204 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
_ 
apex and the narrow end at the insertion of the stalk, 
hut the fruit of this tree, unlike that of any other Pear 
tree, is ovoid, that is, it is broad at the insertion of the 
stalk and tapers to the apex. The fruit is about an inch 
and a half long, yellow, and of fairly good flavor. This 
tree was introduced into Europe nearly fifty years ago 
probably from northern China and has been known there 
as Pyrus Simonii. That name, however, had been given 
to a different species and this tree has now been named 
Pyrus ovoidea. It is possible that this species has also 
played some part in the development of the Chinese gar¬ 
den Pears. Pyrus ovoidea is one of the first of the Pear 
trees to open its flowers which are now fully expanded. 
The flowers of the other Chinese species and those from 
Europe will open during the next week. A supplemen¬ 
tary collection of these trees has recently been planted at 
the base of Peter's Hill, and the new species discovered 
by Wilson in western China have also been planted in a 
special Chinese collection on Hussey llill. 
The Shad Bushes 
The Arboretum is now gay with these plants which 
have been largely used here in the plantations along many 
of the drives. The general collection is in the border be¬ 
tween the Meadow Road and the parallel walk on the left- 
hand side entering from the Jamaica Plain gateway. The 
distribution of these plants is peculiar. One species, a 
small shrub, occurs in the mountain regions of central 
Europe; another shrubby species is rather a rare plant in 
Japan, with a variety in western China where it is com¬ 
mon and sometimes grows to the size of a small tree. In 
North America the genus is distributed from Labrador to 
Florida, and from the Atlantic to the northwest coast re¬ 
gion, with several species in the dry interior region of the 
continent as far south as Arizona. The common name for 
these plants and their fruit among several of the northern 
tribes of Indians, Saskatoon, has been adopted for what 
is now an important city in Saskatchewan on the river ol 
that name. Several species are common in the northeast¬ 
ern states and these in early spring add greatly to the 
beauty of woods and swamps in this part of the country. 
Two of these species are native plants in the Arboretum, 
Amelanchier laevis and A. oblongifolia. The first is a 
tree of considerable size and an inhabitant of rich upland 
woods and dry banks. From the other species it may be 
distinguished by the red color of the young leaves. Until 
recently considered the A. canadensis of Linnaeus it has 
appeared under that name in nearly all American publica¬ 
tions, but the true A. canadensis is now known to be a 
tree of the western and southern states where it is the 
only species and easily distinguished by the covering of 
soft pale hairs on the under surface of the leaves. Large 
wild plants of A. laevis are growing on the wooded bank 
in the rear of the Grabapple Collection on the Forest Hills 
Road. A. oblongifolia is a large shrub rather than a tree, 
although tree-like specimens sometimes occur, and is easily 
distinguished from A. laevis by the silvery color of the 
young leaves which at this season of the year are thickly 
covered with silky hairs. There is a large native speci¬ 
men on the border of the meadow across the path from 
the Amelanchier Collection, and it is this species which 
has been most generally planted in the Arboretum and 
which may be seen along the borders of many New Eng¬ 
land swamps. There has always been much confusion 
about the American species of this genus, and it is only 
in late years that botanists are beginning to understand 
them. Reliance on the herbarium rather than on the liv¬ 
ing plants in their study, the inadequate descriptions of 
the authors who first described them, and the probable 
tendency of these plants to produce natural hybrids has 
until recently left them in what once appeared a hopeless 
state of confusion. The Arboretum has for many years 
been bringing together these plants in order to afford an 
opportunity for the critical study of the growing plants, 
and now in addition to the Asiatic and European species 
the following American species and some supposed hy¬ 
brids are in flower in the collection, or will be in flower 
in a few days: Amelanchier alnifolia from the northwest 
coast, A. canadensis now nearly out of flower, A. laevis, 
A. oblongifolia, A. sanguinea, A. humilis, A. stolonifera, 
J. B. PILKINGTON, 
Portland, Ore. 
Member of Executive Committee, 
American Association of Nurserymen. 
THOS. B. MEEHAN, 
Dresber, Pa. 
Member of Executive Committee, 
American Association of Nurserymen. 
WM. PITKIN, 
Rochester, N. Y. 
Chairman Legislation Committee, 
east of Mississippi River. 
