QUINCE. 141 



Under favorable circumstances of climate and soil, tho 

 apple tree attains to great age. In Herefordshire, Eng- 

 land, there are said to be trees 1 ,000 years old. The ordi- 

 nary, or perhaps average duration of healthy trees grafted 

 on crab stocks and planted in a strong tenacious soil, has 

 been computed by Mr. Knight — a great English authority 

 upon such subjects — at 200 years. Old trees headed down 

 to standard height, the branches being topped off within a 

 foot or two of the trunk, and the young shoots grafted 

 upon, may thus be made productive in a very short time. 



Of American apples, the best for the English climate is 

 the Boston Russet. Mr. Thompson states that the tree is 

 quite hardy, very productive, and suitable for dwarf train- 

 ing; the fruit juicy, with a flavor between that of the Rib- 

 stone and Nonpareil, and in season from December till 

 April. The Newton, or Long Island Pippin, seldom comes 

 to perfection in Britain. 



There are three kinds of the Paradise apple used by 

 nurserymen for grafting upon to produce dwarf trees. The 

 smallest is commonly known as the French Paradise. 

 Next comes the common English Paradise, which is rather 

 larger, and the largest of all the dwarf Paradise apples is 

 what the French call Doucin. 



The Quince (Pyrus Cydonia), allied to the apple, is a 

 native of the south of Germany. It is but little cultivat- 

 ed in Britain. The fruit, which is austere when raw, is 

 well calculated for giving flavor and poignancy to stewed 

 or baked apples. The two principal sorts are the Portugal 

 Quince and the Pear Quince, of which the latter is the 

 most productive, while it serves the usual culinary pur- 

 poses equally well as the other. Quinces may be propa- 

 gated by layers, or by cuttings, or by graftings. Two or 



