy, stimulating fragrance that belongs only to wild 

 crab-apple flowers. Linnxus probably never saw more than a 

 dried specimen, but he named this tree most worthily, coronaria, 

 "fit for crowns and garlands." 



Break off an armful of these blossoming twigs and take 

 them home. They will never be missed. Be thankful that 

 your friends in distant parts of the country may share your 

 pleasure, for though this particular species does not cover the 

 whole United States, yet there is a wild crab apple for each 

 region. 



In the fall the tree is covered with hard little yellow apples. 

 They have a delightful fragrance, but they are neither sweet nor 

 mellow. Take a few home and make them into jelly. Then 

 you will understand why the early settlers gathered them for 



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