228 THE PEACH. 



moreover, that it was not a common fruit either in Greece or 

 Natalia. No mention, however, is made of it by Cato. Pow- 

 nall, in his "Roman Provinces," makes it a Phocaean import- 

 ation to Marseilles; and evident^ it was cultivated in France 

 at an early period, as Columella, in his account of this fruit, 

 says — 



" Those of small size to ripen make great haste ; 

 Such as great Gaul bestows, observe due time 

 And season, not too early or too late." 



"According to Royle, it grows in Persia both wild and in 

 a state of cultivation, and flourishes on the Himalayas at ele- 

 vations of 5,000 to 6,000 feet above the sea. 



"The nectarine is considered by some as a distinct species; 

 but there can be no doubt on this point, as the peach itself is 

 believed to be nothing more than an improved fleshy almond, 

 which bears a similar relation to the peach and nectarine as 

 the crab does to the apple, and the sloe to the plum. To prove 

 that the peach and nectarine are essentially the same, it may 

 be mentioned that the fruit of both have been found on the 

 same branch; and even various instances are recorded where 

 the fruit had the smooth surface of the nectarine on one side 

 and the downy skin of the peach on the Other." 



The transformations wrought by horticulturists and pomolo- 

 gists are all but incredible. The peach, which originally was 

 considered a poisonous almond, and used, as some say, to im- 

 pregnate arrows with deadly venom, has become, by long and 

 judicious cultivation, the most delicious, harmless, and most 

 excellent of all fruits. Cherries are derived from a berry of 

 which a single one only grew on a stem; nectarines and apri- 

 cots are hybrids of the plum and peach ; the chief of esculents, 

 the cabbage, with its relatives, brocolia and cauliflower, came 

 from a marine plant — from the common sea-kale, which shoots 

 up on some sandy shores. From wild, sour crabs, scarcely 

 larger than boys marbles, have proceeded all varieties of 

 apples. The largest and richest of plums are descendants of 

 the black thorn's bitter sloe. Such are mere specimens of 

 vegetable metamorphoses brought about by transplanting, ac- 

 climating, crossings, and culture. 



