ROSE FAMILY 



Pistil — Of ti\c carpels inserted in the bottom of the calyx tube 

 and united into an interior ovary; stvlcs li\e; stigma capitate: 

 ovules two in each cell. 



Fruit. — Pome or apple ripening in October. Depressed-globular, 

 an inch to an inch ana a half m tlianieter, crowned with calvx lobes 

 and remnant of tilaments ; yelknv green, delightfully fragrant, sur- 

 face sometimes \\,ixy. 1- lesh white, tlelicate and chaiged with ma- 

 lic acid. Seeds mo or. b\" abortion, one in each cell, chestnut 

 brown shining; cc t_\ lei.lons fleshy. 



.As t! ajipic tree aiiKaig" the trees of the wood. 

 So i; 111} bekned aii.ung the sons. 



— SCI.NG or SOLCi.MON. 



Kalni, who was one of the twehe men wlK-ni LJnn.X'tis called his apostles and 

 sent forth to explore the \eL,'etalile world, writes thus from .\merica : 



" Crab-lrees are .r speeies of wild .iiiple-trees, which ytow in the woods and 

 glades, but especiall\' e'U little hillocks, near ruers. In New Jersey the tree is 

 rather scarce ; but in Tenii-^) 1\ ania it is pleiniftil. Se'iiie ]->eople had planted a 

 single tree of this kind near their houses on aceiair.t of the fine smells which its 

 flowers aftbrd. It had begun to open some of its flowers about a dav or two 

 ago ; however, most of them were not yet open. The\- are exactly like the blos- 

 soms of the common apple-trees except th.u the ctilor is a little more reddish in 

 the Crab-trees ; thougli some kinds of the cidtivatetl trees have flowers which 

 are very near as red; Init the smell distinguishes them plainly; tor the wild 

 trees have a very pleasant smell, somewhat like the ras|iberry. 



"The a[:>j:iles. or eriibs, are biiinll. sour and unfit for an\ thing but to make x-ine- 

 gar of. They lie umler the trees all winter and .let-juire a yellow color. They 

 seldom begin to rot before sjiring comes on." 



'When man emerges into bisttiry he has the apple in his 

 hand and the clcig' by his side. \\'e ha\-e no reason to believe 

 that tlie European or Asiatic fmbear from which the apple 

 of civiliz;ition is ucsceiukal \v;is any less h;irsli in taste or any 

 kirger in size th;in cmr own crab. Intleed. were all the apples 

 of civilization swept out id' existence they coukl doubtless be 

 regained bv the cultivatiiai of our n;itive tree. As it is, it 

 stamls in all itswihl ;ind untraiued beauty, its greatest charm 

 h'ing, as Kalm clearh' apprehended, in its rose-colored blos- 

 simis, exquisite in tint ami deliciiuis in fragrance. Its flow- 

 ering time is ten tlavs li"i iwo weeks latei' than tliat of the 

 tlomcstic apple, and its fragrant fiaiit clings to the branches 

 on clustered stems long after the leaves have fallen. 



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