The Quince in Western New York. 615 



the main grade is marketed in barrels or half-barrels. The profits 

 ordinarily lie in the two top gra:les. Prices of quinces vary great- 

 ly. This year, most shipments brought poor returns, although 

 the later ones were fairly remunerative, bringing from $2.00 to 

 $2.50 per barrel. The quince barrel used in western New York 

 is the so called pony barrel, holding less than three bushels. The 

 qualit}^ of quinces was low this year. The fruit did not keep 

 long and it had a decided tendency to crack. The former condi- 

 tion was probably due to premature ripening as a result of the 

 prolonged drought, and the cracking was evidently the result of 

 the fall rains in swelling out the fruit. It is noticeable that the 

 placing of each individual fruit bj^ hand in the small packages, 

 brings fully as good returns as it does in peaches and other de- 

 sert fruits, and this is a sufficient answer to those persons who say 

 that because the quince is not consumed raw therefore it is not 

 worth while to "fuss with the packing. " 



Varieties. — The varieties of quince are few, and yet not more 

 than half of them are known in western New York. The only 

 variety which is generally esteemed is the Orange or Apple, 

 which is uniformly reliable and productive, and, being of mid-sea- 

 son, may be used either for early or late market. The variety is 

 not uniform, however. There are various more or less distinct but 

 unnamed strains of it. It tends strongly to reproduce itself from 

 seeds, as I have proved by experiment. While the Orange quince 

 should comprise far the greater part of every commercial quince 

 plantation in this state, I am convinced that a few trees of an 

 earlier variety, like the Rea, and of a later variety, like the Cham- 

 pion, will be found to be desirable. The only varieties which 

 compete for favor in this state appear to be four, the Orange, 

 Champion, Rea, and Meech. Other varieties, of which about a 

 half-dozen have been prominently mentioned, are not yet sufficient- 

 ly tested to allow of an intelligent report. 



Our own quince plantation was set in the spring of 1889, and it 

 comprises, chiefly, the four varieties mentioned above. The first 

 fruits were borne in 1891. Taking the productiveness of the 

 Orange quince per tree as 10 as a basis of comparison, the yields 

 for the various years stand as follows : 



