252 THE POME FRUITS 



the trees will sometimes be dwarfed, stunted and entirely 

 unproductive. The cultivation should stop about the mid- 

 dle of the summer so the tree will ripen up its wood. 

 This is very important because the quince is attacked by 

 fire blight, and when the tree is allowed to grow too long 

 in the fall it has the tendency to encourage this disease. 



Pruning. — Very little pruning is required. The aim 

 should be to keep off the suckers which start from the roots 

 and trunk of the tree. In the pruning of a young tree it 

 can either be trained to one stem or trimmed so the plant 

 will resemble a bush. In the latter case three or four main 

 branches are allowed to grow. Where the plant is pruned to 

 one stem and forms a little tree instead of a bush usually 

 better and cleaner fruit will be produced. 



Varieties. — There are only a very few commercial varieties 

 of quinces, and these are generally known and widely dis- 

 tributed. The Orange, Champion, Rea and Meech seem to 

 be the most popular, and are the varieties that are usually 

 grown. 



Insects and Diseases. — The quince is attacked by prac- 

 tically the same insects and diseases that are found on the 

 apple and the pear. There are no troubles which are 

 specifically attached to only the quince as there are in the 

 case of the pear. The quince, however, seems to be par- 

 ticularly susceptible to the attack of the pear blight and 

 leaf rust. 



OUTLINE FOR SPRAYING THE QUINCE. 



Number 



of spray. Time to spray. Spray materials. 



First Before buds swell in the spring Commercial lime sulphur 1 to 



8. 



Second Just as the buds begin to swell 4-4-50 Bordeaux mixture. 



Third Two weeks after the second 4-4-50 Bordeaux mixture plus 



spray 2 pounds arsenate of lead 



to 50 gallons if curculio is 

 present. 



Fourth Just as the blossoms are falling Commercial lime sulphur di- 



luted 1 to 35, plus 2 pounds 

 arsenate of lead. 



Fifth About three weeks after the Same as fourth spray, 



fourth. 



