The Wild Pear (_Pyrus communis_) is occasionally met with in woods and hedgerows, where its white flowers may be seen in April or May. The leaves of this tree are simple, elliptical, and serrate; and the smaller branches often terminate in a spine. The flowers are about an inch in diameter, and arranged in corymbs. They have distinct styles--a feature which serves to distinguish the blossom from that of the Wild Apple; and the fruit, which tapers towards the base, is a five-chambered, woody pome, with a horny core. Two varieties of this species occur, one with the base of the fruit conical, and the other with the base rounded. The Crab Apple (_P. Malus_) is very similar in general appearance, but has no spines; and the flowers, which are in sessile umbels, are white, with delicate shades of pink. The styles, also, are united below; and the fruit is globular, yellow or reddish, concave at the insertion of the stalk, very acid, and five-chambered. This tree is common in hedgerows as well as in woods, and flowers during May or early June. [Illustration: THE CRAB APPLE.] In the woods and hedges of South England we commonly meet with the Service Tree (_P. torminalis_)--a small tree with downy twigs, and smooth leaves with from six to ten triangular, serrate lobes. Its flowers are small, white, and arranged in compound cymes. They bloom in April and May; and in the autumn their place is occupied by small, green fruits, spotted with brown, with a two-chambered, brittle core. The White Beam (_P. aria_) is a small tree, commonly found on the outskirts of woods on chalky or limestone soils, which might be confused with the last species. It has large, irregularly-lobed leaves, white and downy beneath, with serrate edges. The general form of the leaf is egg-shaped, while that of the Service Tree is cordate. The corymbs of white flowers bloom in April; and the fruit, though much like that of _P. torminalis_, is spotted with _red_. There are no less than four varieties of this tree, distinguished mainly by the forms of the leaves, the serration of their edges, and the number of lateral veins. [Illustration: THE MOUNTAIN ASH.] We have yet another representative of the Rose order in the Mountain Ash, Rowan, or Fowler's Service Tree (_P. Aucuparia_), which is common in mountainous woods, and supplies an edible fruit. It is a very graceful and beautiful tree, with a smooth greyish bark; and pinnate leaves with from thirteen to seventeen serrate leaflets, downy on the under side. The flowers are small, of a creamy white colour, in large corymbs. They bloom in May and June; and later in the year their place is occupied by the scarlet globular fruits, with a yellow pulp, enclosing from two to four chambers.