EXPERT QUINCE CULTURE. 



ing. Nearly all text books 

 upon quince culture have 

 said that they require moist 

 soil, and many have inter- 

 preted this as meaning wet, 

 boggy soil. More quince 

 orchards have been set out 

 in low, wet, cold ground, 

 than upon good rich up- 

 land, properly irrigated. 

 The quince invariably does 

 better upon high, rich up- 

 land soil, where perfect 

 irrigation can be given, and 

 trees planted in such local- 

 ities will bid fair to produce 

 fine fruits. 



The next point is to give 

 the quince tree as much 

 attention and cultivation as 

 any other fruit. It should 

 be remembered that natur- 

 ally the quince shrub is 

 a large, straggling growth, 

 and never assumes the 

 shape of a tree unless so 

 trained. It will do better, 

 however, if its natural rambling habit is 

 somewhat checked, and a better shape 

 given to it by judicious pruning. But too 

 much pruning is injurious to it. Only thin 

 out the suckers every season inside of 

 the shrub, and trim the head to a sym- 

 metrical shape Beyond this do nothing 

 with the pruning knife. 



Once a year at least, and twice is bet- 

 ter, examine the stocks for borers, and 

 cut them out and kill them, removing 

 at the same time all suckers starting up 

 around the roots. If the codlin moth 

 or quince curculio are on the shrubs, 

 spray freely with Paris green, and do 

 not give them a good foothold. Spray 

 as other fruit trees, soon after the fruits 

 have set, in the spring of the year. The 

 leaf and twig blight and scab which ap- 



Fig. 1505. — Unprdned Tree. 



pear upon the fruit, must be conquered 

 by spraying freely with the Bordeaux 

 mixture. The scab in particular must 

 be kept under control, as it ruins more 

 fruit than a little. 



As to varieties, select only the best. 

 One of the best is " Rea's Mammoth," 

 and it succeeds well in the climate of 

 New York state. It produces a large, 

 handsome orange-shaped quince, that 

 sells readily in the market. The Old 

 Champion is another large variety that 

 should be cultivated, and Meech's Pro- 

 lific is very fine as.an abundant producer. 

 The Fuller quince is a pear-shaped fruit, 

 but of excellent quality. The Borgeat 

 is a very fine early quince, and is very 

 satisfactory. Do not select the Angers 

 and Fontenay for producing fruits. They 



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