454 



CYDONIA 



becoming nearly smooth by autumn ; margin regularly and minutely saw- 

 toothed, teeth gland-tipped. Flowers solitary from the buds of the year-old 

 shoots, or on short spurs, stalkless, soft carmine, I to i| ins. across, petals 

 oblong. Fruit egg-shaped, pale citron-yellow when ripe, 5 to 7 ins, long. 



Native of China ; introduced to England in the last decade of the 

 eighteenth century, but afterwards quite lost to cultivation. Reintroduced 

 from Italy in 1898. It succeeds very well on a south wall, and bears fruits 

 which, however, do not ripen or become so large as one sees them on the 

 Italian Riviera, where the tree is much cultivated. In the open it is not quite 

 satisfactory, and suffers in severe winters. This is due no doubt to lack of 

 summer sun, for I saw it a few years ago in the Vienna Botanic Garden 15 ft. 

 or more high in perfect vigour, and the winter cold there is greater than ours. 

 It flowers m April and May. It should be raised from seeds, obtainable from 

 S. Europe. 



CYDONIA VULGARIS. 



C. VULGARIS, 



COMMON QUINCE. 



A deciduous, thornless tree, 15 to 20 ft. high, with crowded branches and a 

 low quaint habit ; young branchlets covered with greyish wool. Leaves ovate 

 or elliptical, i\ to 4 ins. long, if to 2^- ins. wide, not toothed, dark green 

 above, pale with a dense felt of grey wool beneath, especially when young ; 

 stipules hairy, glandular. Flowers 2 ins. across, pink or white, each one 

 solitary at the end of a short twig, produced during May. Fruit light golden 

 yellow, pear-shaped, very fragrant. Syn. Pyrus Cydonia, Zz/zmza.?. 



Var. LUSITANICA. Portuguese Quince. Naturally a more vigorous variety 

 than the type, this is not quite so hardy in Britain. The fruit is 4 ins. long, 

 3^ ins. wide at the thickest part, tapering thence to the stalk ; skin deep 

 yellow covered with grey down. Flowers large, pale rose, and produced in 

 sufficient abundance to make this variety the best worth growing for ornament. 



Var. MALIFORMIS. Apple-shaped Quince. Is the hardiest form ; fruits 4 

 ,ns. long by 2^ ins. wide, rich golden yellow. (To distinguish this from the 

 type, with its pear-shaped fruits, the latter sometimes called "pyriformis.") 



