FRUIT CULTURE. 



33* 



FIG 56 



New York quince trees. 



distance of twelve feet apart. The tree 

 should be shaped with a very low head, the 

 pruning- being- merely the thinning- out of 

 the centre, the removal of all suckers and an 

 occasional cutting back to keep the tree 

 from getting- a stragg-ly appearance. Some 

 people grow them in bush form. If this is 

 done, only three or four main stems should 

 be allowed to g-row. The accompanying- 

 Figs. 54 and 55 will illustrate the matter. 

 Where old trees have been neglected, they 

 should be thoroughly pruned on the lines 

 indicated, and have a good dressing of ma- 

 nure worked in around the roots in spring. 

 When the trees are in full bearing, cultiva- 

 tion becomes difficult on account of the 

 closeness of the trees and their spreading 

 character. The quince orchard may then 

 be seeded down, but pruning must not be 

 neglected, and a top-dressing of manure 

 should be given every second or third year. 

 \arieties. — Champion, MeecKs Prolific 



and Orange are good quinces of the larg-e, 

 round, orange type. The Pear quince, as 

 its name indicates, is pear-shaped. It is a 

 more solid fruit than the others, ripens later, 

 and is somewhat smaller. If well manured 

 and thinned it will give excellent results. 



Diseases. — Blight and "red rust" are 

 the worst diseases affecting- the quince. 

 The latter is the same fungus that in the 

 earlier stag-es is known as the ' * cedar-ap- 

 ple " of the red cedar. Spraying- with Bor- 

 deaux mixture will assist in controlling- it, 

 but were practicable it would be advisable 

 to cut down cedars near the quince oi"chard- 



IxsECTS. — The borer and quince curculio 

 are sometimes injurious. The former is the 

 round headed apple borer (Saperda Candida) 

 and is referred to in the 1897 Institute Re- 

 port, p. 180. The curculio can be trapped 

 by the "jarring-" method. 



M. BURRELL. 



St. Catharines, Ont. 



