110 FAMILIAR TREES 



consisting of "four white leaves a-piece," since, 

 like all tjrpical rosaceous blossoms, they have, 

 almost invariably, five petals. The styles vary in 

 number from two to four, but seem to be most 

 commonly three, and they are thickly covered with 

 hairs at the base. By October the fruits are ripe and 

 of a bright scarlet colour dotted over with the little 

 brown points which have given them the name of 

 Chess-apples. They are sub-globose and aboixt half 

 an inch in diameter, their orange-coloured flesh -being 

 mealy, and acid and astringent until bletted ; whilst the 

 core is leathery and contains two seeds in each of its 

 chambers. Squirrels, hedgehogs, and birds eagerly 

 devour these hedgerow apples, and accordingly in 

 France they are protected by law as a reward for 

 those farmers' friends, the insectivorous birds. 



The wood of the White Beam was form,erly much 

 used, especially in France, for small turned articles, 

 and more particularly for cogs, which is the origin 

 of its French name " alouchier " or " aHouchier,' 

 " alluchon " being a French term for a cog. Of 

 the many local names which this tree bears in the 

 British Isles, " Cumberland Hawthorn " woidd seem 

 to be merely one of Gerard's deUberate coinages; 

 whilst " Sea Ouler," quoted by Parkinson from that 

 part of England, is merely Sea Alder, the tree being 

 specially luxuriant on the exposed seaward front of 

 the Mountain Limestone hills of Lancashire, and 

 its leaf being sufl&ciently similar in form to that 

 of the Alder. 



Though several varieties have been described as in 

 cultivation, such as obtus'ifolia, aeu'tifolia, undvla'ta, ' 



