PY V RUS. 



237 



PY BUS. 



wax-coloured, and almost transparent 

 when ripe. Though commonly cul- 

 tivated for its fruit, as useful for the 

 table, it well deserves a place on the 

 lawn as an ornamental plant, from 

 the extraordinary beauty of the Crabs. 

 The ornamental Pears are the follow- 

 ing : P. salvifblia, which has woolly 

 leaves like those of the Sage, and, 

 like all the Pears, white flowers ; this ' 

 peculiarity, independently of other 

 marks, distinguishing them from the 

 Apples, which have always reddish 

 flowers. P. amygdalceformis is an- 

 other ornamental species, which has 

 silvery- white leaves, and fruit shaped 

 like that of the Almond ; and to 

 these may be added, P. eleagnifblia, 

 which has long narrow white leaves 

 like those of the Eleagnus ; P. sali- 

 cifblia, with long, narrow, silky 

 leaves like those of the willow ; and 

 P. nivalis, which has round leaves of 

 a snowy whiteness. All these species 

 have small green fruit not good to eat ; 

 but the trees are most ornamental 

 from their shape and the singular co- 

 lour of their foliage. The following 

 kinds of Pyrus belong to the section 

 A'ria. P. Aria, and its varieties, P. 

 A. angustifblia and P. A. cretica, 

 the White Beam Tree, are admired 

 for the beauty of their leaves, which 

 are green above and white beneath, 

 and for the bright scarlet fruit which 

 they produce in great abundance. P. 

 vestlta, the Nepal White Beam 

 Tree, is a rare and beautiful object, 

 as its leaves, which are clothed with 

 a thick white wool beneath, are of a 

 large size, and dye off in autumn of a 

 most beautiful pale yellow. Other 

 ornamental species of Pyrus are as 

 follows : P. variolosa, remarkable 

 for the varying forms of its foliage, 

 which is sometimes pinnate, like that 

 of the Mountain Ash, and sometimes 

 deeply lobed and cut, like that of the 

 Hawthorn, or entire and cordate and 

 pointed, like that of the Pear. It is 

 somewhat tender, and thrives best in 



a sheltered situation, or against a wall. 

 P. tormindlis, the Griping Wild Ser- 

 vice Tree, is remarkable for the beauti- 

 ful form of its leaves, which, however, 

 are unfortunately very apt to be eaten 

 by insects. The buds are large, of a 

 beautiful green, and very ornamental 

 in the winter season. Pyrus aucu- 

 paria, the Mountain Ash, is a well- 

 known small tree, beautiful both 

 when in flower and in fruit, and worth 

 cultivating for its foliage alone. 

 Pyrus americana, the American 

 I Mountain Ash, resembles the com- 

 mon sort, but has larger leaves and 

 smaller fruit, though it is of a much 

 deeper red* Pyrus Sorbus, the com- 

 mon Service Tree, has foliage like 

 that of the Mountain Ash, but larger ; 

 and the fruit resembles that of the 

 common Pear, but much smaller, and 

 not ornamental though it is eatable. 

 Pyrus spuria, a native of Kams- 

 chatka, has leaves like the elder, and 

 small black fruit : the leaves of this 

 species die off in autumn of an in- 

 tensely deep purple, which is almost 

 black. There is a pendulous variety, 

 P. s. pendula, which is one of the 

 most ornamental of drooping-branched 

 small trees ; and, as neither the va- 

 ' riety nor the species exceed twelve 

 feet or fifteen feet in height, they are 

 admirably adapted for small gardens. 



The following kinds of Pyrus are 

 shrubs, and very ornamental, both for 

 their fruit and flowers : P. arbuti- 

 folia, has white flowers and black 

 fruit, and the leaves of this be- 

 come of a beautiful red in autumn, 

 there are six or eight varieties, com- 

 monly treated as species ; P. chamce- 

 mespilus, which has large white flow- 

 ers and red or black fruit, and P. 

 floribunda, which grows about four 

 feet high, and sends down weeping 

 branches all round, which are covered 

 with such a profusion of white flowers 

 during the flowering season, that the 

 plant looks like a hillock covered with 

 snow. These last-mentioned shrubby 



