PEACHES AND NECTARINES 199 



there was a double migration in prehistoric days 

 which resulted in stocking China with peaches 

 of one type and Europe with quite another. 



The peach most commonly grown in the 

 United States is usually spoken of as belonging 

 to the Persian race. The Chinese type of peach 

 has been variously tested in California, and for 

 the most part found wanting. The chief defect 

 of the oriental variety is the pointed almond 

 shape of its fruit, and susceptibility to mildew 

 and curl leaf. 



It will be recalled that the oriental pear showed 

 precisely the qualities of hardiness and resistance 

 to disease that the oriental peach notably lacks. 

 The difference, in all probability, is to be ex- 

 plained by the different treatment the two fruits 

 have received in their Asiatic home. The pear 

 has been developed for its fruit, and the oriental 

 taste demanded certain qualities of firmness and 

 perhaps slight astringency that might be said to 

 be in keeping with the natural character or pro- 

 pensity of the wild fruit. 



But in the case of the peach special develop- 

 ment has taken place along the line of flower 

 production. Doubtless more attention has been 

 given to this than to the question of fruit. And 

 as with most specialized races of plants, there 

 are incidental defects due to the selective breed- 



