QUINCE-TREE. 335 
ancients, to be the emblem of love, happiness, and fruitfulness. It was dedicated 
to Venus, and the temples of that goddess at Cyprus and Paphos were decorated 
with it. The nuptial chambers of the Greeks and Romans were adorned with 
the fruit; and the bride and bridegroom also ate of it as soon as the marriage 
ceremony was performed. The learned Goropius maintains that quinces were the 
"golden apples of the Hesperides," and not oranges, as some commentators have 
supposed. In support of his argument, he says that it was a fruit much revered 
by the ancients ; and he assures us, that there has been discovered at Rome, a 
statue of Hercules, that held in its hand three quinces. "This," he says, 
"agrees with the fable which states, that Hercules stole the golden apples from 
the gardens of the Hesperides." The Farnese Hercules, however, has apples in 
his hand, but not quinces. It has also been alleged, that the golden fruit thrown 
by Hippomenes to Atalanta were quinces, and that the fruit of the "forbidden 
tree," which the Jewish traditions describe as " golden," was the quince. 
Soil and Situation. The quince prefers a moist but free soil, near water, and 
a situation rather open, but sheltered. In dry soils, neither the tree nor the fruit 
will attain a large size; and in situations exposed to high winds, the fruit is lia- 
ble to fall before mature. The finest specimens of quince-trees, in Britain, are 
said to be found in old orchards adjoining ponds; it being customary, formerly, 
to plant a quince-tree in every apple orchard. If the soil be too dry or meagre, an 
artificial one may be prepared, as recommended for the Gordonia lasianthus; or, 
a hole may be excavated for each tree to a depth of ten or twelve feet, and then 
filling it with loose stones to within two or three feet of the surface, and the 
remainder with rich loamy earth or mould. Such a preparation is well worthy 
of the expense in every garden where this tree will not otherwise grow. 
Propagation and Culture. The quince may be as readily propagated from 
seeds as the apple and pear ; but the quickest mode of raising plants is by layers. 
It will also grow by cuttings, planted in autumn in a moist, sandy soil. The trees, 
when planted as standards, should be situated about ten feet apart, and once set 
out, require but little attention, beyond that of removing the suckers from the 
roots, and the side-shoots from the main stems. To have the fruit of a large size, 
the head of the tree should be kept open by thinning out the shoots; and the 
fruit ought also to be thinned out, leaving no more on the tree than it can well 
mature. The tree is of moderately rapid growth, when young, acquiring, in 
four or five years, a height of six or eight feet; and in ten or twelve years, it 
attains an elevation of fifteen feet, after which, it continues to increase chiefly in 
the width of its head. 
Insects. The greatest enemy to the quince-tree is the borer, or larva, of the 
Saperda bivittata, described in our article on the common apple-tree. It perfo- 
rates the stems, in a similar manner as it does the trunks of the apple, the haw- 
thorn, the June berry, and the mountain ash, and may be destroyed by the same 
modes recommended for the apple-tree. 
Properties and Uses. The wood of the quince, when found of sufficient dimen- 
sions, is applied to the purposes of turnery; but from its small size, this tree is 
almost entirely cultivated for its fruit, or as stocks on which to graft the moun- 
tain ash, and the pear. In France, however, this tree is sometimes grown for 
hedges. The fruit is seldom eaten by itself, but is generally preserved in syrup, 
or is made into marmalade, or mixed with apples in tarts. In France, it is man- 
ufactured into " marmelades," "pates," and "gelees," known by tin 1 general 
name of cot ignac ; and a very agreeable liquor is extracted from it, called eau d( 
coings. According to Gerard, quinces are hurtful to the head, by reason of their 
strong smell; and, when eaten from the tree, they have "a kind of choking 
taste." Medicinally, they are considered as cooling, astringent, and stomachic. 
The expressed juice of this fruit, taken in small quantities, is of service in nausea, 
