An interesting fruit for the home garden is the medlar. It is one of the pome fruits, perhaps more closely allied to the quince than other fruits which we cultivate. It is known to botanists as Pyrus or Mespilus Germanica. The fruits attain the size of large hickory nuts A most singular characteristic of the fruit is the fact that it is inedible until it begins to decay. The ripe fruits are hard and austere, but if they are allowed to He from two to four weeks disorganization begins, and they become soft and edible. This process of decay is called bletting. The bletted fruits have a peculiar sub-acid flavor which becomes agreeable to most persons after a few trials. We first met bletted fruits of the Med-lar in Bohemia, and soon learned to eat them.

The Medlar may be propagated by seeds, but it is better to graft the best kinds upon seedling stocks, or upon pear or quince. The two leading varieties are the Broad-leaved Dutch and the Nottingham. There is also a seedless variety, but it possesses no superior merits except longer keeping qualities. The fruits are borne singly upon the ends of shoots, after the manner of quinces. The tree is small. In Europe it is largely used for hedges.

In some parts of the south this fruit is now grown in many gardens. It can be grown in the north in sheltered places. The fruits, after bletting, are either eaten raw, or made into preserves. L. H. B.