QUINCE-TREE. 335 



ancients, to be the emblem of love, happiness, and fruit fulness. It was dedicated 

 to Venus, and the temples of that goddess at Cyprus and Paphos were decorated 

 with it. The nuptial chambers of the Greeks and Romans were adorned with 

 the fruit; and the bride and bridegroom also ate of it as soon as the marriage 

 ceremony was performed. Tlie learned Goropins maintains that quinces were the 

 " golden apples of the Hesperides," and not oranges, as some commentators have 

 supposed. In support of his argument, he says that it was a fruit much revered 

 by the ancients; and he assures us, that there has been discovered at Rome, a 

 statue of Hercules, that held in its hand three quinces. "This," he says, 

 "agrees with the fable which states, that Hercules stole the golden apples from 

 the gardens of the Hesperides." The Farnese Hercules, however, has apples in 

 his hand, but not quinces. It has also been alleged, that the golden fruit thrown 

 by Hippomenes to Atalanta were quinces, and that the fruit of the "forbidden 

 tree," which the Jewish traditions describe as " golden," was the quince. 



Soil and Situation. The quince prefers a moist but free soil, near water, and 

 a situation rather open, but sheltered. In dry soils, neither the tree nor the fruit 

 will attain a large size ; and in situations exposed to high winds, the fruit is lia- 

 ble to fall before mature. The finest specimens of quince-trees, in Britain, are 

 said to be found in old orchards adjoining ponds; it being customary, formerly, 

 to plant a quince-tree in every apple orchard. If the soil be too dry or meagre, an 

 artificial one may be prepared, as recommended for the Gordonia lasianthus; or, 

 a hole may be excavated for each tree to a depth of ten or twelve feet, and then 

 filling it with loose stones to within two or three feet of the surface, and the 

 remainder with rich loamy earth or mould. Such a preparation is well worthy 

 of the expense in every garden where this tree will not otherwise grow. 



Propagation and Cnllnre. The quince may be as readily propagated from 

 seeds as the apple and pear; but the quickest mode of raising plants is by layers. 

 It will also grow by cuttings, planted in autumn in a moist, sandy soil. The trees, 

 when planted as standards, should be situated about ten feet apart, and once set 

 out, require but little attention, beyond that of removing the suckers from the 

 roots, and the side-shoots from the main stems. To have the fruit of a large size, 

 the head of the tree should be kept open by thinning out the shoots; and the 

 fruit ought also to be thinned out, leaving no more on the tree than it can well 

 mature. The tree is of moderately rapid growth, when young, acquiring, in 

 four or five years, a height of six or eight feet; and in ten or twelve years, it 

 attains an elevation of fifteen feet, after which, it continues to increase chiefly in 

 the width of its head. 



Insects. The greatest enemy to the quince-tree is the borer, or larva, of the 

 Saperda bivittata, described in our article on the common apple-tree. It perfo- 

 rates the stems, in a similar manner as it does the trunks of the apple, the haw- 

 thorn, the June berry, and the mountain ash, and may be destroyed by the same 

 modes recommended for the apple-tree. 



Properties and Uses. The wood of the quince, when found of sufticient dimen- 

 sions, is applied to the purposes of turnery; but from its small size, this tree is 

 almost entirely cultivated for its fruit, or as stocks on which to graft the moun- 

 tain ash, and the pear. In France, however, this tree is sometimes grown for 

 hedges. The fruit is seldom eaten by itself, but is generally preserved in syrup, 

 or is made into marmalade, or mixed with apples in tarts. In France, it is man- 

 ufactured into " marmelades," "pates," and " gelees," known by the general 

 name o{ cotignac ; and a very agreeable liquor is extracted from it, called eau de 

 coings. According to Gerard, quinces are hurtful to the head, by reason of their 

 strong smell ; and, when eaten from the tree, they have " a kind of choking 

 taste." Medicinally, they are considered as cooling, astringent, and stomachic. 

 The expressed juice of this fruit, taken in small quantities, is of service in nausea, 



