CAiVA DIAN IIORTICUL 'lUliJST. 



245 



Two samples lie before us on the 

 table, and certainly are as tempting as 

 any dessert apple could possibly be. 

 The form of the apple is shown in tin; 

 outline, being roundish obtuse coni- 

 cal, with one side of the base rather 

 more prominent than the other. The 

 skin is a green or yellowish ground, 

 with obscure stripes of red on the shady 



side, deepening in a wine color towards 

 the apex, and dotted with obscure 

 greyish dots ; stem one inch long, set 

 in a funnel-shaped russeted cavity ; 

 calyx nearly closed, set in an uneven 

 basin of medium form ; Hesh white, 

 juicy, melting, sub-acid, fine grained, 

 with a rich aromatic Havor ; October ; 

 very good. 



THE QUINCE. 



By Aukicola. 



THE QUINCE Tree, though not 

 so aspiring as the pear, nor 

 spreading as the apple tree, re- 

 resembles persons of modest mien, and 

 shows its qualities by bearing good 

 fruit. And, if the proof of the pudding 

 is by the taste, the same may be said 

 of the Quince when properly prepared. 

 Then the Quince is not only good in 

 itself, but (like a good man) it com- 

 municates its flavor to the fruits it 

 conies in contact with. 



It is not only ornamental, but 

 what is more, useful. It makes a tine 

 white show in the spring, and the yellow 

 fruit looks like gold in the fall. 



Nor does it hold the fruit above our 

 reach like most trees, nor ask you to 

 stoop to gather the golden treasures in 

 the market basket. It belongs to the 

 Rose Family, as does the apple 

 and pear, and it imitates both in its 

 various shapes. 



It carries also antiquity in its name. 

 It is said to have been the fruit in the 

 garden of the Hesperides, and valued 

 so highly that Argus with his hundred 

 eyes was set to watch ; and it took 



Hercules, a semi-god, to steal the fruit 

 which no mort.il man could obtain. 

 The Greeks and Romans speak of its 

 savory and health-conferring qualities. 

 Persons who have used the fruit speak 

 of its astringency, and think it tones 

 up the human system without produc- 

 ing that lassitude which some fruits 

 do. The writer was once called on by 

 a customer for a fruit tree, and when 

 he was asked what kiiKl of a tree, he 

 said he wanted " a Squince." Had he 

 called for the Cydonia Vulgaris I 

 might not have understood him (juite 

 so readily ; so in this case a little learn- 

 ing was not, as Pope says, a dangerous 

 thing. 



The ornamental or Japan Quince is 

 called Cydonia Japonica. There are 

 several varieties of Quinces. The 

 Anger's Quince is used for budding or 

 dwarfing the pear on, the Apple and 

 Pear Quince for market. There is 

 a variety called Rea's Mammoth, 

 said to be of very good quality, 

 larger than the Oiange, and if it were 

 as early in ripening would be the most 

 popular: and one called Champion, 



