CHAPTER X. 



THE QUINCE. 



No variety of the quince has yet been pro- 

 duced sufficiently tender for use as a dessert 

 fruit. Its flesli is also so firm that it will' 

 probably never come into use except for cook- 

 ing. But its excellence is so great, for this pur- 

 pose alone, as a preserve, and for flavoring other 

 sauces, that it is always in demand, and usually 

 at a high price. It should therefore find a place 

 in every garden. It requires a rich, deep, rather 

 moist and retentive soil, clean culture, and yearly 

 enriching, with stable manure spread over the 

 surface in the autumn. Under such generous 

 treatment the growth will be vigorous and the 

 danger will be that the trees will be injured by 

 the winter, in low ground. They should in such 

 case be protected by litter or earth mounds 

 around the roots, and by boughs stuck in the 

 ground around the bushes, to serve as wind and 

 sun breaks. As the quince is inclined to irregu- 

 lar growth and to throw numerous suckers from 



