118 • THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



The peach is one of the oldest of cultivated fruits. Long 

 before the Christian era all data regarding its native home had 

 been lost. Theophrastus (300 B. C.) regarded it as a Persian 

 plant, but recent investigations seem to indicate that it origin- 

 ally came from China. At any rate, peaches have been found 

 growing wild in the forests of that country. Whatever its 

 origin, the culture of the peach has spread to all lands where 

 it will thrive. Many varieties are known, there being more 

 than 450 in America. In a good year the United States pro- 

 duces more than thirty-six million bushels of peaches. These 

 fruits are much more susceptible to cold than are our other 

 orchard fruits. Its habit of early blooming is often the cause 

 of crop failures, an unseasonable freeze killing all the blos- 

 soms. Peaches, therefore, are not always a paying crop in 

 regions where the trees thrive and the location of peach 

 orchards is a matter for careful study, especially in northern 

 regions. Peach growing is a highly specialized industry. 

 This makes more than usually desirable a book on the subject 

 and H. P. Gould's volume on "Peach Growing" should be 

 welcome to cultivators everywhere. The author is one of the 

 pomologists of the United States Department of Agriculture 

 and the value of the book is further guaranteed by the fact 

 that it is one of the Rural Science Manuals edited by L. H. 

 Bailey and issued by the Macmillan Company. The book 

 contains more than 400 pages and numerous plates and costs 

 $2.00 



