146 
AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
because it is one of our best and hardiest trees for the garden. The large 
white or reddish blossoms are set on one-colored stalks arranged umbrella- 
fashion. The calyx is externally flat, on the inside downy, the style is flat 
Pyrus baccata is in full blossom the end of May and in June. 
The cherry-like fruits of several of the varieties serve in the fall to beau- 
tify gardens and parks. The fruits of other varieties are used, when they 
have been touched by frost, for preserves, or, in spite of a certain acerbity, as 
a delicacy by the peasantry, as for example the fruit of P. prunifolia. 
In the Gartenflora, 1862, and in the “Russian Pomology,” Yol. I, figures g, 
i, k and 1, the most beautiful varieties of this tree are figured. The varieties 
are as follows: 
1. Genuina. The fruits are nearly spherical, approximately of the size 
of a large currant; the ripe fruits are yellowish purple. This variety is in its 
wild state the most widely distributed. Figured in Gartenflora, p. 364, fig. 2, 
Guimp. fr. Holzgen, p. 126. 
2. Praecox. The fruits are very small, the size of a common currant, dull 
purple when ripe, trasparent after the first frosts. The flavor is milder. 
Figured in Gartenflora, p. 364, fig. 3. Russ. Pomologie I, fig. h. 
3. Oblonga. The fruits are elongated oval, 5-8 inch in length and not 
much smaller in breadth, blood red when ripe. 
4. Aurantiaca. The fruits are roundish oblate, often ribbed, when ripe 
orange colored with dark narrow stripes, 5-8 inch in length, 3-4 inch in breadth. 
Figured in Gartenflora, p. 364, fig. 4. Russ. Pomologie I, fig. i. 
5. Macrocarpa. The fruits are roundish oblate, 3-8 inch in length and some- 
what more in breadth, when ripe yellow with red on the sunny side. 
6. Cerasiformis. The fruits resemble in size and form a moderate sized 
cherry, elliptical, ribbed, 5-8 inch in length and breadth, when ripe yellow, 
later scarlet red on the sunny side or over the entire surface. In fruit 
gardens this variety is known under the name “Chinese apple tree.” The 
fruit is used chiefly for preserves. The tree presents a beautiful appearance 
in autumn. Figured in Gartenflora, p. 364, fig. 1. Russ. Pom. I, fig. 6. 
Synonym; P. cerasiformis Turt. 
7. Conocarpa. The fruits are conical with a broad base tapering at the 
apex, 5-8 inch in length, ribbed, blood red wfiien ripe. 
8. E dulls. Very similar to the variety cerasiformis , the fruit, however, is 
of more pleasant flavor. It is the best variety for preserves. 
9. Costata. Fruit oblate round, % inch in breadth, % inch in length, blood 
red when ripe. 
10. Sanguinea. Similar to the preceding variety, the fruits are, however, 
not ribbed. 
11. Lutea. Fruit the same as that of variety genuina , but when ripe yellow 
with red cheek. 
12. Obconoidea. The fruits have a narrow base, are obconical, ribbed, % 
inch in breadth, when ripe orange yellow with red tracing.” 
In this connection it will be well to give Dr. Regel’s description of Pyrus 
prunifolia, commonly called the large fruited Siberian crab, translated from 
the same source in the same manner (Regel’s Russian Dendrology, Yol. IV, 
p. 266). 
PYRUS PRUNIFOLIA, WILLD. 
“A tree of medium size wh,ich attains a height of up to thirty feet and 
endures the severest frosts. The leaves are oval or broadly oval, obtusely 
