ITS CULTURE. 549 



remains and increases in size after the flower has fallen. There 

 is a pretty bit of mythological history told byRapin, the French 

 poet, respecting this fruit. Bacchus once beguiled a lovely 

 Scythian girl, whose head had been previously turned by the 

 diviners having prophesied that she would some day wear a 

 crown, and who therefore lent a willing ear to his suit. The 

 fickle god, however, not long after abandoned her, when she 

 soon died of grief. Touched at last, he metamorphosed her 

 into a pomegranate tree, and placed on the summit of its fruit, 

 the crown (calyx), which he had denied to his mistress while 

 living. 



The fruit of the common pomegranate is acid, but the culti- 

 vated variety bears fruit of vry agreeable sweet flavour. 

 The interior of the fruit consists of seeds enveloped in pulp 

 much like those of the gooseberry, but arranged in compart- 

 ments, and of the size and colour of red currants. Medicinally 

 it is cooling and much esteemed, like the orange, in fevers and 

 inflammatory disorders. 



The tree is of low growth, from twelve to twenty feet, with 

 numerous slender twiggy branches, and is very ornamental in 

 garden scenery, either when clad with its fine scarlet flowers 

 or decked with fruit, which hangs and grows all summer, and 

 does not ripen till pretty late in the season. It is well worthy 

 of a choice sheltered place at the north, on a wall or espalier 

 rail, where it can be slightly protected with mats or straw in 

 winter ; and it deserves to be much more popular than it now 

 is in every southern garden. If raised in large quantities there, 

 it would become a valuable fruit for sending to the northern 

 cities, as it is now constantly sent from the south of Europe to 

 Paris and London. Hedges are very often made of it near 

 Genoa and Nice. 



PROPAGATION AND CULTURE. This tree is readily propa- 

 gated by cuttings, layers, suckers or seeds. When by seeds, 

 they should be sown directly after they ripen, otherwise they 

 seldom vegetate. Any good rich garden soil answers well for 

 the Pomegranate and, as it produces little excess of wood, 

 it needs little more in the way of pruning, than an occasional 

 thinning out of any old or decaying branches. 



VARIETIES. There are several varieties. The finest, viz. : 



1. THE SWEET-FRUITED Pomegranate (Grenadier a Fruit. 



Dotttf), with sweet and juicy pulp. 



2. THE SUB- ACID FRUITED Pomegranate ; the most com- 



mon variety cultivated in gardens. 



3. THE WILD, or ACID-FRUITED Pomegranate, with a sharp 



acid flavour ; which makes an excellent syrup. 



Besides these, there are several double-flowering varieties of 

 ihe Pomegranate which are very beautiful, but bear no fruit. 



