LUTHER BURBANK 
sulted in stocking China with peaches of one type 
and Europe with quite another. 
The peach most commonly grown in the United 
States is usually spoken of as belonging to the 
Persian race. The Chinese type of peach has been 
variously tested in California, and for the most 
part found wanting. The chief defect of the Ori- 
ental variety is the pointed almond shape of its 
fruit, and susceptibility to mildew and curl-leaf. 
It will be recalled that the oriental pear showed 
precisely the qualities of hardiness and resistance 
to disease that the oriental peach notably lacks. 
The difference, in all probability, is to be explained 
by the different treatment the two fruits have 
received in their Asiatic home. The pear has been 
developed for its fruit, and the oriental taste de- 
manded certain qualities of firmness and perhaps 
slight astringency that might be said to be in 
keeping with the natural character or propensity 
of the wild fruit. 
But in the case of the peach special develop- 
ment has taken place along the line of flower pro- 
duction. Doubtless more attention has been given 
to this than to the question of fruit. And as with 
most specialized races of plants, there are inci- 
dental defects due to the selective breeding for a 
single quality, and the overlooking of other 
qualities. 
[166] 
