THE PlACH AND THI NlCTARINE ] 315 



complete their fill on neighbouring almond trees or peach 

 trees. The larva has sixteen feet, is 3 to 4 c. m. long, 

 and its colour is milky or greenish white, faintly bluish, 

 with a broad yellow line on its back, and a narrower but 

 deeper yellow line on each side just above the feet. The 

 body has numerous short black bristles situated on small 

 point-like black prominences. There are two yellow 

 prominences close to the head, each capped by a black 

 dot, surmounted by a tuft of black bristles. The head 

 is bluish grey with two black dots. Immature specimens 

 have two broad bluish-black bands on each side of the 

 body above the yellow lateral line. The perfect insect 

 or moth is rarely seen. It is of a violet-brown or violet 

 grey colour, and about 2 c. m. long with two black 

 transverse broken lines and yellowish green spots on the 

 wings. The insect attacks also the peach, the pear, the 

 apple, the cherry and the plum, but prefers the almond 

 tree. The larvae should be collected by hand, or shaken 

 down the tree and picked up and destroyed. 



Many small moths and beetles, as well as small 

 wasps, prey upon the foliage of the almond, but the injury 

 caused by them is never severe enough to attract attention. 

 The scale insect Aspidiotus Hederae, or one of its many 

 forms, is frequently seen on the almond, but the infesta- 

 tion is rarely of sufikent severity to call for treatment. 



THE PEACH AND THE NECTARINE. 



Prunus per sic a Stock. = A my ] gda lus Per sic a Lin. 



Per sic a vulgar is Mill. 



The Peach is probably native of China, whence it 

 passed to Persia. It was introduced in Europe from 

 Persia probably at the time of Alexander the Great, and 

 was described by Theophrastus as the Persian fruit 

 (B. C. 286). The peach was well known by the Romans 

 who had numerous varieties under cultivation, but at 



