FRUIT GARDEN. 243 



malade, and an excellent dry paste, to which is giv 

 en the name of catignac. The stem is also employ- 

 ed for the reception of apple and pear grafts, and 

 has the property of giving to the fruit it bears great-. 

 er precocity, an increased size, and an improved 

 flavour , but with this drawback, that " the quantity 

 is small, and the product short-lived, .as the age of 

 the tree seldom exceeds ten or twelve years." 



The varieties of the quince are four : the pear 

 quince, the apple quince, the mild, and the Portuguese ; 

 of which the last should in all cases be preferred, 

 being hardier, handsomer, and a better bearer than 

 the other sorts, and, what we consider as no small 

 additional recommendation, being also more tena- 

 cious of its fruit, which rarely falls from mere ri 

 pening. 



Like the other varieties, this is propagated by 

 seeds, layers, suckers, and cuttings. The first give 

 the finest plants ; but the process is so slow as of- 

 ten to exhaust our patience, and thus raise against 

 it formidable objections. Still, as some may wish 

 to make the experiment for themselves, it may not 

 be improper to remark, that, when seeds are em- 

 ployed, they should be fresh and plump, and sown 

 in a bed of light and moist soil, having a southern 

 aspect. After vegetating in the spring, the plants 

 should be thoroughly hoed, and the ground about 

 them kept clear of weeds till the second year, when 

 they may be removed to the nursery, where, with 

 the care ordinarily given to this department of the 

 garden, they will do well, until transplanted to the 

 places where they are permanently to stand. 



Layers from the quince do not always succeed, 

 and hence it is that^ they are seldom employed; but 

 his is not the case with cuttings, which, placed in 

 a soil and situation proper for them (moist and sha- 

 ded), rarely, if ever, fail. Taken in the spring, they 

 are set out in the nursery at the distance of fifteen 

 or eighteen inches apart; and, if intended for pear 

 19 



