PEACHES AND NECTARINES 189 



competent observer to be a close relative of the 

 peach, namely, the nectarine. 



So this bit of evidence from heredity this 

 freak of atavism may be taken as furnishing 

 substantial evidence that the ancestor of the nec- 

 tarine was also the ancestor of the peach. Or, 

 stated otherwise, that the peach is in reality a 

 modified nectarine. It may be added that both 

 are undoubtedly modified from a plum-peach- 

 apricot-almond ancestor. 



That the nectarine, rather than the peach, rep- 

 resents the ancestral form is witnessed by the fact 

 that the nectarine is rarely observed at least in 

 my experience to produce a fuzzy fruit, how- 

 ever closely it may otherwise simulate the peach. 

 And, of course, this evidence is in keeping with 

 the natural inference one would draw from the 

 fact that pulp fruits in general have smooth skins, 

 or skins with at most a delicate bloom quite lack- 

 ing the texture of the peach's almost woolly 

 covering. 



THE MARRIAGE OF COUSINS 



In any event, there can be no question that the 

 peach and the nectarine are very closely related; 

 in fact, they are generally classified as a single 

 species, the trees differing very slightly in any 

 respect, the only difference being in the fruit. 



