THE WILLETT PEACH. 



lALLACE P. WILLETT, writing: to 

 the Country Gentleman, notes the 

 fact that the Willett Peach is one 

 of the seven varieties that did well in a trial 

 of 225 varieties at the Michigan Experiment 

 Station. He says that the original seedling 

 tree was grown in the yard of his city home, 

 no W. 48th St., New York city, from a 

 peach stone brouglit from South America. 

 He exhibited specimens at the American In- 

 stitute fair in 1874 and received a diploma. 

 He writes : 



A nurseryman who saw the peaches there, 

 begged of me some cuttings the following 

 year, which I sent him, and from those cut- 

 tings he propagated the Willett Peach. I 

 also sent him fruit from the original tree, 

 which fruit he placed before the Pomological 

 Society of the state of New York, who 

 named it the "Willett Seedling," and pro- 

 nounced it "the finest late peach grown," 

 as he wrote me. I have never taken the 

 trouble to look up that record, and don't 

 know if it exists to-day. 



I have never been without the Willett 

 peach, and never failed in any year to have 

 specimens measuring at least 9 inches in cir- 

 cumference and weighing at least 9 ounces 

 each, always having received my fresh sup- 

 ply from said nurseryman until his death. 



His successors hav^e not been as careful of 

 the propagation, and quite shamed me with 

 my friends, among whom I have been ac- 

 customed to distribute trees, by sending me 

 for the Willett an entirely different and in- 

 ferior peach ; in fact a white clingstone, 

 which decayed on the trees before ripening. 

 Fortunately, I had several true Willets on 

 my place, and now produce my own trees, 

 true to name. I find the Willett is entered 

 in my catalogues South and North, and now 

 West. 



Sitting on my piazza two autumns ago, a 

 tree agent came along soliciting orders. 

 Looking over his catalogue, I was confronted 

 with a fine picture of the " Willett Seedling" 

 peach, with letter-press copy of myself as its 

 producer, with all particulars. I took the 

 gentleman to my peach garden, and showed 

 him the perfected originals of his drawings. 



Now, after 25 years' test, if the testimony 

 of those who see and taste and raise the 

 Willett peach from trees that I have dis- 

 tributed is worth anything, it is not too 

 much to say, as said the Pomological So- 

 ciety, the first years of its introduction, 

 " The Willett Seedling is the finest late 

 peach grown," and I may perhaps congratu- 

 late myself on having given to the world a 

 peach of beauty and a joy forever. 



THE CHAIRS PEACH. 



IHE wonderful peach crop of this year 

 is teaching us some useful lessons 

 about varieties. Some of the old 

 ones hold their own remarkably well, and 

 others are being outclassed by better ones of 

 the same character. The demand for yellow 

 peaches seems to be on the increase, and 

 whatever color is fashionable is the one to 

 grow. The Crawfords, Foster, Reeves, 



Smock and lately Elberta have largely been 

 the cause of this popular notion, because 

 they are all peaches of good quality, except 

 it be Smock, which has been mainly popular 

 with the canners. Many varieties have been 

 brought forward of the season and character 

 of Late Crawford, but none that seems to be 

 superior in all respects except Chairs. Hav- 

 ing just made a trip of investigation through 



