552 



THE MEDLAR AND THE TRUE SERVICE. 



by grafting at the height of five feet ■ six feet on the pear, the thorn, or 

 the mountain ash. The quince is ge ly planted in the orchard, in some 

 part where the soil is good and some t moist : it bears on two-years old 

 wood, and requires little pruning except thinning out crossing, crowded, or 

 decaying branches. Trained against an espalier, it blossoms in May or the 

 beginning of June, and the fruit in October or November makes a fine 

 appearance. The fruit may be kept in the same manner as the apple, on 

 shelves ; or packed in sand, or kiln-dried straw. 



SuBSECT lY.— The Medlar. 



1174. TAe JfeJ/ar, Mespilus germanica, Z,. (Neflier, Fr. ; Mispelbaum, 

 Ger.', Mispelboom, Dutch; Nespolo, Ital,; and Nespero, Span. — E. B. 

 1523 ; Arh. Brit. vol. ii. p. 877 ; and Z'nc^c. of Trees and Shrubs, p. 414), is 

 a low deciduous tree, with crooked tortuous branches, a native of Europe 

 and the w^st of Asia, in bushy places and w^oods, and said to be found wild 

 m Kent, Sussex, and some other parts of England. It flowers in May and 

 June, and the fruit is ripe in November. It is eaten raw, in a state of 

 incipient decay, when it has a peculiar flavour and acidulous taste, relished 

 by some but disliked by others. 



1175. Varieties. — The Dutch medlar has the largest fruit ; the Notting- 

 ham medlar has the fruit of a quicker and more poignant taste ; the stone- 

 less medlar has small obovate fruit, without stones or seeds ; and the wild 

 medlar has the leaves, flowers, and fniit smaller than in any of the other 

 kinds except the stoneless. The first and second sorts are alone worth 

 cultivating in small gardens, and as the fruit does not keep long, one 

 tree of each kind will generally be found sufficient. 



1176. Propagation, soil, and other points of culture and management. — 

 Grafting on its own species is considered the best mode of propagation for 

 the medlar as a fruit-tree ; but it will root by layers, and, but with diffi- 

 culty, by cuttings. The seeds, if sown as soon as the fruit is ripe, will come 

 up the following spring, and make plants fit for grafting dwarfs in two years, 

 and standards m three years. It requires a similar soil and situation to 

 the quince, and the same treatment as that tree in every other respect, 

 excepting that no attempt is made to keep the fruit longer than the period 

 of its natural decay. It is laid on wheat straw spread on the shelves, in 

 order that it may not be bruised, and is generally fit to eat about the end of 

 November, and it lasts till the end of January. 



SuBSECT. V — The True Service. 



1177. The True Service, Sorbus domestica, L. ; Pyrus Sorbus Gcprt. and 

 Arb. Brit., (Cornier, Fr. ; Spierlingbaum, Ger. ; Sorbenboem, Dutch ; Sorbo, 

 Ital. ; and Serbal, Span. — E. B. 350 ; Arb. Brit. vol. ii., p. 921 ; and Encyc. 

 of Trees and Shrubs, p. 442), is a middle-size deciduous tree, with a hand- 

 some regular head, a native of France and other parts of central Europe, and 

 of Barbary, in the neighbourhood of Algiers; and a solitary tree of this 

 species has been found in Wyre Forest, near Bewdley in Worcestershire. 

 The leaves are pinnate, and closely resemble those of the mountain ash ; 

 but the fruit is much larger, and, when ripe, is of a rusty bro\Mi, tinged 

 with yellow and red. It flow^ers in May, and the fruit is ripe in October. 

 It is eaten like that of the medlar, but is deemed inferior. There is a pear- 

 shaped variety, one apple -shaped, and a third berry-shaped; the latter 



