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in America and Europe being utilized in this way. They are also in 

 demand for this purpose in Australasia, and our colonial factories are now 

 using large quantities. This demand is expanding with each succeeding 

 year, and the trade is likely in time to assume large proportions. In the 

 south of Europe and America, and more especially in California, Peaches 

 are utilized to a large extent by drying, and this mode of preservation is 

 deserving of attention from Australasian cultivators. The drying process 

 is easily effected by halving the fruit, removing the stones, and exposing 

 it upon trays or mats to the sun, leaving the cut sides uppermost. 

 Another mode is to slice the Peaches, and when prepared in this way 

 they can be dried somewhat quicker. If drying is carried on upon a 

 large scale, the most economical plan will be to use evaporators specially 

 designed for the purpose, and which may be obtained at a moderate cost. 

 Cultivators must bear in mind that for either canning or drying sorts 

 having a firm flesh and tough fibre are better than the more luscious and 

 melting varieties that are so excellent for the dessert. When halved or 

 sliced, Peaches and Nectarines are often preserved in brandy or other 

 spirit, and in this form make a palatable sweetmeat. The j uice of the 

 Peach makes an excellent cider, and large quantities of the fruit are 

 utilized in this way in America. In preparing this beverage the same 

 directions will apply as given for the making of cider from the Apple, 

 (See article upon that fruit, page 112, vol. 1). An excellent spirit called 

 Peach brandy is also obtained from the fermented juice by distillation. 



Medicinally the flowers and kernels of the Peach contain a large 

 proportion of prussic acid, as also does the young green fruit. Fatal 

 results have been recorded of children who have eaten these too freely. 

 Formerty, a decoction of the flowers was often used as an aperient for 

 children suffering from worms. The leaves, after being boiled in milk, 

 were also sometimes used for the same complaint. From the leaves 

 bruised in water arid distilled, an extract is obtained called Peach water 

 which is used for flavouring in cookery. The bruised leaves are also 

 sometimes steeped in spirits, to which they communicate a flavour some- 

 what similar to that of the liqueur called Noyau. 



CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR CULTIVATION. 



The Peach may be grown successfully in most parts of Australasia, and 

 it will adapt itself to a wide range of climatic conditions. A warm 

 climate where there is a strong heat at the ripening stage is, however, 

 most congenial to the Peach. It is a tree specially well adapted for the 

 warm inland districts of Australia and New Zealand, where it thrives to 

 perfection and develops the finest qualities in its fruit. Peach culture, 

 and more especially in the warmer districts, is likely to prove in the 

 future a profitable industry. The home demand for fresh fruit is increasing 

 rapidly, and will expand still more freely when the supply is larger and 

 more regular, as it will necessarily be as cultivation progresses. 



Peaches may be grown successfully in any fairly good soil, but they 

 thrive to the greatest perfection in a rich sandy loam resting upon a 



