PEACHES AND NECTARINES 195 



and peaches of other varieties, These crosses 

 produced some seedlings of unusual size and 

 good quality. The trees are nearly all resistant 

 to curl leaf and mildew. As might be expected, 

 the seedlings from succeeding generations differ 

 widely. While nearly all possess one or more 

 very desirable qualities, it is only occasionally 

 that one combines enough good qualities to en- 

 title it to special consideration. 



THE UNION OF PEACH AND ALMOND 



Another series of hybridizing experiments, be- 

 gun about twenty-five years ago, used for the 

 original cross the purple-leaved peach and the 

 Languedoc almond. 



In the first and second generations, the four or 

 five thousand seedlings produced had green leaves 

 like the almond. In the succeeding generation, 

 however, there appeared a few seedlings having 

 purple leaves suggestive of those of the peach 

 ancestor. A particularly dark one was saved. 

 As is usual with the peach and almond hybrids, 

 this tree was very fertile. One season I obtained 

 more than 500 fruits from it. In every respect 

 this fruit was intermediate between the peach 

 and the almond. 



About nine-tenths of the seedlings grown from 

 the fruit of this purple-leaved hybrid had purple 



