MISCELLANEOUS HARDY FRUITS. 



259 



grafting, care should be taken to behead the 

 stock above a shoot, opposite to which the scion 

 should be applied. When the scion begins to 

 push, this shoot may be pinched ; and when 

 success is no longer doubtful, it should be 

 pruned. In ring-budding, which is only per- 

 formed when the sap is in full flow, a ring of 

 bark provided with an eye is taken from two- 

 year-old wood, placed on the stock from which 

 a similar ring has previously been removed, and 



the edges, having been accurately fitted to- 

 gether, are covered with grafting wax, but it is 

 not necessary to tie up. In the following spring 

 the portion of the stock above the graft should 

 be cut off. It may be remarked that this mode 

 of budding is also applicable to shoots and 

 branches. 



Insects. — The Walnut very rarely suffers from 

 insects, to which the smell and astringency of 

 the leaves appear to be peculiarly distasteful. 



Fig. 1044.— Walnuts, a, Parisienne. b, Pear-shaped (fruit), c, St. Jean. 



The caterpillar of the wood -leopard moth 

 (Zeuzera cesculi) and that of the goat -moth 

 (Cossus ligniperda) occasionally attack the stem, 

 and greatly deteriorate the value of the timber. 

 (See chapter xi, pp. 113, 114.) 

 The principal varieties are : — 



Cluster. — Fruit produced in clusters of fifteen or twenty, 

 thin -shelled, and of good flavour. 



Common. — Fruit oval, not large, but well filled. Tree 

 an abundant bearer. 



Highflyer. — Middle size, remarkably thin-shelled, and 

 well filled. It ripens early. One of the best for this 

 climate. 



Large Double (Noyer a bijoux). — Fruit very large, 

 double, kernel good, but soon shrivels. The shells are 

 frequently tised by ladies for holding gloves and trinkets, 

 hence its French name. 



Large Long-fruited. — Fruit thin-shelled, very full, of 

 excellent flavour, and produced in great abundance. 



Late (Noix Saint-Jean) (fig. 1044, a). — The principal 

 merit of this sort consists in its not flowering till the end 

 of June, so that the crop is not exposed to injury from 

 late spring frosts. 



Parisienne (French Walnut) (fig. 1044, a). — Fruit very 

 large, but must be eaten soon after gathering, otherwise 

 it becomes hard and shrivelled. The tree is not a great 

 bearer. 



Prolific. — This variety is said to come into bearing when 

 the seedlings are three years old, and to reproduce itself 



from seed. It may be trained as a pyramid, but the pruning 

 for this purpose should be performed in summer, whilst 

 the shoots are soft. 



Piriformis (fig. 1044, b). — Remarkable for its Pear- 

 shaped fruit, containing an oval nut of good quality. 



Thin-shelled. — Fruit double, longer, earlier, and of better 

 quality than the others. It has a very thin shell, which 

 is frequently pierced by birds in order to get at the 

 kernel. 



Yorkshire. — Large but not double, well filled, shell 

 moderately thin. It ripens well. 



Quince. — Several species of Cydonia are 

 cultivated under the name of Quince, viz. C. 

 vulgaris (the common Quince), C. shun sis and 

 C. cathayensis (Chinese Quinces), and 0. japonica 

 (Japanese Quince). The last-named is grown 

 as a decorative plant, but it crops very freely, 

 and its fruits are useful for jellies, flavouring, 

 &c. The best-known is C. vulgaris (fig. 1045, a), 

 which is supposed to be a native of South 

 Europe, but this is uncertain. It forms a low, 

 deciduous tree, of a crooked, branching, irregu- 

 lar habit of growth. The fruit, which is power- 

 fully odoriferous, and in its raw state acid, 

 astringent, and unfit for eating, is principally 

 used for making an agreeable ice, Quince 



