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The Medlar and the Loquat (Prettier if made)

are prettier if made from the whole, fresh fruit instead of from the jelly pulp. For the jam wash and seed the fruit, removing the blossom end and any discolouration or imperfection. Place over the fire, barely covering with cold water and cook slowly several hours till very tender and deep red in colour. No water will be needed in addition to that first placed on the fruit as its juiciness requires reducing rather than otherwise. When cooked down add sugar in equal measure and continue to cook down till of proper consistency-two hours or more, when as much as four or five quarts are used. The ripe loquats make a yellower jam, lacking the rich colour though of excellent flavour.

CHAPTER V THE PEACH (Amygdalus Persica, or Prunus Persica) AND APRICOT (A. or P. Armeniaca) A NOTHER great division of fruits is the Almond or Plum family, Amygdalacea, including the almond, peach, apricot, cherry, and plum. The peach is held by some to be a distinct genus, by others is variously classed with the almond and apricot and with the plum, adding interest to the mooted question of exact origin by the fact that Darwin held the peach to be an evolutionised form of the wild almond. Alphonse de Candolle has led the theorists claiming the distinct peach origin, with China as its probable earliest home: since in that country the peach has not been found in varying forms (approaching or departing from the almond) but instead, has never been unknown as a distinctive, individual fruit or tree. (The Chinese Peen-To peach, in form flattened like a tomato, is now grown to a considerable extent in parts of the semi-tropical states of North America.) The name Persica was given the peach from the supposition that it originated in Persia. It has claims upon beauty of complexion, unrivalled perhaps in the fruit kingdom, and in rich, luscious fragrance few fruits can equal it, being esteemed in almost every country of the world for its flavour and daintiness of texture.

Peaches must be fully ripened and sound to be entirely wholesome uncooked but in this perfect stage have been