THE QUINCE. 235 



ness of this fruit, and its splendid colour, it is not im- 

 probable that it was the same with the apples of the 

 Hesperides; for Galesio, in his treatise on the orans^e, 

 has shewn that the orange tree was unknown to the 

 Greeks, and that it did not naturally grow in those 

 parts where the g'ardcus of the Hesperides were 

 placed by them. The fruit of the quince, however use- 

 ful and ornamental it may be in some respects, does 

 not warrant such honours, and in truth has not con- 

 tinued to receive them ; for the French, who have 

 paid great attention to its cultivation, particularly 

 for grafting pears upon its stocks, call the quince- 

 tree " coignasfier," probably, according to Duhamel, 

 because the disagreeable odour of the fruit re- 

 quires that it should be placed in a corner (coin) of 

 the orchard or garden. In the south of France, par- 

 ticularly on the borders of the Garonne, the quince 

 is very extensively grown ; and the peasants prepare 

 from it a marmalade which they call coiignac. The 

 term marmalade is derived from the Portuguese 

 name for the quince, marmelo. Gerard says, that 

 in his time quince-trees were planted in the hedges 

 of gardens and vineyards ; and marmalade, two 

 centuries ago, seems to have been in general use, 

 principally from a belief that it possessed valuable 

 medicinal properties. The seeds of the quince are 

 still used in medicine, on account of the great quan- 

 tity of mucilage which they yield to boiling water. 



There are eight varieties of the quince noticed 

 in the fruit catalogue of the Horticultural Society. 

 Amongst these the Chinese qumce (Cy do nia Sinensis) 

 is inserted on account oi" the resemblance which its 

 fruit has to that of the common quince : although 

 in France, where only in Europe it has produced 

 fruit, it is uot considered eatable. The Chinese 



