650 



POMACES. X. PYRUS. XI. CYDONIA. 



villi above. Tj. H. Native of Siberia. Mains tomentosa, 

 Dum. Cours. ed. 2. vol. 5. p. 438. Said to be allied to P. bac- 

 cata, but the flowers as well as the fruit are unknown. 



Tomentose Pyrus. Tree. 



58 P. RUBICU'NDA (Hoffmans. verz. 1824. p. 192.) leaves 

 ovate, acuminated, glabrous ; pome like that of P. Malus, yellow 

 on one side, and red on the other, covered with a kind of 

 glaucous bloom. Jj . H. Native country unknown. 



Reddish Pyrus. Tree. 



Cult. All the species of Pyrus are either trees or large 

 shrubs. They are both useful and ornamental ; free growers 

 thrive in any soil, and may be planted in shrubberies, or to stand 

 singly. They may be raised from seeds, cuttings, layers, or 

 by engrafting the rarer on the commoner sorts. 



XI. CYDO'NIA (so named from being a native near Cydon 

 in Candia). Tourn. inst. 632. t, 405. Pers. ench. 2. p. 40. D. C. 

 prod. 2. p. 638. Pyrus species of Lin. and others. 



LIN. SYST. Icosandria, Pentagynla. Calyx 5-cleft (f. 84. a.). 

 Petals orbicular (f. 84. /.). Stamens erect (f. 84. ft.). Styles 5. 

 Pome closed (f.84. g.), 5-celled ; cells cartilaginous, many-seeded. 

 Seeds covered with mucilaginous pulp. Trees, with undivided, 

 quite entire, or serrated leaves, and large flowers, which are 

 either solitary, or few together in a kind of umbel. 



SECT. I. CYDONIA (see genus for derivation). Lindl. in Lin. 



trans. 13. p. 97. Lobes of calyx rather foliaceous, and serru- 

 lated. Stamens disposed in a single series. 



1 C. VULGA'RIS (Pers. ench. 2. FIG. 84. 



p. 40.) leaves ovate, blunt at the 



base, quite entire, clothed with 



white tomentum beneath, as well 



as the calyxes and pedicels ; 



flowers few, in a kind of umbel. 

 T? . H. Native of the south of 



Europe, among rocks and in 



hedges. Pyrus Cydonia, Lin. spec. 



687. Jacq. austr. t. 342. Woodv. 



med. hot. t. 79. Cydonia Euro- 



pae'a, Savi, alb. tosc. 1. p. 90. 



The Quince-tree is low, much 



branched, and generally crooked 



and distorted. The flowers are 



large, white, or pale red, and ap- 

 pear in May. The fruit varying 



in shape in the different varieties, 



globular, oblong, ovate or obovate ; it has a peculiar and rather 



pleasant apple-smell, and an austere taste. It is mentioned by 



Tusser in 1753, but has never been very mucli cultivated. 



Use. The fruit is not eaten raw, but stewed, or in pies or 

 tarts along with apples it is much esteemed. In confectionary 

 it forms an excellent marmalade and syrup. When apples are 

 flat and have lost their flavour, Forsyth observes, a quince or 

 two in u pie or pudding will add a quickness. In medicine the 

 expressed juice, repeatedly taken in small quantities, is said to 

 be cooling, astringent, and stomachic, &c. A mucilage, pre- 

 pared from the seeds, was formerly much in use, but is now sup- 

 planted by the simple gums. The fruit taken in small quantity 

 is supposed to restrain vomiting and alvine fluxes. In nursery- 

 gardens the plants are much used as stocks for the pear. 

 The varieties of the quince are as follow : 



1 Common quince, coignassier commun. This and the two 

 following are often confused with each other ; it is very pro- 

 bable that from seeds of either sort varieties have been, and still 

 may be, obtained, some of which would produce apple-shaped, 

 and some pear-shaped fruit. 



2 Apple-shaped quince, coignassier maliforme, coignassier 



8 



pomiforme. Cyd. vulgaris a maliformis, Mill. diet. no. 2. Fruit 

 nearly globose, of the same quality as the last. 



3 Pear-shaped quince, coignassier pijrifurme. Cyd. vulgaris 

 y oblonga, Mill. diet. no. 1. Leaves oval or oblong ; fruit pear- 

 shaped, of the same quality as the two last species. 



4 Portugal quince, coignassier de Portugal. Cyd. vulgaris, 

 var. /3 Lusitanica, Mill. diet. no. 3. This is a good sort, and 

 distinct from the preceding kinds ; it does not become, however, 

 except in very favourable seasons, of so deep an orange ; its 

 leaves are broader ; its growth less contracted, consequently it is 

 the best sort for grafting pears upon. 



5 Orange quince. This and the following possess characters 

 differing so little from what may be found among sub-varieties 

 of the others, that they are scarcely worth distinguishing. 



6 Large-fruited quince, coignassier a gros fruit. 

 Propagation. Generally by layers, but also by cuttings, 



and approved sorts may be perpetuated by grafting. In pro- 

 pagating for stocks nothing more is necessary than removing the 

 lower shoots from the larger, so as to preserve a clean stem as 

 high as the graft ; but for fruit-bearing trees it is necessary to 

 train the stem to a rod till it has attained 4 or 5 feet in height, 

 and can support itself upright. 



Soil and site. The quince prefers a soft moist soil, and rather 

 shady or at least a sheltered situation. It is seldom planted but 

 as a standard in the orchard, or to grow singly in the garden, 

 and a very few trees are sufficient for any family. 



Time of planting, the mode of bearing, and all the other par- 

 ticulars are the same as for the apple and pear. 



Common Quince. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1573. Tree 20 feet. 



2 C. SUMBOSHIA (Hamilt. in D. Don, prod. fl. nep. p. 237.) 

 leaves cordate, oval, mucronate, quite entire, clothed with white 

 tomentum beneath, as well as the branchlets and calyxes ; sti- 

 pulas elliptic, acute, glandularly serrated; peduncles solitary, 

 terminal, tomentose ; calycine segments oblong ; pome attenu- 

 ated at the base, fy . H. Native of Nipaul, where it is called 

 in the Nawarice language Sumboshi-swa, and Bhee in that of 

 Sirinigur. Very like Cydonia vulgar/a. 



Sumboshi or Nipaul Quince. Fl. May, June. Tree 20 feet. 



3 C. SINE'NSIS (Thouin, in ann. mus. 19. p. 145. t. 8 and t. 9.) 

 leaves ovate, acuminated at both ends, acutely serrated, when 

 young rather villous, but in the adult state glabrous, as well as 

 the calyxes ; stipulas oblong-linear, glandularly serrated. fj . 

 H. Native of China. Pyrus Sinensis, Poir. suppl. 4. p. 452. 

 Flowers white. Fruit egg-shaped, large, hard, and nearly dry, 

 greenish. Seeds about 30 in each cell, many of which are abor- 

 tive. This appears to be an intermediate jplant between the last 

 and the following. 



Chinese Quince. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1818. Tree 20 feet. 



SECT. II. CHJENOME'LES (from x a " /(J i chaino, to open, and 

 pn\ov, melon, an apple ; when the plant was first so called, the 

 fruit examined was split at the top, from some cause or other ; 

 perhaps from heat). Lindl. 1. c. Lobes of calyx short, obtuse, 

 and quite entire. Stamens inserted in 2 series. 



4 C. JAPO'NICA (Pers. ench. 2. p. 40.) leaves oval, somewhat 

 cuneated, crenate-serrated, quite glabrous on both surfaces, as 

 well as the calyxes ; stipulas reniform, serrated. J? . H. Native 

 of Japan. P^rus Japonica, Thunb. fl. jap. p. 207. Curt. hot. 

 mag. t. 622. Moris, fl. consp. t. 1. p. Chaenomeles Japonica, 

 Lindl. 1. c. Flowers deep scarlet, solitary, or 2-3 together. A 

 very ornamental plant. There is also a white flowered variety, 

 which is also very ornamental. 



Japan Quince. Fl. year. Clt. 1815. Shrub 4 to 6 feet. 



Cult. All the species of quince are very ornamental when in 

 blossom. The three first species answer well to be planted as 

 standards singly in any conspicuous situation. The C. Japonica 



