11 
frosts, and it can be said that it is the best contribution Mongolia has 
ever made to our gardens. Prinsepia sinensis has proved difficult to 
propagate but occasionally produces a few seeds which have germinated. 
It can be increased, too, by cuttings but it is doubtful if this shrub 
becomes popular in this country until the Arboretum plants begin to 
fruit more freely. The second species, Prinsepia uniflora, from west- 
ern China, with narrower leaves and smaller white flowers, is perfectly 
hardy but in every way a less desirable ornamental plant. Either 
species would make an excellent hedge. 
There is a good collection of wild Pear-trees growing in the Arbor- 
etum, especially those from western China, and some of them are 
among the most beautiful of all flowering trees. To pomologists, too, 
they are of special interest'as the wild types from which the cultivated 
pears have been derived, and as possible factors in the production of 
new and perhaps hardier races of fruit trees. There is no native Pear- 
tree in Japan or any part of America, but they are common and widely 
distributed in China, on the Himalayas, in southwestern Asia and in 
southeastern and southern Europe. The most important Pear-tree but 
not the most beautiful in flower is Pyrus communis, one of the Euro- 
pean species from which the common garden pears have been derived. 
Some of the species, like Pyrus elaeagrifolia, of southeastern Europe 
are conspicuous in early spring before the flowers open from the silver 
color of the leaves, but as ornamental trees some of the Chinese species 
are better worth cultivating than those from Europe or western Asia. 
All the Chinese species are now growing in the Arboretum and many 
of them have large, handsome, lustrous leaves and fruit which is con- 
spicuous. Among the species longest in the Arboretum the handsomest 
is perhaps P. ovidea, a native of the northern provinces and one of the 
first in the collection to open its flowers. These are followed by yellow 
juicy fruit of good flavor which, unlike those of all other Pear-trees, 
are largest at the base and gradually taper to the apex. Another re- 
markable thing about this tree is that in the autumn the leaves turn 
as bright scarlet as those of any Red Maple. As an ornamental tree 
this Pear-tree deserves the attention of gardeners and its hardiness 
and the quality of its fruit suggest its possible value in the production 
of a new race of fruit trees. Another Chinese species, Pyrus Bret- 
schnetderi, is also well worth the attention of pomologists. It is a tree 
with large lustrous leaves, large flowers and yellow, nearly globose well 
flavored fruit. This is probably, in part at least, the wild origin of 
the excellent pears which are sold in Peking during September and 
October. The brown-fruited Pyrus serotina, one of the species dis- 
covered by Wilson in western China, is of particular interest as from 
this species are derived the round russet pears which in many forms 
have been so generally cultivated in Japan and are occasionally seen 
in America. This tree has been growing in the Arboretum since 1887. 
The Leconte and Keiffer Pears are two hybrids well known in this 
country where they were raised by crossing the garden Pear with cuP 
tivated forms of P. serotina. These hybrids have not proved very 
hardy in the north, but have been planted in immense numbers in some 
of the southern states where they produced large crops of fruit until the 
trees were attacked by the pear blight which has ruined many of these 
