MEDLAE 



EABDY FBUIT GARDEN easpbbeey 1085 



Shipley's (or Blenheim). — A 

 Apricot, ripe at the end of July. Fruit 

 large, oval, deep yellow, fairly rich and 

 juicy, and excellent for preserving. 



The tree bears abundantly. 



The above Apricots arranged in order 

 of ripening. 



Bipe in July 



New Large Early. I Musch Musch. 

 Hemskerk. 1 



Ripe in August 



OuUins' Early 



Peach. 

 Eoyal. 

 Kaisha. 

 St. Ambroise. 



Shipley's. 

 Peach. 

 Breda. 

 Powell's Late. 



THE MEDLAR (Mespiltjs German- 

 ic a). — The ornamental character of the 

 Medlar (see p. 406) is probably its chief 

 claim to cultivation, as from a fruit point 

 of view it is scarcely valued to any extent 

 in the British Islands. It flourishes m 

 ordinary good garden soil, but prefers a 

 rather moist rich loam, which, however, 

 must be well drained, and is occasionally 

 increased by grafting or budding on stocks 

 of the Quince, Pear, Whitethorn, or upon 

 those of the seedling Medlar. The Pear 

 stock, however, is generally preferred, and 

 seedling Medlars have very little if any 

 advantage over them, especially as the 

 seed takes about two years to germinate. 

 The trees when established require little 

 or no attention in the way of pruning or 

 thinning out, and they bear enormous 

 masses of bloom and plenty of fruit every 

 year in favourable situations. 



The varieties best known are the 

 Dutch or Broad-lea/ved Dutch, whiah has 

 the largest fruits, but not so highly 

 flavoured as those of the Nottvngham. 

 The fruit of the latter is much smaller, 

 however, rarely exceeding 1^ in. in dia- 

 meter, while that of the Dutch Medlar is 

 frequently 2^ in. through. The Stoneless 

 Medlar is smaller still than the Notting- 

 ham, and receives its name owing to the 

 absence of seeds. The Boyal Medlar is 

 a good variety with medium-sized fruit. 



Medlar fruits should be allowed to 

 hang on the tree until they have been 

 slightly frosted a few times. They may 

 then be gathered and stored in a cool dry 

 place, as on the shelves of a fruit room 

 (p. 1039), imtil they become soft and begin 



to show signs of decay. They should then- 

 be eaten or made into a preserve, but are 

 scarcely worth keeping longer, as they fall 

 a prey to a decomposing fungus. 



THE QUINCE (Cydonia vulgaris). 

 As a fruit tree the Quince is very rarely 

 seen in gardens, although it is extensively 

 grown to supply stocks for grafting Pears. 

 It flourishes in a light soil and prefers 

 rather damp situations. It may be in- 

 creased by seeds, cuttings, layers, budding, 

 and grafting, and is probably better on its 

 own roots than when grafted or budded 

 on the Pear or Whitethorn stock. 



The fruit should be allowed to hang 

 late on the tree, up to November. It 

 should be picked carefully, as it bruises 

 easily and will not last more than a 

 month or six weeks. It is chiefly useful 

 for making jam &c. and for flavouring 

 Apple pies. 



Among the varieties of Quince known 

 are the Apple-shaped, which is large and 

 roundish like an Apple, and of a beauti- 

 ful golden-yellow colour when ripe. It 

 is excellent stewed. The Pear - shaped 

 Quince is probably best known, being an 

 ornamental tree. The fruit is shaped like 

 a Pear, yellow in colour, and rather woolly 

 and not so highly flavoured as the Apple- 

 shaped yariety. 



What is known as the Portugal Quince 

 is superior to the others, being much 

 milder in flavour and more suitable for 

 stewing, jams, marraalade &o., and becom- 

 ing red when cooked. Although the tree 

 grows vigorously, it does not, however, 

 fruit freely. 



THE RASPBERRY (Eubus Id^us). 

 The botanical characteristics and affinities 

 of the Baspberry will be found at p. 371. 

 As a garden fruit the Baspberry is one of 

 the most easily grown, while it is of the 

 greatest value for cooking, dessert, or 

 preserving purposes. What is commonly 

 known as the fruit of the Baspberry 

 really consists of a number of fleshy little 

 drupes, like so many small Cherries or 

 Plums clustered together. Each little 

 drupe contains a seed. The Common 

 Blackberry or Bramble resembles the 

 Baspberry very much in structure, and is 

 indeed another species of the genus Eubus 

 (see p. 371). The word berry is used in 

 the loose popular sense in the same way 

 as applied to Strawberry (see p. 1088), and 

 not in the sense intended by botanists. 



