232 AMYGDALUS PEKSICA. 



A niodorn writ(M- on 'I'linhrr-tn-cs and Kriiits," remarks that. "The facihty 

 of raisintr tho jioach Iroiii iln' stone has |)rohal)ly tended to its t^t^ieral diirnsion 

 tlirouizhoiit thr world. 'I'his I'riiit has stcachly followed the progress of civiliza- 

 tion: and man, 'from China to IV'rn/ has siirronndcd hnnsclf with the Inxnry 

 of this, and <f ilir other stone-frnits, very soon after he has l)('ii;un to tast(! the 

 blessings of a settled life. There are still spots where ignorance prevents portions 

 of the hnman ract^ from enjoying the blessings which Providence has everywhere 

 ordained for indnstry: and there arc others wlnnc tyranny forbids the earth to 

 be cultivated, aiul jiroduce its fruits. The iidiabitants of th(> llaonran, who are 

 constantly wandering, to escape tlie dreadful exactions of some petty tyrant, 

 have n<Mther orchards nor fruit-trees, nor gardens, for the trrowtli of vegetables. 

 ' Shall we sow for strangers /" was the alfccting answer of one of them to liurck- 

 hardt." "One of the greatest blessings," continues he, " that can be conferred 

 upon any rude people, (and it is a blessing wliich will bring knowledge, and virtue, 

 and peace, in its train.) is to teach them how to cultivate those vegetable [)roduc- 

 tions which constitute the best riches of mankind.'" The traveller, Burchell. ren- 

 dered such a service to the Hachapins, a tribe of the interior of southern Africa. 

 He gave to their chief a bag of fresh peach-stones, in quantity about a quart ; " nor 

 did I fail," says the benevolent visiter of these poor people, "to impress on his 

 mind, a just idea of their value and nature, by tellmg him that they would pro- 

 duce trees which would continue every year to yield, without further trouble, 

 abundance of large fruit of a more agreeable flavour than any which grew in 

 the country of the Bachapins." 



The peach is in general cultivated as a fruit-tree, against walls, and in hot- 

 houses, in the middle and north of Europe, and as a standard tree, in the fields 

 and gardens of the southern parts of that country, as well as in those of northern 

 Africa, and many of the islands of the Mediterranean, and of the Atlantic Ocean. 

 At Montreuil, in the neighbourhood of Paris, peaches are produced of the finest 

 flavour, the excellence of which is attributed to the exclusive attention of the 

 people to their culture : and a single tree there, sometimes covers a space of wall 

 sixty feet in length. The peach also abounds in various countries of the cast, 

 including China, India, and Persia, where, according to Mr. Royle, it grows both 

 wild and in a state of cultivation. On the Himalayas, it flourishes at elevations 

 of five thousand to six thousand feet ; and in Madeira and Tenerifte, which lie 

 in about the same latitude, it brings forth fruit of the finest quality, and in the 

 greatest abundance, at all points below the height of five thousand feet. 



The peach was introduced into North America by the first European settlers, 

 probably towards the close of the XVIth, or early in the XVHth century, \vhere 

 it is cultivated in extensive plantations, which often grow with such luxuriance 

 as to resemble forests of other trees. In New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, 

 Maryland, Virginia, and several other states, much attention is paid to its culture, 

 and the fruit is of an excellent quality. It is no uncommon circumstance for a 

 planter to possess a peach-orchard containing one thousand or more of standard 

 trees. It is only in the middle states of the union where this fruit arrives at the 

 greatest perfection. In favourable seasons, it matures in the open air, as far north 

 as Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and the falls of Niagara; but its pulp is not 

 so delicious as when grown some degrees farther south ; it is also trained against 

 walls at Montreal and Torento, in Canada, where, in some seasons, fruit of a fine 

 quality is obtained. In the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, the trees make 

 much foliage and wood ; still, if well cultivated and properly pruned, the fruit 

 grows to a large size, and is juicy and well-flavoured. On the Mississippi, partic- 

 ularly in Louisiana, which lies in the same latitude as that part of Asia where 

 this species is indigenous, it grows spontaneou.sly, but is regarded as of foreign 

 origin, having been introduced from Spain before that river was explored by the 



