298 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



peach, and on another the smooth coat of the necta- 

 rine ; but they have exhibited varieties even closer 

 than that, for single fruits have been produced with 

 the coat of the peach on the one side, and that of 

 the nectarine on the other*. The identity of the 

 apricot and the plum was also believed by the elder 

 gardeners. 



The Peach and Nectarine. 



Of the Peach {Amygdahis Persicd) there are two 

 distinct varieties, although there be but little differ- 

 ence in the appearance of the trees, and hardly any 

 in that of the blossoms : these are, the peach with a 

 downy coat, and the nectarine with a smooth one. 

 Of what country the peach actually is a native, it is 

 impossible to ascertain. From the distinctive name 

 Persica, bestowed upon it by the Romans, it is very 

 evident, and Pliny expressly states, that they im- 

 ported the peach from Persia ; but whether it was 

 indigenous to Persia, or sent thither from a country 

 still nearer the equator, we have no information. 

 When growing in its natural state, the peach is 

 rather a small tree, with wide spreading branches. 

 The flowers appear before the leaves ; they are of a 

 very delicate colour, but of scarcely, any scent. The 

 fruit is roundish, with a furrow along one side, and 

 having a very delicate downy cuticle when ripe. 

 Peaches are distinguished into two classes ; those 

 which separate easily from the stone or nut, and those 

 which do not. The former are, generally speaking, 

 the best flavoured, though to that there are excep- 

 tions. The varieties of the peach are exceedingly 

 numerous, but of late years as many new peaches 

 have probably not been introduced as there have 

 been new varieties of some other fruits. There are 



♦ See Hort. Trans., vol. i. 



