THE ROSE, POME, AND DRUPE FAMILY. 



respondent of the 'Gardeners' Chronicle' for 1845 quotes an 

 authority who states that the Chinese varieties of the Quince 

 are said to be in some cases delicious in flavour even when 

 uncooked. I cannot vouch for the truth of this statement; 

 but there are numerous varieties in cultivation in Europe, and 

 one would think such a handsome fruit in appearance, and one 

 possessing such a grateful odour, could be much improved by 

 good ' culture and possibly by seminal variation. It would be 

 interesting to subject a small tree to pot-culture in bush form, 

 as artificial heat might improve its flavour. It is rather singular 

 to observe that while many of our Pears are deliciously per- 

 fumed, we have but little odour in our Apples, although many 

 of them possess exquisite flavour. It has occurred to me that 

 by growing bush Quinces in pots along with some of our finer 

 Apples, we might by carefully hybridising them reciprocally 

 (if that is possible) obtain a race of varieties possessing 

 a grateful odour. Whether hybridisation could be effected 

 between the Apple and the Quince is, of course, questionable, 

 seeing that the Apple does not make a healthy growth on the 

 Quince ; nevertheless the experiment is worth carefully trying. 

 It is curious to find that in many French nurseries seedling 

 White-thorn stocks are used on which to work Quinces intended 

 as fruit-bearing or ornamental trees ; while the Quince, besides 

 being an excellent stock for many of the finer Pears, may also 

 be used for the Cotoneaster, Medlar, and scarlet-berried 

 Pyracanthas, such as P. japonica, and P. crenulata, a nearly- 

 allied plant from the Himalaya. From the above it will be 

 seen that the Quince has more elective affinity with the Pear, 

 Crataegus, &c., than with the mains section of Pyrus. The 

 Quince is generally used, and indeed makes an excellent stock, 

 for Photinia serndata. 



Fragaria {Strawberries}* This genus is very distinct from 

 other Rose-worts, as its seeds (fruits) are borne on the outside 

 of a fleshy receptacle a case opposite to that of the Fig; 

 indeed, a Strawberry resembles the fruit of a Fig turned inside 

 out. The cultivated varieties have originated from our native 

 wild-wood Strawberries (F. vescd], and the Hautbois (F. elatior), 

 the Virginian or Scarlet (F. virgmiana), the Pine (F. grandi- 

 flora), and the Chilian Strawberry (F. chiliensis}. The Alpine 

 or Ever-bearing Strawberry, so much cultivated in French gar- 

 dens, is by some made a variety of F. vesca; but Decaisne 

 figures it as distinct, in the ' Jardin Frutier du Museum,' under 

 the name of F. alpina. All the species are so much alike, that 



* For an account of the species of esculent Strawberries, by the late 

 T. A: Knight, Esq., see Trans. Linn. Soc., xii. 362. 



