LUTHER BURBANK 
And I suspect that a very large number of per- 
sons under the same circumstances would be of 
the same mind, for I am told that the aversion to 
the fuzz of the peach is a by no means uncommon 
form of phobia. 
It might be of interest to inquire just how this 
curious antipathy to anything so soft and delicate 
as the structure of the peach’s skin was developed. 
I know men of perfectly stable nerves who cannot 
touch a peach without experiencing a disagreeable 
sensation, and who cannot bite through the fuzzy 
surface without shuddering. And as there seem 
to be large numbers who experience more or less 
the same sensation, it goes without saying that 
there must be some hereditary basis for this curi- 
ous and seemingly absurd prejudice. 
It is somewhat comparable to the fear of the 
mouse so common with women, or the instinctive 
dread of the snake that most of us feel. 
Just how the peculiar antipathy was developed, 
would, as I say, be a curious matter for specula- . 
tion. Here, however, we are concerned with the 
fuzz of the peach not in its direct relation to hu- 
man psychology, but in its bearing on the heredity 
of the peach itself. To the plant developer this 
is a matter of interest, because linked with it is 
the question of the way in which the superfluous 
skin-covering can be eliminated. 
[144] 
