Cultivated Fruits. 67 



the nut is quite distinct from that of the almond, which he 

 also found growing wild in Afghanistan. 



Darwin thinks that botanical evidence seems to indicate 

 that the wild almond is the source of cultivated almonds, 

 peaches and nectarines, and, consequently, that the peach 

 wa,s introduced from Asia Minor or Persia, whence the name 

 Persica is given to the peach, and Atchison's discovery in 

 Afghanistan, of a form which reminded him of a wild peach, 

 lends additional force to this view. On the other hand, 

 Prof de Candolle considers the peach to be of Chinese origin, 

 although it has not been found wild in China, it has been 

 cultivated there from time immemorial, it has entered into 

 the literature and folk lore of the people, and it is desig- 

 nated by a distinct name " to " or " tao," a word found in the 

 writings of Confucius five centuries before Christ, and even 

 in other writings dating from the 10th century before the 

 Christian era. 



The strawberry is a native of the northern portions of 

 both continents, the American species being much larger 

 than those of Britain, and brought into cultivation since the 

 time of Columbus. 



The Alpine strawberryj^a native of Switzerland and Ger- 

 many, differs considerably from the other kinds in its taller 

 stems and more ereet manner of growth. The fruit which 

 is either red or white, is not very large, but is produced in 

 great abundance, and, unlike other strawberries, parts from 

 its calyx almost on being touched. 



The Indian strawberry, a native of the Himalaya, pro- 

 duces fruit in abundance; but the flowers are yellow instead 

 of white, as in other strawberries, and are not produced upon 

 common flower stalks rising from the center of the plant, a<» 

 in other species, but upon single flowered stalks, which 

 spring from the axils of the leaves upon the runners. The 

 fruit is said to be very beautiful, growing with its apex up- 

 ward, but is not considered of very good quality. 



There is a little mythology concerning the strawberry 

 which may not be uninteresting. 



It is for a pair of red shoes, or for some strawberries, or tor 

 a peacock's feather, that the young hero or heroine in In do- 



