360 



FRUITS : 



Chap. X. 



the peach is the descendant of the almond, improved and modified 

 in a marvellous manner. 



One fact, however, is opposed to this conclusion. A hybrid, 

 raised by Knight from the sweet almond by the pollen of the peach, 

 produced flowers with little or no pollen, yet bore fruit, having 

 been apparently fertilised by a neighbouring nectarine. Another 

 hybrid, from a sweet almond by the pollen of a nectarine, produced 

 during the first three years imperfect blossoms, but afterwards 

 perfect flowers with an abundance of pollen. If this slight degree 

 of sterility cannot be accounted for by the youth of the trees (and 

 this often causes lessened fertility), or by the monstrous state of 

 the flowers, or by the conditions to which the trees were exposed, 

 these two cases would afford a good argument against the peach 

 being the descendant of the almond. 



Whether or not the peach has proceeded from the almond, it 

 has certainly given rise to nectarines, or smooth peaches, as they 

 are called by the French. Most of the varieties, both of the peach 

 and nectarine, reproduce themselves truly by seed. Gallesio 29 says 

 he has verified this with respect to eight races of the peach. 

 Mr. Eivers 30 has given some striking instances from his own 

 experience, and it is notorious that good peaches are constantly 

 raised in North America from seed. Many of the American sub- 

 varieties come true or nearly true to their kind, such as the white- 

 blossom, several of the yellow-fruited freestone peaches, the blood 

 clingstone, the heath, and the lemon clingstone. On the other 

 hand, a clingstone peach has been known to give rise to a freestone. 31 

 In England it has been noticed that seedlings inherit from their 

 parents flowers of the same size and colour. Some characters, 

 however, contrary to what might have been expected, often are 

 not inherited ; such as the presence and form of the glands 

 on the leaves. 32 With respect to nectarines, both cling and free- 

 stones are known in North America to reproduce themselves by 

 seed. 33 In England the new white nectarine was a seedling of the 

 old white, and Mr. Eivers 34 has recorded several similar cases. 

 From this strong tendency to inheritance, which both peach and 

 nectarine trees exhibit, — from certain slight constitutional differ- 

 ences 33 in their nature, — and from the great difference in their 

 fruit both in appearance and flavour, it is not surprising, notwith- 

 standing that the trees differ in no other respects and cannot even 



29 ' Teoria della Riprorluzione Vege- 

 tale,' 1816, p. 86. 



30 < Gardener's Chronicle,' 1862, p. 

 1195. 



31 Mr. Rivers, ' Gardener's Chron.,' 

 1859, p. 774. 



32 Downing, ' The Fruits of Ame- 

 rica,' 1845, pp. 475, 489, 492, 494, 

 496. See also F. Michaux, ' Travels 

 in N. America' (Eng. translat.), p. 



228. For similar cases in France see 

 Godron, ' De l'Espece,' torn. ii. p. 97. 



33 Brickell's ' Nat. Hist, of N. 

 Carolina,' p. 102, and Downing's 

 ' Fruit Trees,' p. 505. 



34 * Gardener's Chronicle,' 1862, p. 

 1196. 



35 The peach and nectarine do not 

 succeed equally well in the same soil : 

 see Liudley's ' Horticulture,' p. 351. 



