428 A R B O R E T U M E T F R U T IC E T U M B R IT A N N IC U M .
testimony of gardeners. (Dec P™« 1 i , ^ around Astrachan, on the
the kitchen’ have been o S e d ? ther t Z Z ?
cross-feeundation ; and that To ? h e r wLl s£. tt.?b°e"en Z ^ " *>¥
we except Pyrus coronària : which Iiowpvìh- used, unless, perhaps,
employed In cross-fecundation. These «ardeu or
hereafter appear, are very numerous ■ hut tho „ as will
which are handsome-growing trees or have fruit of ° “ ‘"S selection of sorts,
been made for us by Mr. Thomns/n of ? h i w S ® P®“ ‘®“ 'ar character, has
from th e e o lle c tio n Z d e rh is eZe 1 «»« .cu ltu ral Society’s Garden,
'Uhf> T i o A A r . t . . ^ - L__ mi
---AW ».GtllCULlUU v-wwv-i »no ».illU : _______________ “ ‘M
^1sota? right®?A I t f t frnit
the precfting sort, but has the branches' tendin^?®n°w'I'rds wh " ’®® ‘■®"®” “ ®®
“ S " ,s. '■ '■ - . i . K i s i i r i £ S 2
^ t S s t t " “ "■®® ‘''® with very dark small fruit of no
"’t f r t t e e f v e ? ? e ? x ® p T „ S & t e i ; i “■®®’ ™ «°werand,
consequently, the latter are seldom’ If ! ® same time .as, the flowers ;
reason, it d comftonly cal ed by ?? d e ? ? s t? ’ 7 wWctr
French paradise stock? t h ^ t l e Z ^ : be re p t o? a t e " / ™ fo®
E ? " >
s .r z t '4 Z .: £ ” 3 > “ ■■■ ■"» a b f tt the size and colour of a llrge cherry’ ‘ numerous, and
® ° - "^® fo®e is
Biggs, the c i i ? t o ? f r £ ? r£ c e ta (ffrom ‘s h «arden, by Mr.
gorous.g.-owing t.4c, with p S d Z u s b r a i c l s a n ?
which, in form and character, are In te rm eZ fT h f Sundance of fruit,
f td P (M ) baccàta, and wtoc“ r o f he
e r e t t r """ foi® tre e'a ;;r :te sta rb':
handsomihi form’a s ^ ' f Z 'p L i Z e r 'L ? ] ? ? * 'bT'"'™*®"’ ’® ™®‘™® ®»
mental, and are, besides, fragrant 'it seldom "® ™»fo more orna- the pear tree; theoldes a p t e e s L o w n t e “ ''®""®™ ‘'’® ‘‘“ ght of
35 feet in height. The trn"n"k ifg®e?rata ?oS®®a"n®l T "hove =30 or
horizontally when young, and when old been?;! ! f branches rambling
the f ta d is also often g £ a te r Tha£ Z e hei?”t of ' 'u " ? '" '® ’ ,,Th» diameter of
much more liable to the canker, and o?her tose? es tr® 'r a ® "'’P'® ‘'’®®
wood of the apple tree. In a wild state, is f i t e S , t ? ? d : t r o 7 i T r ^ w S
X X V I. b o s a ' c e j e ; p y ' r u s . 4 2 9
colour ■ and that of the cultivated apple tree is said to be of a still finer and closer
grain which is a result of cultivation contrary to what is usual. The weight
r f the wood of the apple tree varies much according to the locality m which
it is grown In a green state, it weighs from 48 lb. to 66 lb. per cubic foot ;
and it loses from an eighth to a twelfth of its bulk in d.-ying, and about a tenth
of its weight. The wood of the cultivated tree weiglis heavier than that of
the wild tree, in the proportion of about 66 to 45. The tree, as an object in
Iindscipe scenery, cannot be recommended as harmonising well with other
forms ; but, as it has a character of its own, and as the fruit is of the greatest
use to the poor, as well as to the rich, it deserves introduction into every
hedverow and every orchard. For hedgerows, it is more especially desirable,
as, though not so fastigiate as the pear, it does very little injury to the crops
by its shade; and it may be added, that, in nurseries and market-gardens, the
former more especially, young trees of almost every kind thrive under the
shade both of the apple and the pear. The crab is used as a stock for the cultivated
apple, and for all the other species and varieties of this division of the
genus ; but, as we have before observed, it will not serve as a stock for the
pear, or any of the plants included in that or the other divisions of Fyriis.
In France, and also in some parts of Germany, the thorny wild apple, or crab,
is formed into live hedges, the branches of which, according to Agricola, are
inarched into each other, in order to give them more strength to resist cattle.
The fruit of the crab, in the forests of France, is a great resource for the
wild hoar; and it is also given in that country to swine and cows. A drink
of it, called boisson, is made in some parts of France, as well as in England ;
and verjuice is a well-known description of vinegar produced from the most
austere of the fruit. The bark affords ,a yellow dye ; and the leaves are eaten
by horses, cows, sheep, and goats. Fomatum, according to Gerard, was so
called from its being anciently made of the pulp of apples beaten up with
“ swine’s grease” (lai-d) and rose-water. The uses of the apple as an eatable
fruit arc very numerous, and well known. The ap|)le, as a fruit tree, will do
no good, except in a fertile soil and a sheltered situation. All the best apple
orchards of England, and more especially those of the cider districts, it has
been observed by geologists, follow the ti-act of red sandstone, which sti-etches
across the island from Dorsetshire to Yorkshire. I t has been observed in
Ireland (see DtciSti Soc. Trans.), that the best orchards there are on limestone
gravel ; and, in Scotland, that the few orchards which are to be found
in that country are on soils more or less calcareous. On the Continent, the
two districts most famous for apple trees are Normandy and the Vale of
Stuttgard ; and the subsoil, in both countries, is well known to be limestone.
In short, every kind of fruit, to be brought to perfection, requires a soil more
or less calcareous.
The proptigation and culture of the apple are the same as those ot the
})ear tree. Wild crabs, like wild pears, are gathered when they are fully ripe,
and either laid in a heap to rot, or passed between fluted rollers, and the
crushed fruit pressed for the juice, which is made into an inferior kind o f cider
or perry, and the seeds are afterwards separated from the pomace by maceration
in water and sifting. The apple, like the pear, may be grafted on the
common thorn ; but it does not form nearly so desirable a tree on that stock
as the pear does, and therefore crab stocks are always to be preferred. As
a fruit tree, where it is intended to be grown as a dwarf, the paradise stock
effects for it what the quince does for the pear, and the Cerasus Mahàleh for
the cherry. (See Encyc. of Gard., edit. 1835.)
Y S 18. P. CORONA' r i a L. The g’òxXanà-fowering Apple Tree,
Identification. Lin. Sp,, 687. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 635. ; Don’s Mill., 2. p. 647.
Synonymes. Màlas coronària Mill. ; Crab Apple, th e sweet-scented Crab. Amer.
£igravings. N. Du Ham., 6. pi. 44. f. 1. ; Bot. Mag., t. 2009. ; Michx. Arb., 2. t. 65. ; the plate m
Arb. Brit., 1st edit., vol. vi. ; and ourj?g. 777.
Spec. Char., 4c. Leaves broadly ovate, rounded at the base, subangulate,
serrated, smooth. Peduncles in corymbs, glabrous. Flowers odorous,