MISCELLANEOUS HARDY FRUITS. 



261 



stem will be ensured; and, by allowing plenty 

 of laterals to grow, and by gradually reducing 

 them, the stem will be rendered strong enough 

 in course of a few years to be self-supporting. 

 When the stem has attained the required height, 

 the head should be formed as directed for the 

 Apple. After the principal branches have been 

 originated, very little pruning will be necessary. 

 Over-luxuriant shoots are apt to start up; these 

 should be looked for, and checked at an early 

 period of their growth, and weak spray and cross 

 shoots ought to be cut oft. 



The fruit ripens in the end of October or be- 

 ginning of November, and may hang on the tree 

 as long as there is no danger of frost. After- 

 gathering, it should be wiped with a clean cloth 

 and laid out on shelves, or on well-dried straw, 

 in some cool place, apart from other fruits, to 

 which it is apt to communicate a disagreeable 

 flavour. It does not keep longer than a month 

 or six weeks. 



Propagation is effected by seeds, but as these 

 seldom ripen in this country, cuttings and layers 

 are the modes generally adopted. Cuttings 

 should be made early in autumn, from wood of 

 the same year, and if possible with a small heel 

 of two-year-old wood. They should be planted 

 1 foot apart, in rows 2| feet from each other, 

 and if watered in dry weather they soon strike 

 root. If intended for stocks, they may be 

 grafted or budded the second or third year after 

 they are put in; if not, they may remain in the 

 nursery for two or three years, and may then 

 be planted where they are to remain. The 

 best plants are obtained in this way, though 

 not so quickly as by layering. 



In propagating by layers, the stem of a Quince- 

 tree is cut down in autumn to form a stool, and 

 the young shoots which are put forth in conse- 

 quence are layered in the autumn of the follow- 

 ing year, leaving two buds above-ground. When 

 these buds have made shoots a few inches in 

 length, the top of the weaker one should be 

 pinched off, and in two weeks after it may 

 be cut back to the lowest two leaves. The re- 

 maining shoot must be trained upright. In 

 autumn the layer should be taken up, the shoot 

 which was shortened back in spring cut off close 

 to its base, and any laterals which may have 

 pushed cut back to two eyes. The rooted layers 

 formed in this way may then be planted out in 

 nursery rows. Instead of laying down the shoots 

 in the above manner, the following procedure is 

 generally adopted near Paris: — The stem of a 

 young and vigorous tree is cut down in spring to 

 within 8 inches of the ground, and in the follow- 



ing year, when a number of good shoots have 

 pushed, mould is thrown in amongst them so as 

 to cover the top of the stump, but leaving their 

 tops above-ground. The earth is then formed 

 into a truncated cone, and a basin is made in the 

 centre. The shoots soon strike root, and may, 

 for the most part, be severed from the stump 

 and planted in the autumn of the succeeding 

 year. The stool will soon produce fresh shoots, 

 which may be treated in the same way, and young 

 plants may thus be obtained every two years. 



Young plants intended for stocks should be 

 shortened back to 18 inches, but if for standards, 

 they ought to be trained upright and at full 

 length to a rod. Those for stocks should, in the 

 summer after planting, have the lateral shoots 

 cut entirely off to the height of 6 inches above 

 the ground, in order to form a clean stem near 

 where they are to be worked. But those not 

 propagated for this purpose should have the 

 lower laterals shortened to two eyes, and the 

 points of the remainder must be pinched to 

 determine the sap towards the leading shoot. 

 In two years they may be taken up, after the 

 fall of the leaf, and transplanted to wider dis- 

 tances apart, or planted where they are to re- 

 main. In the latter case, they may be placed 

 15 feet apart. 



The principal varieties cultivated for the 

 fruit are : — 



Apple-shaped Quince. — Leaves ovate, downy beneath. 

 Fruit roundish, 1\ inches in diameter, of a rich golden 

 colour. Very productive ; ripens in a less favourable 

 climate than the other sorts. 



Champion. — Fruit very large, round; skin bright-yellow; 

 flesh very tender when cooked; flavour delicate. Tree very 

 productive, commencing to bear freely when young. 



Pear-shaped Quince. — Leaves oblong-ovate, downy be- 

 neath. Fruit large, pyriform, or sometimes roundish, with 

 a short neck, more or less ribbed towards the eye. of a 

 somewhat paler colour than the Apple -shaped, and ripen- 

 ing later. 



Portugal Quince. — Leaves very large, broad oval or 

 ovate, downy on the upper side, very downy beneath. 

 Fruit 4 inches in length, and 3^ inches in diameter at the 

 widest part, from which it is most elongated towards the 

 stalk, tapering more abruptly towards the e}-e, where it 

 again projects, forming irregular ribs; skin thickly covered 

 with gray wool, beneath which it is deep-yellow : flesh 

 more tender, juicy, and much better for ever}* purpose 

 than that of the other sorts. The tree is taller and more 

 vigorous than in the Apple-shaped and Pear-shaped varie- 

 ties, but is not quite so hard} 7 , and bears less abundantly. 

 It is frequently planted for the ornamental appearance of 

 its flowers and fruit; also, from its vigorous growth and 

 forming thicker annual layers of wood, it is well adapted 

 for stocks for the Pear. 



Medlar (Mespilus or Pynts germanica) (fig. 

 1046) is a low, deciduous tree, a native of Asia 



