THE QUINCE. 



957 



North, on a wall or espalier rail, where it can be slightly protected with 

 nlats or stra.w in winter ; and it deserves to be much more popular than 

 it now is in every Southern garden. If raised in large quantities there, 

 it would become a valuable fruit for sending to the Northern cities, as 

 it is now constantly sent from the South of Europe to Paris and London. 

 Hedges are very often made of it near Genoa and Nice. 



Propagation and Culture. This tree is readily propagated by 

 cuttings, layers, suckers, or seeds. When by seeds, they should be sown 

 directly after they ripen, otherwise they seldom vegetate. Any good 

 rich garden soil answers well for the Pomegranate ; and, as it produces 

 little excess of wood, it needs little more in the way of pruning than an 

 occasional thinning out of any old or decaying branches. 



Varieties. There are several varieties. The finest, viz. : — 



1. The Sweet-Fruited Pomegranate [Grenadier a Fruit Doux), 

 with sweet and juicy pulp. 



2. The Subacid Fruited Pomegranate ; the most common va- 

 riety cultivated in gardens. 



3. The Wild or Acid-Fruited Pomegranate, with a sharp, acid 

 flavor, which makes an excellent syrup. 



Besides these, there are several double-flowering varieties of the 

 Pomegranate, which are very beautiful, but bear no fruit. They are 

 also rather more tender than the fruit-bearing ones. The finest are the 

 Double Red Pomegranate, with large and very splendid scarlet blos- 

 soms, and the Double White Pomegranate, with flowers nearly white. 

 There are also the rarer varieties, the Yellow Flowered and the 

 Variegated Flowered Pomegranate, seldom seen here, except in 

 choice green-house collections. 



CHAPTER XXX. 



THE QUINCE. 



Cydonia vulgaris, Dec. ; Romcece, of Botanists. 

 Coignassier, of the French ; Quittenbanm. German ; Kivepeer, Dutch ; Cotogno, 

 Italian ; and. Membrillo, Spanish. 



The Quince is a well-known hardy, deciduous tree, of small size, 

 crooked branches, and spreading, bushy head. It is indigenous to 

 Germany and the South of Europe; and it appears first to have attracted 

 notice in the city of Cydon, in Crete or Candia, whence its botanical 

 name, Cydonia. The fruit is of a fine golden yellow, and more nearly 

 resembles that of the orange than any other. It was even more highly 

 esteemed by the Greeks and Romans, for preserving, than by us. 

 " Quinces," says Columella, " not only yield pleasure, but health." 



The Quince seldom grows higher than fifteen feet, and is usually 

 rather a shrub than a tree. Its large white and pale pink blossoms, 

 which appear rather later than those of other fruit-trees, are quite orna- 

 mental ; and the tree, properly grown, is very ornamental when laden 

 in October and November with its ripe golden fruit. 



