930 AUBOnETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



kinds, some as growing wild in Italy ; and others, that were in culti\'ation, 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 

 fniit, by excluding the air from them, or boiling them in honey; or, by 

 plunging then) into boiling honey ; a practice in use with this and other fruits 

 in Genoa at the present day. The date of the introduction of the quince 

 into Britain 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 q.ii;rjes 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. (Povi. JJ/i/., p. 327.) This wine, it is said, is greatly esteemed for 

 asthmatic persons. 



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 conimon quince. Independently 

 altogether of its value as a fruit tree, or of the joung 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 mai'riage ceremony was performed. It has been supposed to be the golilen 

 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 

 Fai'nese Hercules has, however, apples in his hand. It has also been alleged, 

 that the golden fruit thrown by Hippoinenes to Atalanta were quinces, and 

 that the fruit of the forbidden tree, which the Jewish traditions expressly 

 describe jvs golden, was a quince. 



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

 nnd a situation open, but sheltered. In ilry soil, neither the tree nor the fruit 



