QUINCE, Cydonia, a genus of trees and shrubs of the natural order rosacerv, suborder 7102, act', nearly allied to pyrus, with which many botanists have united it, but distin guished by having many instead of two seeds in each cell, and by their very mucilagin ous nature. The ComMON QUINCE (C. vulgaris), a native of the s. of Europe and temperate parts of Asia, is a low tree, with generally tortuous branches; ovate, entire, deciduous leaves, which are downy on the under side; and rather large, whitish 'lowers, which are solitary at the extremity of young branches. The fruit is in some varieties globose; in others, pear-shaped, of a rich yellow or orange color, with a strong smell. It is hard and austere, but when stewed with sugar, becomes extremely pleasant, and is much used in this way either by itself, or to impart a flavor to apple-pies. It is also much used for making a preserve called quince marmalade. A delicious beverage, somewhat
resembling eider, is made from it. The seeds readily give out their mucilage to water, so that they turn 40 or 50 times their weight of water into a substance as thick as syrup. Quince mucilage, or quince gum. eydonin, is allied to bassorin, but differs from it in being readily soluble in water, whilst it differs also in seine particulars from Arabin. See Gum. —The quince was cultivated by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and is at the present day cultivated in the s. of Europe, in England, and generally in temperate climates. Ili Scotland the fruit seldom ripens except, on a wall.—The JAPANESE QUINCE (C. Japonica, better known by its older name, pyrus japonica), a low bush, a native of Japan, but perfectly hardy in Britain, is often to be seen trained against walls, being very ornamental the profusion of its beautiful flowers.
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