THE APPLE AND PEAR TREES 



was originally taken from the Celtic word peren, 

 from which the English word was derived. 

 The specific name, Mains, is the ancient clas- 

 sical name for the apple tree. . 

 Common Pear ^ pyramidal tree, 30 to 70 feet 

 Tree high. T/ie bark is smooth, and 

 pyrus communis ^j^^ braiiches incHne to be thorny, 

 especially when the tree has escaped cultivation. 

 Smooth stems and sm,all pointed buds. Alter- 

 nate incojispicuous leaf-scars, with three btmdle- 

 scars. 



As distinctive in shape as the apple tree, but 

 in striking contrast to it, the erect pyramidal 

 head of the pear tree is easily recognized in 

 winter, and its small, pointed buds and smooth 

 stems offer other points of difference. Like 

 the apple tree, the pear tree has been in cultiva- 

 tion for hundreds of years and there are innu- 

 merable varieties. It seems incongruous that 

 so small a tree should live to a great age, but 

 Bosc alludes to pear trees more than four 

 hundred years old, and Knight tells of several 

 which date back to the fifteenth century. 



The wood is heavy and compact, and is used 

 in Europe by wood engravers and turners. A 

 drink called perry is made from pears in much 

 the same way that cider is made from apples. 

 It was considered an antidote to mushroom 



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