CYDONIA, Quince tree. 203 



this quince tree, & those of the common quince tree, barely two-and-three-quarters inches 

 by two inches, can be considered to be the two extremes of quince tree leaves. 



Its fruit is big, long, angular or uneven around its diameter of two-&-a-half inches 

 by a height of three inches four lignes. The most enlarged part is farther from the stalk 

 than it is from the tip. It gets much smaller near the tip where the eye is set in a deep 

 cavity bordered by elevated corners or projecting knobs. The eye is surrounded by 

 sections of the calyx that remain on most of the fruits until they ripen. It's not very 

 exposed but is pressed in by five swellings situated behind the sections. The other end of 

 the fruit decreases in size much more, but less evenly, looking somewhat like a gourd. It 

 ends in a blunt point with the tip on the end of the branch that serves as the stalk of the 

 fruit. The end of the branch inserts into a small recess formed by a thickening or an 

 extension of the fruit covering the end of the branch up to the last leaves that it produced. 



The skin is yellow and covered by down that's easily removed when rubbed by 

 hand. 



It's flesh softer & better than that of other quinces, in preserves as well as in 

 compotes. 



The smell & taste of quinces are well known. 



The quince has five compartments; each one contains eight to fourteen flattened 

 seeds. The compartments are formed by delicate membranes like those in pears. The axis 

 of the fruit is hollow & star-shaped with five rays that extend in between the 

 compartments. 



Quinces ripen at the beginning of October & rarely last beyond November. 



