PEACHES. 269 



selves out from intercourse with other nations, we used to 

 read accounts by venturesome travelers of the wonderful 

 peaches raised in China; peaches of enormous size and 

 strange shapes, notably one that has latterly become 

 familiar to some of us, the flat or Pien-tau peach, and 

 another that is yet a stranger, the crooked peach. We 

 hope that some of our enterprising nurserymen may soon 

 get hold of the latter and introduce it to the residents of 

 Florida, for if it flourishes here as vigorously as its sister, 

 the Pien-tau, we could not in reason ask for any thing 

 better. 



Heretofore, Florida, partly because it is a newly-settled 

 country, has not done much in the way of peach raising, 

 but the few who have had enterprise enough to plant and 

 cultivate a few trees have been amply repaid, and the re- 

 sult of such intelligent efforts is sufficient to justify the as- 

 sertion that when Floridians wake up to the fact that 

 " there's millions in it," then their State will easily step 

 forward into the first ranks as a peach grower ; for the 

 peach is a native of a mild climate ; severe winters chill 

 its life-blood, and late springs kill its delicate blossoms or 

 young fruit. Florida's mild winters are congenial to it, 

 and if we exercise proper care in the selection of varieties 

 we need have little if any fear of our crops being ' ' nipped 

 in the bud " by Jack Frost. 



The peach, to do well, requires care and cultivation ; 

 but given these it will accommodate itself to almost any 

 soil, and, while preferring a clayey loam, will flourish in the 

 sand if the clay be three, four, or even five feet below it. 



Of course with peaches, as with other fruits, not all va- 

 rieties are suited to all localities ; for each section of coun- 

 try there are certain kinds that do well while others will 

 not grow at all. Hence, it is a point of great importance 

 to ascertain just what kinds are best suited to our own 



