930 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART IIE 
kinds, some as growing wild in Italy ; and others, that were in cultivation, and 
so large, that they weighed the boughs on which they grew down to the ground: 
he also mentions that some were of a green, and others of a golden, colour. 
The only kind that was eaten raw, he says, “ was the variety grafted on the 
small-fruited quince. ... All kinds of this fruit,” he continues, “ are grown in 
boxes, and placed within the waiting-chambers of our great personages, in 
which men wait to salute these personages as they come forth every morning.” 
It appears, from the same author, that quinces were used -to decorate the 
images of the gods, which were placed, in sleeping-chambers, round the beds ; 
whence it follows, that the Romans did not think that there was anything either. 
injurious or unpleasant in the smell. Pliny gives directions for preserving the’ 
fruit, by excluding the air from them, or boiling them in honey; or, by’ 
lunging them into boiling -honey; a practice in use with this and other fruits 
m Genoa at the present day. The date of the introduction of the quince 
into Britam is unknown. Gerard and Tusser mention it; the former, as 
growing in gardens and orchards, and as being “ planted oftentimes in hedges 
and fences belonging to gardens and vineyards :” from which we may infer, that 
it was by no means rare in his time; and, indeed, in all probability, it has. 
existed in this country from the time of the Romans. By some, the tree is 
considered as indigenous ; and Phillips states that quinces grow in such 
abundance in some parts of the Wealds of Sussex, as to enable private 
families to make quince wine in quantities of from 100 to 200 gallons in a 
season. (Pom. Brit., p. 327.) This wine, it is said, is greatly esteemed for 
asthmatic persons. rhe 
Properties and Uses. The wood of the quince is seldom found of such 
dimensions as to be applied to any purpose in the arts; and the tree is there- 
fore cultivated entirely for its fruit, or as stocks on which to graft the pear. 
The fruit is seldom eaten by itself, and never raw ; but is generally made into 
marmalade, or mixed with apples in tarts. Medicinally, it is considered 
astringent and stomachic. Quince wine is made with sugar and water, in the 
same manner as other fruit wines are in England; the quinces being first 
ground, or beaten into a pulp. The Portugal quince is considered the best 
variety for marmalade, as its pulp turns to a fine purple or crimson, when 
stewed or baked; and becomes much softer, and less austere, than that of 
the other varieties. This is also the best variety to cultivate for stocks, as 
its growth is less contracted than that of the common quince. Independently 
altogether of its value as a fruit tree, or of the young plants for stocks, the 
quince richly deserves a place in ornamental plantations, on account of the 
velvety surface of its leaves, its fine, large, pale pink flower, and, above all, its 
splendid golden fruit, which, when ripe on the tree, reminds us of the orange 
groves of Italy, and may very well justify the conjecture that the quince was 
the true golden apple of the Hesperides. For ornamental purposes, the common 
pear, and the apple-shaped varieties, are much to be preferred to the Portugal 
quince ; because the latter is not such a good bearer, and its fruit is not of 
such a deep orange colour. 
Poetical and mythological Allusions. The quince was considered by the 
ancients to be the emblem of love, happiness, and fruitfulness: it was dedi- 
cated 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 
decorated with the fruit ; and the bride and bridegroom also ate of it as soon as 
the marriage ceremony was performed. It has been supposed to be the golden 
fruit of the Hesperides ;. and a statue of Hercules, discovered at Rome, with 
three quinces in one of the hands has been referred to as a proof. The 
Farnese Hercules has, however, apples in his hand. 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, expressly 
describe as golden, was a quince. 
Soil and Situation. The quince prefers a moist but free soil, near water, 
and a situation open, but sheltered. In dry soil, neither the tree nor the fruit 
