12 



THE JAPANESE QUINCE 



THE JUNEBERRY 



The Japanese quince, now put in the genus 

 Chaenomeles, was long included in Cydonia. 

 It is easily distinguished by the serrate or 

 crenate papery leaves and styles united at 

 the base. The species has been divided into 

 several botanical varieties, but only the type 

 is of interest to pomologists. 



The quince is of but secondary importance 

 in fruit-growing, since it is only sparingly used 

 for culinary purposes. The fruit deserves, how- 

 ever, much more attention than is given it in 

 domestic economy, for it is second to no other 

 for marmalades, jellies, and conserves of all 

 kinds, and is much used for flavoring prepara- 

 tions of apples and pears. There are but few 

 varieties and there seems to be little or no 

 interest in increasing the number, although 

 the quince offers great possibilities in hybrid- 

 ization within the species and with the Japanese 

 quince, while interesting hybrids between the 

 quince and the pear are recorded. Quince 

 stocks are much used whereon to graft the 

 pear, to dwarf the tree and increase the size 

 of the fruit and hasten its bearing. 



The quince is a native of the Mediterranean 

 and Caucasus regions, and in ancient times 

 grew abundantly in Crete, deriving from 

 Cydon in that country the name Cydonia. 

 From ancient Greece, it was taken to Rome 

 before the Christian era, for the writers of 

 the first century mention it as if it were a 

 common fruit. The Romans knew the quince 

 as the cotonea, a name to be found in old 

 English as well as in Latin. Spreading from 

 Italy, it was soon cultivated, as agriculture 

 advanced step by step, throughout the mild 

 climates of Europe. In 812, its culture was 

 enjoined by Charlemagne in France under the 

 name coing. Chaucer speaks of the quince in 

 the latter part of the fourteenth century in 

 England, calling it come from the French. 

 Early Spanish, English, French, and Dutch 

 settlers brought the quince to America. 



THE JAPANESE QUINCE 



Four species of Chamomeles are grown for 

 their handsome flowers, and one, C. lagenaria, 

 is of some value also for its fruit and offers a 

 good field for the plant-breeder. Through 

 hybridization and selection, it is possible that 

 other species of the genus might be made to 

 yield fruits of value. 



Chcenomeleg lagenaria, Koid. Japanese Quince. Shrub 

 3-6 feet high, with spreading, spiny branches. Leaves 

 sub- persistent or deciduous, alternate, oblong-ovate, 

 glossy above, papery, l%-3 inches long. Flowers in 

 clusters of 2-6, red or reddish, l%-2 inches across; 

 calyx-lobes entire or serrate ; petals 5 ; stamens nu- 

 merous ; styles 5, united at the base. Fruit 5-celled, 

 each cell with many seeds ; globular or ovoid ; yellowish- 

 green ; stem lacking. 



There are many ornamental forms, most of 

 which bear quinces esteemed for jellies, con- 

 serves, and other culinary purposes. The dark, 

 green fruits are very hard, but contain a rich, 

 aromatic, lemon-like juice which makes a jelly 

 of very pleasing flavor. The fruits are further 

 characterized by a strong, distinctive odor, to 



most people very pleasant, which it imparts to 

 other fruits when cooked with them. The 

 species is a native of China and Japan, but 

 has long been cultivated in Europe and Amer- 



THE JUNEBERRY 



Under the names juneberry, shad-bush, 

 service-berry, sugar-pear, and grape-pear, or 

 their equivalents in other languages, the fruits 

 of some twenty-five or thirty species of 

 Amelanchier are used for food in all parts of 

 the North Temperate Zone. While very dis- 

 tinct in aspect of tree and fruit, Amelanchier 

 and Pyrus have few structural differences, the 

 two genera being separated chiefly by reason 

 of the fact that the compound ovary in 

 Amelanchier has partial divisions which are 



3. Juneberry. 



lacking in the ovary of Pyrus. The species 

 are so closely related, with numerous spontane- 

 ous hybrids, from which, indeed, they are 

 hardly to be distinguished that it serves the 

 uses of pomologists to characterize the genus 

 alone, without giving detailed descriptions of 

 the several species which have pomological 

 possibilities. (Fig. 3.) 



Amelanchier. Shrubs or small trees, unarmed. Leave* 

 simple, alternate, petioled, serrate. Flowers white, 

 racemose or rarely solitary ; calyx 5-cleft, persistent, the 

 tube campanulate and adnate to the ovary ; petals 5, 

 obovate, oblong or rarely linear ; stamens numerous, 

 short ; styles 5, united below ; ovary inferior, 5-celled, 

 each cell with two ovules ; cells with a projection grow- 

 ing from the back forming a false partition. Fruit an 

 edible berry-like pome with a cavity at the top ; sweet 

 and juicy ; ripening in early summer. 



The species of interest to fruit-growers are 

 all natives of temperate North America. The 

 product of one or another of them plays an 

 important part in the diet of North American 

 Indians, who make use of the berries both 

 fresh and dried. So, also, juneberries have 

 been a source of food supply to explorers, pros- 

 pectors, and pioneers, who testify to their 

 value as pleasing dessert fruits. Juneberries 

 are as yet little used where they must compete 

 with other fruits, although they have many 

 qualities to commend them for domestication. 



The fruit of the juneberry is a small pome 



