THE QUINCE. 



327 



Tlie best sorts of pear where the space is lim- 

 ited, or for the cottage garden, are : The jargon- 

 die, Marie Louise, heurre de capiaumont, beurri 

 did, glout morfcaii, easier leiirre, and beurre 

 ranee. With the exception of the jargonelle, 

 all these sorts are hardy enough without a wall; 

 but when this can he obtained, the best fniit 

 will be produced. 



The propagation of the pear may be accom- 

 plished by seeds, by layer^, or suckers, but not 

 easily by cuttings : the most approved way is 

 raising seedlings, or grafting and budding. The 

 same principles of selection of seed, and crossing 

 by means of the pollen of different sorts, are 

 applicable to the pear as to the apple. Seedling 

 pears, however, do not so soon bear as apples. 

 At Brussels, according to Neill, seedling pears 

 bear fruit in four or five years; whereas in Bri- 

 tain they seldom bear before the seventh or eighth 

 year. The fruit of the first year of bearing 

 is 41ways inferior to that of the second or third 

 years. If a pear or an apple posseeses a white 

 and heavy pulp, with juice of rather pungent 

 aciditj', it may be expected in the second, third, 

 and subsequent years, greatly to improve in size 

 and flavour. New varieties of pears, and indeed 

 of all fruits, are more likely to be obtained from 

 the seeds of new than of old sorts. 



In grafting the pear, the most common stocks 

 are the common pear and wilding; but as the 

 apple is dwarfed, and brought mors early into a 

 bearing state by grafting on the paraden or 

 creeper, so is the pear by grafting on the quince 

 or white-thorn. The pear will also succeed very 

 weU on the white beam, medlar, service, or apple; 

 but the wilding and quince ai-e in most general 

 use. On the thorn, pears come vei-y early into 

 bearing, continue prolific, and, in respect of soU, 

 will thrive well on a strong clay. A dry deep 

 loam is reckoned the best soil for the pear tree, 

 when the stock is of its own species; on a quince 

 stock it ^-equires a moist soil. Gravel is a good 

 subsoil where the incumbent soil is suitable. 



The mode of bearing of the pear differs some- 

 what from that of the apple. It does not pro- 

 duce blossoms on the former year's wood, but 

 its buds are formed on spurs growing out of wood 

 not younger than one year old, and consequently 

 projecting spurs all over the tree must be left 

 for that purpose. 



Pruning is not often wanted in the culture of 

 the pear tree, which is rarely much encumbered 

 with superfluous branches; but in some kinds, 

 whose form of growth resembles the apple tree, 

 it will sometimes be found beneficial. All ir- 

 regular crowded or decayed branches are of 

 course to be lopped ofi^, and the head is to be 

 kept modei-ately open in the middle. 



Perry is produced from the pear. It is chiefly 

 manufactured inWorcestershii-e, and from thence 

 is exported to America, and the East and West 



Indies. It is of a higher and richer flavour than 

 cider, and less acid; and when of genuine quality 

 is highly esteemed, commanding a price equal 

 to that of some of the best continental wines. 



The Quince, (^Pyrejs q/donia.) The quince 

 tree is of low growth, much branched, and gene- 



]19 



The Quince. 



erally much contorted ; the leaves are roundish, 

 or ovate, entire, of a dusky green above, and white 

 underneath, and attached by short petal?. The 

 flowers are large, white, or pale red, and appear 

 in May and June. The fruit differs in shape 

 and size in the different varieties. It is large, 

 globular, oblong, or pear-shaped, of a rich yellow 

 or orange colour when ripe, and astrong peculiar 

 odour. Its taste is austere ; the pulp is composed 

 of sugar, vegetable jelly, astringent matter, malic 

 acid, &c. The seeds are mucilaginous. The 

 dietetic properties of the fruit are similar to 

 those of the apple and pear. It is mentioned 

 by Tusser as cultivated in England in 1753, but 

 it has now come into general use in this coun- 

 try. Quince pie was once reckoned amongst 

 the delicacies of the table, but it is now rarely 

 produced. To some tastes, quince mixed with 

 other fruit contributes to it an agreeable 

 piquancy. 



The quince was introduced into Europe, ac- 

 cording to Pliny, fi-om the island of Crete. 

 From the largeness of this fruit, and its splendid 

 colour, it is not improbable that it was the same 

 with the apples of the Hesperides; for Galesio, 

 in his treatise on the orange, has shown that the 

 orange tree was unknown to the Greeks, and 

 that it did not naturally grow in those parts 

 where the gardens of the Hesperides were placed 

 by them. The fruit of the quince, however 

 useful and ornamental it may be in some res- 

 pects, does not warrant such honours, and in 

 truth has not continued to receive them; for the 

 French, who have paid great attention to its cul- 

 tivation, particularly for grafting pears upon its 

 stocks, call the quince tree " coignassicr," pro- 

 bably, according to Du Hamel, because the dis- 

 agreeable odour of the fruit requires that it should 

 be placed in a comer (coin) of the orchard or 

 garden. In the south of France, particularly 

 on the borders of the Garonne, the quince is 

 very extensively grown; and the peasants pre- 

 pare from it a marmalade, which they call cotig- 



