4-20 ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM.
many are consitlerecl to be species. The fruit of the pear, in a wild state is
seldom more than a fourth part of the size of even the most ordinary cultivated
varieties ; and it is also austere, and unlit to eat. The plant is always
found on a dry sod, and more frequently on plains than on hills or mountains
; and solitary, or m small groups, rather than in woods and forests The
rfte of growth is 2 or Sfeet a year for the first 6 or 7 years ; in 10 years
I t will attain t f t height of 20 f t . in gardens ; and in 30 years the height of
f t f t . , with a trunk from 1 ft. to 18in. in diameter ; which may be considered
Its average dimensions in Britain. Tlie tree is of great longevity. M. Bosc
says that he has seen trees that were considered to be more than 400 vears
old I and Mr. Knight believes that there are trees of the Teynton squash
(a famous perry pear) which existed as early as the beginning of the fifteenth
century. All writers on trees, from Theophrastus to the present day, a«ree
that, as the tree grows old, it increases in fruitfulness ; which is, indeed “the
case with most other trees. mu-cu, tne
The wood of the wild pear is heavy, strong, compact, of a fine grain, and
sh fttly tinged with red. It weighs, green, 79 Ib. 5 oz. per cubic foot ; and
vtoen diy, from 49 lb to 53 Ib. This wood, in common with that of all the
riosaceie, is liable to have its natural colour changed bv steeping it in water •
which ought, therefore, to be avoided when it is intended for particular pur!
poses. '7 1« COocNlir .1 . 1. . 1 1 . , • . t
scarcel’
t u r n f t a f t pa.._. ... ,
mticles which are dyed black in imitation of ebonv. As fuel, the wood of
the pear is excellent, producing a vivid and dimable flame, accompanied bv
m f n excellent cliarcoal. The leaves, according
Withering, afford ayellow dye, and may be used to give a green to blue cloths.
Hie great use of the pear tree, however, is as a fruit tree. The fruit is u.sed
preserving. I t is also occasionally used in
tarts thougli very inferior for this purpose to apples. In France and Belgium
the fruit IS veiy generally dried in ovens, in whicli state it forms an article of
commerce both domestic and foreign, and will keep a year. It is also dried in
this manner in Russia; and, when stewed, is excellent, either as a substitute
lor pies a f t puddlnp, or as forming part of the dessert. I t is essential that
the soil should be dry ; and, where the tree is intended to grow large and be
productive, it ought to be deep and good. There are few trees better adapted
for being grown m hedgerows than the fastigiate-growing varieties of pear
ftcaiise their roots descend perpendicularly, and can, therefore, never interfere
with the p.ough ; and the heads, whether fastigiate or spreadin« it is
known from experience, do very little injury to pasture. If, thereforS fasti-
mate-growing trees, producing excellent sorts of fruit, were planted in all
hedges, a very great benefit would result to the proprietors and to the public
l ie wild pear is continued by seed; and the varieties cultivated for thoir
fru t are budded or grafted on stocks of different kinds. For the poorer
Z I ’rta I"'ra® foe wilJ pear o f the given locality must,
doubtless, be the best, because they must be the hardiest: but it is found from
f tf trie n c e and It IS consistent with physiological principles, that, on good
tree ami dm f" b " hf"'' eultlvatft entirely as a fruit tree, both the
tree and the frmt will grow larger when the stock is a seedling pear of some
vigorous-growing variety. When dwarf trees are required, the pear is grafted
on the quince, the medlaiq or the th o rn ; or on the mo^itain" ash, o f
thm? grows remarkably well on the common hawtom
n ; th o u ft un p s t h e g r f t be made under ground, it does not form a
ra! f " '? .® '1'.®®/ as the scion increases faster in diameter
than the stock, it is liable to be blown off. When the graft, however is
made clo.se to the surface of the ground, or iraraediatelv under the surface,
the loot f t f t s in neariy the same proportion as the scion, and there is no
ftiifti- of tlie tree being blown down, or of its not being sufficiently Ion«-
XXVI. h o sa ' c e a : : p y ' r u s .
5 2. P. (c .) 5 a l v i f o ' l i a Dec. The Sage-leaved,
Aurelian, or Orleans, Pear Tree.
Ucnlipcaiion. Dec. Fl. F r., 531., in a n o te ; Prod., 2, p. 634. ;
Don’s Mill., 2. p. 622.
Sunonvme. Poirier Sauger D ’Owch in Bibl. Phys. Econ. Mai
1817 p. 299.
Engravings. Bot. Beg., 1482. ; andoav,/7g. 763.
Spec. Char., Branches thick. Buds tomentose.
Leaves lanceolate, entire, tomentose all over
4 21
763. P . (c.) salvifdlia.
surface. Fruit thick, long, fit for making perry.
Wild and cultivated about Orleans, in France.
(Dec. Prod.) Introduced by the London Ilorti-
cultural Society, in 1826; and, in our opinion,
only a variety of the common wild pear.
i 3. P. ( c .) n i v a ' l i s Lin. fil. The %x\owj~leavcd Pear Tree.
Idenlificaiion. Lin. fil. Suppl., 2-53. ; Jac. F). Austr,,
t. 107.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 634. ; Don’s Mill., 2. p.
623.
Engravings. Jacq. Fl. Austr., t. 107.; and ouryig. 764.
Spec. Char., S/c. Leaves oval, entire, obtuse,
white and silky beneath. Corymbs terminal.
Fruit globose, very acid, except
when ripe and beginning to decay, when
it becomes very sweet. {Dec. Prod.) A
native of the Alp.s of Austria, where it
grows to the height of 10 or 12 feet. It
was introduced into the Horticultural
Society’s Garden in 1826, or before; and
is already 15 ft. high, forming a very handsome
white-foliaged tre e ; though, as we
think, decidedly only a variety, or race, of
the common wild pear. c. (c.i „«iii..
If 4. P. (c .) s i n a ' i c a Thouin. The Mount Sinai Pear Tree.
765. P . (c.) sinMca.
Idenlificatian. Thouin Mem. Mus., 1. 170. t. 9. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 634,; Don’s Mill., 2. p, 622.
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