96.' In 1629, Parkinson describes six varieties. At least ten varieties are now commonly cultivated. Several of these have been known since the days of Parkinson, par ticularly the Masculine ; and others are mentioned by Rea in 1702, such as the Roman and the Orange.
The Masculine is generally first ripe. It is a small roundish fruit, red next the sun, and, when ripe, of a greenish yellow on the other side. It has a quick high fla vour, but in general is rather tartish. The tree is a good bearer.
The Breda is a large roundish fruit, becoming of a deep yellow when ripe ; the flesh soft and full of juice, and of an orange colour within. It is considered as among the best of the apricots, and the tree is a liberal bearer.
The Moorpark is a large fruit, flat shaped, of a deep yel low colour, and very high flavoured. Nicol declares, that one Moorpark is worth three of any other kind of apricot ; and it is esteemed by many the richest of the stone-fruit kind. The tree requires a good soil and situation, but de serves them. It is regarded as of English origin, and it receives various names in different parts of the country, such as Lord Dunmore's apricot, the Anson apricot, and the peach apricot. It takes its name from Moorpark in Hertfordshire, a place celebrated by Sii. William Temple in his account of English gardens at the close of the 17th century. (Miscellaneuus Works, vol. ii.) 97. The stocks commonly preferred for apricots are those of the muscle plum ; but All. Knight has observed, that they succeed better, and are more durable, on stocks of their own kind, that is, on apricot stocks : this he found to be the case, in particular, with the Moorpark apricot. The apricot being an early tree, the budding is performed any time from the end of June to the end of July ; the bud is inserted about six or eight inches from the ground. The apricot is sometimes twice budded ; that is, one variety is budded on another. The tree is said in this way to be kept more dwarf. When apricot trees are wanted as riders, or temporary trees, to fill the wall, they are of course budded on stocks four or five feet high. The best plants for dwarfs are such as have two strong branches, expanding as widely as possible from each other, and inclined at an angle of about But it very frequently happens, that there is only one main shoot, and this is headed down to six or eight inches, to obtain a supply of lateral wood. October is the best time for planting, and the end of February for head ing down. The young shoots are laid in horizontally, or
nearly so, and are not shortened till November following.
The fruit being produced partly on spurs, but chiefly on young wood of the former year, during summer care is taken to pick wood-buds from these 'spurs, and to lay-in and protect a sufficiency of new wood for next season. In June, the superfluous and fore-right shoots can be dis placed with the finger and thumb ; late in the season a knife must be used. The young shoots cut off, it may be mentioned, may be used for dyeing a fine cinnamon colour. Some good fruit, it must be observed, however, is produc ed from the curzons or spurs upon two-year-old shoots. The shape of the buds indicates those likely to be fruitful, and which of course are to be preserved. The winter prun ing is done any time from October to March. Not only all decayed and very old wood is as much as possible remov ed, but some of the most naked parts of the bearers of the two last years are cut out, so as to make room for a supply of new wood. The retained shoots are commonly short ened a little, and are always cut next a wood-bud, which is to act as a leader. The full grown apricot tree is ma naged much in the same way as the peach ; but its late or autumn shoots do not agree with being shortened ; when wanted as bearers, therefore, they are laid in at full length to the wall. The small and subordinate, or late shoots of the apricot, are more apt to be destroyed by frost than those of the peach tree. On this account, the pruning is often delayed till the end of January, when it can be seen which shoots are alive, and which have perished.
98. When the fruit is over-crowded, it is thinned, but cautiously, in the early part of summer. In the beginning of July it is finally thinned, and the best of the thinnings may then be used for tarts. Some gardeners recommend thinning the Moorpark to a fruit to every foot square, and the smaller kinds of apricots to a fruit to every eight inches; but, in general, the thinning is not carried so far. As the fruit approaches maturity, it is nailed close in to the wall, in order to its gaining as much reflected heat as possible. In this country, apricots begin to ripen in the end of July, and they continue till peaches be ready. Before the intro duction of the new style, they were sometimes ready early in July, and hence received the name of Mala prxcocia, to which epithet our English name may b'e traced.