118 TREATISE ON FRUIT TREES. 



2°. five petals slightly concave like a spoon. They're white, except in a very few varieties 

 where the margins have some red lines, though far fewer & lighter than those on quince 

 flowers. The size & shape of the petals vary among the different types. 3°. twenty to 

 thirty very long white stamens that terminate in olive-shaped tips and are grooved along 

 their length. 4°. a pistil that consists of five slender styles, not as long as the stamens and 

 surmounted by stigmas, & an ovary that forms part of the calyx. Flowers of pear trees 

 form clusters; the stalks are attached along a small branch or common stalk. 



The ovary becomes a plump succulent fruit terminating in an eye or umbilicus 

 rimmed by the dried up sections of the calyx. The fruit is attached by a stalk that's thick 

 & fairly long, depending on the type. Inside there are five, sometimes only four, capsules 

 or seed compartments surrounding the axis & encased in thin & fragile membranes. Each 

 compartment contains one or two tear-shaped seeds consisting of two lobes & covered 

 with a quite hard pellicle. 



No other tree has as many types & varieties distinguishable by the shape of their 

 fruit. There are pears that are pyriform, round, long, turbinate, gourd-shaped, pyramidal, 

 &c. 



Pear tree leaves are entire and are attached by fairly long stalks to the branch in 

 alternate sequence. Their margins are smooth or more or less denticulate depending on 

 the type. The outer surface is whitish-green or paler than the inner one and accented with 

 thin & not very prominent veins. The inner surface is smooth & slightly shiny, indented 

 with narrow & very shallow grooves that correspond to the veins on the outer side. 



