SEMEN CYDONI^ 269 



not a blue tint, so that they are not to be considered as starch granules. 

 The hairs of the pulp are formed of a single, thick-walled cell, straight 

 or sometimes a little crooked. 



Chemical Composition — The pulp examined by Biltz (1824) 

 was found to afford nearly 3 per cent, of citric acid, 77 of malic acid, 

 besides citrates, malates and mineral salts, 25 per cent, of gum, and 30 

 of uncrystallizable sugar. 



Uses — Hips are employed solely on account of their pulp, which 

 mixed with twice its weight of sugar, constitutes the Confectio Rosce 

 canince of pharmacy. 



SEMEN CYDONIiE. 



Quince Seeds, Quitice Pips; F. Semences ou Pepins de Goings; 

 G. Quittensamen. 



Botanical Origin — Pirtis Cydonia L. (Cydonia vulgaris Pers.), 

 the quince tree, is supposed to be a true native of Western Asia, from 

 the Caucasian provinces of Russia to the Hindu Kush range in 

 Northern India. But it is now apparently wild also in many of the 

 countries which surround the Mediterranean basin. 



In a cultivated state, it flourishes throughout temperate Europe, 

 but is far more productive in southern than in northern regions. 

 Quinces ripen in the south of England, but not in Scotland, nor in St. 

 Petersburg, or in Christiana. 



History — The quince was held in high esteem by the ancients, who 

 considered it an emblem of happiness and fertility; and, as such, it was 

 dedicated to Venus, whose temples it was used to decorate. Some 

 antiquarians maintain that quinces were the Golden Ajyples of the 

 Hesperides. The name Cydonia alludes to the town of Kydon, now 

 Canea, in Creta ; in the Talmud quinces are called Cretan apples. 



Porcius Cato in his graphic description of the management of a 

 Roman farmhouse, alludes to the storing of quinces both cultivated 

 and wild ; and there is much other evidence to prove that from an 

 early period the quince was abundantly grown throughout Italy. 

 Charlemagne, a.d. 812, enjoined its cultivation in central Europe.^ At 

 what period it was introduced into Britain is not evident, but we 

 have observed that Baked Quinces are mentioned among the viands 

 served at the famous installation feast of Nevill, archbishop of York 

 in 1466.2 



The use of mucilage of quince seeds has come to us through the 

 Arabians ; it is still met with in Turkestan. 



Description — The quince is a handsome fruit of a golden yellow, 

 in shape and size resembling a pear. It has a very agreeable and 

 powerful smell, but an austere, astringent taste, so that it is not 

 eatable in the raw state. In structure, it differs from an apple or 

 a pear in having many seeds in each cell, instead of only two. 



The fruit is, like an apple, 5-celled, with each cell containing a 



^ Pertz, Monumenta Germaniee kistorica, ^ Leland, De rebus Britannicis CoUect- 



Legum, i. (1835) 187. anea, vi. (1774) 5. 



