APRICOT (from the

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• LAT

Lat. praecox, or praecoquus, ripened

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• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early, coquere, to

See also:

• COOK
• COOK, ALBERT STANBURROUGH (1853– )
• COOK, EDWARD DUTTON (1829–1883)
• COOK, ELIZA (1818–1889)
• COOK, JAMES (1728-1779)
• COOK, THOMAS (1808-1892)

cook, or ripen; the

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• ENGLISH

English

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• FORM (Lat. forma)

form, formerly " apricock " and " abrecox," comes through the Fr. abricot, from the Span. albaricoque, which was an

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• ADAPTATION (from Lat. adaptare. to fit to)

adaptation of the Arabic al-burquk, i  tself a rendering of the late Gr . 7rpeK6KKta or apcoKOKCOV, adapted from the Latin; the derivation from in aprico coctus is a mere guess), the fruit of Prunus armeniaca, also called Armeniaca vulgaris . Under the former name it is regarded as a species of the genus to which the plums belong, the latter establishes it as a distinct genus of the natural order Rosaceae . The apricot is, like the plum, a stone fruit, cultivated generally throughout temperate regions, and used chiefly in the form of preserves and in tarts . The tree has long been cultivated in Armenia (hence the name Armeniaca); it is a native of north China and other parts of temperate Asia . It flowers very early in the season, and is a hardy tree, but the fruit will scarcely ripen in Britain unless the tree is trained against a wall . A great number of varieties of the apricot, as of most cultivated fruits, are distinguished by cultivators . The kernels of several varieties are edible, and in Egypt those of the Musch-Musch variety form a considerable article of commerce . The French liqueur Eau de noyaux is prepared from bitter apricot kernels . Large quantities of fruit are imported from France into the United Kingdom . The apricot is propagated by budding on the mussel or common plum stock . The tree succeeds in good well-drained loamy soil, rather light than heavy .

It is usually grown as a wall tree, the

east and west aspects being preferred to the south, which induces mealiness in the fruit, though in Scotland the best aspects are necessary . The'most usual and best mode of training is the fan method . The fruit is produced on shoots of the preceding year, and on small close spurs formed on the two-year-old wood . The trees should be planted about 20 ft. apart . The summer pruning should begin early in June, at which period all the irregular fore-right and useless shoots are pinched off; and, shortly afterwards, those which remain are fastened to the wall . At the winter pruning all branches not duly furnished with spurs and fruit buds are removed . The young bearing shoots are moderately pruned at the points, care being, however, taken to leave a terminal shoot or leader to each branch . The most common error in the pruning of apricots is laying in the bearing shoots too thickly; the branches naturally diverge in fan training, and when they extend so as to be about 15 in. apart, a fresh branch should be laid in, to be again subdivided as required . The blossoms of the apricot open early in spring, but are more hardy than those of thepeach; the same means of protection when necessary may be employed for both . If the fruit sets too numerously, it is thinned out in June and in the beginning of July, the later thinnings being used for tarts . In the south of England, where the soil is suitable, the hardier sorts of apricot, as the Breda and Brussels, bear well as standard trees in favourable seasons . In such cases the trees may be planted from 20 to 25 ft. apart .

The ripening of the fruit of the apricot is accelerated by culture under

glass, the trees being either planted out like peaches or grown in pots on the orchard-house system . They must be very gently excited, since they naturally bloom when the spring temperature is comparatively low . At first a maximum of 400 only must be permitted; after two or three weeks it may be raised to 45°, and later on to 5o° and 55°, and thus continued till the trees are in flower, air being freely admitted, and the minimum or night temperature ranging from 40° to 45° . After the fruit is set the temperature should be gradually raised, being kept higher in clear weather than in dull . When the fruit has stoned, the temperature may be raised to 6o° or 65° by day and 6o° by night; and for ripening off it may be allowed to reach 70° or 8o° by sun heat . The Moorpark is one of the best and most useful sorts in cultivation, and should be planted for all general purposes; the Peach is a very similar variety, not quite identical; and the Hemskerk is also similar, but hardier . The Large Early, which ripens in the end of July and beginning of August, and the Kaisha, a sweet-kernelled variety, which ripens in the middle of August, are also to be recommended . For standard trees in favourable localities the Breda and Brussels may be added .