484 



AMYGDALACE^. II. Persica. 



^?i 



first brought from Persia into the Roman empire possessed dele- 

 terious qualities, which T» A. Knight concludes to have arisen 

 from those peaches being only swollen almonds (the inheres of 

 Pliny), or imperfect peaches, and which are known to contain 

 the prussic acid, which operates unfavourably on many constitu- 

 tions. The tree has been cultivated time immemorial in most 



List of the varieties of 'peaches, 



L 



Var. a; flesh separating from the stone, called in English 

 free-stoneSy and in French peches* 



List of free-stone or melting peaches. 



parts of Asia; when it was introduced into Greece is uncertain ; 1 Abricotee^ ahricotee a noyeau partage, admirable jaune^ 



the Romans seem to have brought it direct from Persia during grosse jaune^ grosse peche jaune tardivey d'abricot, de Burai^ 



VOrange, Sandalie hermaphrodite ^ yellow admirable. Duham, 



no. 13. Leaves with reniform glands. Flowers large. Fruit 

 large, yellow and red, ripening in the beginning or middle of 

 October. A second-rate sort. 



the reign of the emperor Claudius. It is first mentioned by Co- 

 lumella, and afterwards described by Pliny. The best peaches 

 in Europe are at present grown in Italy on standards, and next 

 may be cited those of Montreuil, near Paris, trained on lime- 

 white walls. (Mozard sur I'Education du Pecher, &c. 1814.) 



2 Acton Scot. Hort. trans. 2. t. 10. Leaves with globose 



In England there are but few sorts of peaches that come to glands. Flowers large. Fruit middle-sized, pale yellow, and 

 tolerable perfection in the open air in ordinary seasons. The red, ripening about the end of August. A first-rate sort. 



best adapted for this purpose are the freestones^ but all the sorts 



ripen well by the aid of hot-walls or glass, and may be forced so 



as to ripen in May and June. The tree is generally an abundant 



bearer ; one of the noblesse kind is at Yokefield in Suffolk, which 



covers about 600 square feet of trellis under a glass case with- the end of August. This is one of the very best late peaches, 



out flues, and ripens annually from 60 to 70 dozen of peaches, and ought to be in every collection ; and is very proper for a 



3 Late admirable^ royal^ la royale^ peche-royalcy Bourdine, 

 Boudincy NarbonnCy teton de Venusy belle bausse or belle bauce of 

 some, Judd's meltings Motteux's. Leaves with globose glands. 

 Flowers small. Fruit large, pale yellow and red, ripening about 

 the end of August. 



(Hort. trans. 3. p. 17.) 



Use. The peach is a dessert fruit of the first order, and makes 

 a delicious preserve. In Maryland and Virginia a brandy is 

 made from the fruit. " The manufacture of this liquor, and the 

 feeding of pigs, being (as Braddick observes, Hort. trans. 2. p. 

 205.) the principal uses to which the peach is applied in those 

 countries." The leaves steeped in gin or whisky communicate 



peach-house to succeed the early sorts. 



4 Early admtr able yadmir able yVadmir able yij^nhuxa. ^9.) belle 



de Vitry of Bon Jardinier. Flesh white, red at the stone, ripen- 

 ing end of August. 



5 Yellow albergey purple alberge, red alberge, golden mig' 

 nonne. ^oldfleshedy alberge-jaune (Duham. no. 5. t. 5.), pecne' 



globose glands. Flowers small. Fruit 



jaune. Leaves with ^ o 



middle-sized, yellow and dark red ; flesh yellow. Ripening 



Criterion of a good peach. A good peach, Miller observes, about the end of August. A second-rate sort. 



a flavour resembling that of noyeau. 



possesses these qualities, the flesh is firm, the skin is thin, of a 6 Almond peach. Leaves without glands. Flowers large. 



deep or bright-red colour next the sun, and yellowish green next Fruit middle-sized, pale yellow and red, ripening about the 



A second-rate sort, raised from the 



the wall, the pulp is of a yellowish colour, full of high flavoured 

 juice, the fleshy part thick, and the stone small. 



Varieties. Linnaeus divides his Amygdalus Persica into two 

 varieties ; that with downy fruit or the peachy and that with 

 smooth fruit or the nectarine^ but in the present vvork the peach 

 and nectarine have been established into a genus called Persica^ 



middle of September. 

 almond. 



7 Ansley's colonel. Leaves with globose glands. P^^.'J^^* 

 large. Fruit large, pale yellow and red, ripening in the middle 

 of September. A first-rate sort, resembling the Barrington. 



8 BarringtoUy Buckingham mignonne. Leaves with globose 

 and the peach and nectariije made (listmcCspecies. There are, glands. Flowers large. Fruit large, pale yellow and re , 

 however, various instances on record (Hort. trans. 1. p. 103.) of rinenincr \n the middle of Sentember. A first-rate sort, hut su 

 both fruits growing on the same tree, and even on the same 

 branch ; and one case has occurred of a single fruit partaking of 

 the nature of both. The French consider them as one fruit, 

 arranging them in four divisions, the peches or free-stone peaches, 

 the flesh of whose fruit separates readily from the stone and the 

 skin ; the peches lisse or free-stone nectarines ; the pavies or 

 clingstone peaches, whose flesh is firm, and adheres both to the tardive. 

 stone and the skin ; and the Bnignons or clingstone nectarines. 

 Knight (Hort. trans. 3. p. 1.), Robertson (Hort. trans. 3. p. 

 382.), and many other horticulturists, consider the peach and 

 almond as one species. We have, however, in this work fol- some 

 lowed the established nomenclature, and treated them as distinct 



reuse. 



ripening in the middle of September. 

 ject to mildew. 



9 Belle Chevreuse (Duham. t. 13.), Chevreuse, early Chev- 



Leaves with reniform glands. Fruit yellow and red. 



Flesh yellow, excellent. Much confusion exists with regard to 



this sort. J ' Up 



10 Belle de Vitry (Bnham.), late admirable^ bellis, admtraoie 



ntreuilf 



11 Bellegarde (Hook. t. 8.), galand, noire de Mo 

 vtolette hdlive, early gal and of some, Brentford mignonne, Irene 

 royal George (Hook. t. 41.), smooth-leaved royal ^^^^f^ ?^ 

 some, French violette hdtive. Leaves with globose glan «• 



Flowers small. Fruit large, pale green and dark red, ripening 

 • - , . . ,.,?,' *^« ^ ^ . . ^ yery handsonie 



fruits. There are many fine varieties of the peach. Tusser in in the beginning and middle of September 

 1573 mentions peaches white and red ; Parkinson in 1629 enu- 

 merates 21 sorts; and Miller in 1750 31 varieties. In the gar- nonne. 



grosse 



mtg- 



den of Luxembourg at Paris are 70 varieties, and above double 12 Swainsons black. Leaves with globose glands. J^ ^ 



small. Fruit dark red, middle-sized, ripening about the begin- 



that number of names are to be found in the catalogues of our 

 nurseries. Several attempts have been made to class the varieties 

 of peaches and nectarines by the leaf and flower, as well as the 

 firuit ; the first is by M. Poiteau in the Bon Jardinier ; the next 

 by Count Lelieur in his Pomone Fran^aise; the next by John 

 Robertson, nurseryman of Kilkenny, whose arrantjement is 



ning of September. 



New York (Hort. trans. 2. t. 1^.;, /jruuu.w 



Flowers smaiij 



Leaves with reniform glands. 



South American. ^^«,^o „.w* .^......^.-p ^ t, u ' incr 



Fruit middle-sized, pale green and red, ripening in the begmn g 

 4.,wi^^iiov^ti, i.uiov^w'uii V* *vi.«v,....^, ^. .«..^^...v-*.v .^ of September. A second-rate fruit. , ^^ 



founded on the glands of the leaves ; and the fourth by George 14 Braddick' s red. Leaves without glands. Flowers la g • 



- ' - ■ ■ - ^ - ripening end of August 



handsome peach of g<H)« 



Lindley (Hort. trans, vol. 5.), also founded on the glands of the 

 leaves ; but none of these arrangements have been found suffi- 

 ciently perfect for the purpose of this workt 



1 



quality. 



inning of Septerabe 



larg 



-i-,. 



