Newer Peaches and New Fruits for the Cotton States. 119 



blooming, as well as the thickness of the calyx, which, remaining upon 

 the young fruit for several days after the petals have dropped, acts as a great 

 protection against cold weather. But this late blooming has also the effect 

 of causing the flowers of the Hale's to be self-fertilized. As very few other 

 varieties being then in bloom, cross-impregnation is less frequent than in 

 varieties blooming at the same time. This explains the great similarity in 

 all the offsprings of this variety, and so long as it is used as a parent so long 

 will the list of the so-called distinct new early peaches remain without vari- 

 ety, and increase the already numerous synonyms and confusion in our no- 

 menclature. 



Those of our peach growers present at this assembly will bear me witness 

 that, although they may have a large number of names, still they have but 

 one or two peaches that can be said to differ more or less in the main. It 

 ivill not do to rely upon one or two seasons of fruiting, or upon one tree, to 

 form an opinion that a seedling peach is earlier, better or larger than others 

 ^f the same class; but if, after three or four crops, and these from different 

 localities and soils, no material difference can be detected, it is then useless 

 to retain the names of new comers, as it results really in a distinction with- 

 out a difference. 



Some of the offsprings of Hale's have serrated leaves, others are with 

 ■glands; in this, and in a very slight difference in the texture of the flesh, 

 count all the variations which I have been enabled to detect between the Al- 

 exander and its sub-varieties, such as Amsden, Governor Garland, Waterloo, 

 Saunders, Downing, Musser, Wilder, Brice's, Early Canada and perhaps a 

 dozen others. 



Some of these sub-varieties ripen a few days after Alexander, but from an 

 experience of six years in fruiting the latter, and a host of others, none are 

 earlier or last any longer in average seasons. So far as their carrying ca- 

 pacity is concerned no difference has been perceptible. 



It is a notable fact, that while seventy-five out of one hundred of the pits 

 of the Early Beatrice will produce strong and healthy seedlings, not above 

 10 per cent, of the pits of the Alexander will germinate. 



The varieties maturing immediately after the Alexander, such as Early 

 Louise and Early Rivers, have given but occasionally satisfactory results in 

 shipping to a distance; their skin is so thin as to prevent distant carriage, 

 unless shipped under the most favorable concomitants of weather and rapid 

 transit. 



The Chinese strain, of which the old China Cling was for years the only 

 representative, has of late years produced a large number of sub-varieties; 

 some are free-stones, others clings, some with yellow flesh, others retaining 

 the color of the old variety, but all possessing the peculiar finely grained and 

 melting texture which characterizes this type. While a few years ago we 

 had the China Cling in maturity during two weeks, we now have a regular 

 succession of both free-stones and cling-stones to ripen from the first week 

 im July until the beginning of September. First we have the General Lee, 



