THE LOQUAT OR JAPANESE MEDLAR ] 297 



branches of the service tree, and the injury caused to the 

 base of the stem by the larvae of Cerambyx miles Bon. 

 and Capttodis tenebrionis L., results in the destruction of 

 the tree as surely as in the case of the pear and the apple. 

 Aphis Sorbi Kalt. attacks the foliage, which is also fre- 

 quently disfigured by the corrosions produced by the 

 small grubs of several moths, and by the spots 

 caused by the presence of a fungus, Clqdosporium condy- 

 lonema Pass. 



THE LOQUAT OR JAPANESE MEDLAR. 

 Eriobotrya japonic a Lindl. Mespilus japonic a Thumb 



ROSACEAE ( POMACEAE ) 

 Maltese nespla. Italian nespolodel Giappone. French ne flier du Japan. 



The tree is native of China, where it is called 

 lo-quat, and is also native of Japan where its name is 

 biwa or beezua. It is an evergreen tree of noble appearance 

 and large dimensions, and grows fast, beginning to bear 

 fruit when about four years old, and reaches adult size in 

 about twenty years. There are at Boschetto large loquat 

 trees over eight metres high with a girth at the base of 

 the trunk of about two metres, and a circumference of the 

 crown of foliage of over twenty metres. These trees are 

 the direct descendants of the original loquat planted in 

 those gardens in 1811, the date of its introduction in 

 these Islands. Owing to its evergreen and thick foliage 

 and its tall habit of growth, as well as to its utilitarian 

 character as a fruit tree, the loquat is often planted in 

 rows in the orange groves as a windbreak, for which 

 purpose it is eminently suitable, as the root system of 

 Citrus trees does not seem to disagree much with that 

 of the loquat. 



The loquat thrives best in deep red soils rather stiff 

 and charged with clay, moderately moist but well drained. 

 It prefers a sheltered situation with an eastern aspect. 

 In favourable conditions the tree lives to about 80 years, 



