104 VARIETIES OF FRUITS. 



together with its white and pale pink blossoms, when 

 nearly all the blossoms of other fruit trees are gone, make 

 it both a profitable and ornamental tree of what we may 

 call as second class of growth, for the Quince rarely grows 

 higher than fifteen feet, with a spread of branches fully 

 equal to the height. 



As a fruit for eating raw or uncooked it is not esteemed,, 

 but cooked, stewed, or made into marmalade it has few 

 equals. As a jelly it is often used as an appetizer to meats,, 

 especially those of delicate poultry. Its juices are said to 

 have a beneficial effect upon asthmatic patients, while 

 mingled with the apple, even when dried, it gives a. 

 piquancy to the sauce beyond that of any other fruit. 



It is quite productive when young, and meets a ready 

 market at remunerative prices. It is so firm that it can 

 be shipped long distances without injury; in fact, care- 

 fully packed and confined in a barrel it improves in ap- 

 pearance for many days. The Quince can be easily 

 propagated from seed, cuttings, layers, or small pieces 

 of roots. 



Cuttings prepared in autumn and heeled in during win- 

 ter, then planted out in spring, generally make fine stocks 

 or plants on which to engraft or bud varieties of the pear. 

 The fact of the quince making the most of its roots near 

 the surface, and those small, has a tendency to check the 

 growth of the pear and so cause it to form fruit buds. 

 Propagation by small pieces of the roots is one of easy 

 and all time practice. Simply dig away around an old or 

 well grown tree, and cut from the roots pieces two to four 

 inches in length ; set these at an angle of forty-five de- 



