The Quinces 



of their flowers ; thus alba has white flowers, Candida 

 cream, rosea pink flowers, cardinalis rich crimson, 

 and gardenalis large, vivid red flowers. The common 

 form is usually differentiated as Cydonia japonica 

 camellcefolia. 



The Chinese Quince (Cydonia sinensis) is similar 

 but inferior to the Japanese Quince. Its blossoms are 

 rose-red, while its foliage is bronze coloured in the 

 spring. 



Maule's Quince Cydonia (or Pyrus) Maulei, is a 

 particularly desirable shrub. It is not so large as the 

 Japanese Quince, with more slender branches which 

 tend to spread, and smaller leaves, but it atones for 

 this by an absolute plethora of blossoms. Its young 

 twigs will be a solid mass of brilliant scarlet flowers 

 about April, to be followed in the autumn by crowds 

 of almost as brilliant orange-coloured fruits the size of 

 small apples. These fruits have a spicy fragrance as 

 well as great beauty, a beauty that persists, too, for 

 they cling long to the branches ; a delicious preserve 

 can be made from them. 



There is an element of tragedy about the shrub, 

 however. . It was introduced into England from Japan, 

 somewhere in the seventies, by a Mr. Maule, of 

 Bristol, who was so struck by the possibilities of the 

 shrub both in flower and particularly in fruit, that 

 he laid out many acres of his land for its cultivation. 



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