4-84 



AMYGDALACE^E. II. PERSICA. 



first brought from Persia into the Roman empire possessed dele- 

 terious qualities, which T. A. Knight concludes to have arisen 

 from those peaches being only swollen almonds (the lubcrcs of 

 Pliny), or imperfect peaches, and which are known to contain 

 the- prussic acid, which operates unfavourably on many constitu- 

 tions. The tree has been cultivated time immemorial in most 

 parts of Asia; when it was introduced into Greece is uncertain ; 

 the Romans seem to have brought it direct from Persia during 

 the reign of the emperor Claudius. It is first mentioned by Co- 

 lumella, and afterwards described by Pliny. The best peaches 

 in Europe are at present grown in Italy on standards, and next 

 may be cited those of Montreuil, near Paris, trained on lime- 

 white walls. (Mozard sur 1'Education du Pecher, &c. 1814.) 

 In England there are but few sorts of peaches that come to 

 tolerable perfection in the open air in ordinary seasons. The 

 best adapted for this purpose are the free-stones, but all the sorts 

 ripen well by the aid of hot-walls or glass, and may be forced so 

 as to ripen in May and June. The tree is generally an abundant 

 bearer ; one of the noblesse kind is at Yokefield in Suffolk, which 

 covers about 600 square feet of trellis under a glass case with- 

 out flues, and ripens annually from 60 to 70 dozen of peaches. 

 (Hort. trans. 3. p. 17.) 



Use. The peach is a dessert fruit of the first order, and makes 

 a delicious preserve. In Maryland and Virginia a brandy is 

 made from the fruit. " The manufacture of this liquor, and the 

 feeding of pigs, being (as Braddick observes, Hort. trans. 2. p. 

 205.) the principal uses to which the peach is applied in those 

 countries." The leaves steeped in gin or whisky communicate 

 a flavour resembling that of noyeau. 



Criterion of a good peach. A good peach, Miller observes, 

 possesses these qualities, the flesh is firm, the skin is thin, of a 

 deep or bright-red colour next the sun, and yellowish green next 

 the wall, the pulp is of a yellowish colour, full of high flavoured 

 juice, the fleshy part thick, and the stone small. 



Varieties. Linnaeus divides his Ami/gdalus Persica into two 

 varieties ; that with downy fruit or the peach, and that with 

 smooth fruit or the nectarine, but in the present work the peach 

 and nectarine have been established into a genus called Persica, 

 and the peach and nectarine made distinct species. There are, 

 however, various instances on record (Hort. trans. 1. p. 10,'j.) of 

 both fruits growing on the same tree, and even on the same 

 branch ; and one case has occurred of a single fruit partaking of 

 the nature of both. The French consider them as one fruit, 

 arranging them in four divisions, the peches or free-stone peaches, 

 the flesh of whose fruit separates readily from the stone and the 

 skin ; the peches lisse or free-stone nectarines ; the panics or 

 clingstone peaches, whose flesh is firm, and adheres both to the 

 stone and the skin ; and the Bnignons or ding-stone nectarines. 

 Knight (Hort. trans. 3. p. 1.), Robertson (Hort. trans. 3. p. 

 382.), and many other horticulturists, consider the peach and 

 almond as one species. We have, however, in this work fol- 

 lowed the established nomenclature, and treated them as distinct 

 fruits. There are many fine varieties of the peach. Tusser in 

 1573 mentions peaches white and red ; Parkinson in 1629 enu- 

 merates 21 sorts'; and Miller in 1750 31 varieties. In the gar- 

 den of Luxembourg at Paris are 70 varieties, and above double 

 that number of names are to be found in the catalogues of our 

 nurseries. Several attempts have been made to class the varieties 

 of peaches and nectarines by the leaf and flower, as well as the 

 fruit ; the first is by M. Poiteau in the Bon Jardinier ; the next 

 by Count Lelieur in his Pomone Franchise; the next by John 

 Robertson, nurseryman of Kilkenny, whose arrangement is 

 founded on the glands of the leaves ; and the fourth by George 

 Lindley (Hort. trans, vol. 5.), also founded on the glands of the 

 leaves ; but none of these arrangements have been found suffi- 

 ciently perfect for the purpose of this work. 



List of the varieties of peaches. 



Var. a. ; flesh separating from the stone, called in English 

 free-stones, and in French peches. 



List of free-stone or melting peaches. 



1 Abricotte, abricotee a noyeau portage, admirable jaune, 

 grosse jaune, grosse pcche jaune tardive, d'abricot, de Rural, 

 D'Orange, Sandalie hermaphrodite, yellow admirable. Duham. 

 no. 13. Leaves with reniform glands. Flowers large. Fruit 

 large, yellow and red, ripening in the beginning or middle of 

 October. A second-rate sort. 



2 Acton Scot. Hort. trans. 2. t. 10. Leaves with globose 

 glands. Flowers large. Fruit middle-sized, pale yellow, and 

 red, ripening about the end of August. A first-rate sort. 



3 Late admirable, royal, la royale, peche-royale, Bourdinc, 

 Boudine, Narbonne, tcton de Venus, belle bauxse or belle bailee of 

 some, Judd's melting, Motteux's. Leaves with globose glands. 

 Flowers small. Fruit large, pale yellow and red, ripening about 

 the end of August. This is one of the very best late peaches, 

 and ought to be in every collection ; and is very proper for a 

 peach-house to succeed the early sorts. 



4 Early admirable, admirable, I'admirable, (Duham. 29.) belle 

 de Vitry of Bon Jardinier. Flesh white, red at the stone, ripen- 

 ing end of August. 



5 Yellow alberge, purple alberge, red alberge, golden mig- 

 nonne, gold-fleshed, alberge-jaune (Duham. no. 5. t. 5.), peche- 

 jan.nc. Leaves with globose glands. Flowers small. Fruit 

 middle-sized, yellow and dark red ; flesh yellow. Ripening 

 about the end of August. A second-rate sort. 



C Almond peach. Leaves without glands. Flowers large. 

 Fruit middle-sized, pale yellow and red, ripening about the 

 middle of September. A second-rate sort, raised from the 

 almond. 



7 Ansley's colonel. Leaves with globose glands. Flowers 

 large. Fruit large, pale yellow and red, ripening in the middle 

 of September. A first-rate sort, resembling the Barrington. 



8 Barrington, Buckingham mignonne. Leaves with globose 

 glands. Flowers large. Fruit large, pale yellow and red, 

 ripening in the middle of September. A first-rate sort, but sub- 

 ject to mildew. 



9 Belle Chevreiise (Duham. t. 13.), Chevreuse, early Chev- 

 reuse. Leaves with reniform glands. Fruit yellow and red. 

 Flesh yellow, excellent. Much confusion exists with regard to 

 this sort. 



10 Belle de Vilry (Duham.), late admirable, bellis, admirable 

 tcirdive. 



1 1 Bellegarde (Hook. t. 8.), galand, noire de Montreuil, 

 violette hdtive, early galand of some, Brentford mignonne, French 

 royal George (Hook. t. 41.), smooth-leaved royal George of 

 some, French violette hdtive. Leaves with globose glands. 

 Flowers small. Fruit large, pale green and dark red, ripening 

 in the beginning and middle of September. A very handsome 

 and excellent peach, succeeds nyal George and grosse mig- 

 nonne. 



12 Smainsons black. Leaves with globose glands. Flowers 

 small. Fruit dark red, middle-sized, ripening about the begin- 

 ning of September. 



13 Braddick's New York (Hort. trans. 2. t. 13.), Braddick' s 

 South American. Leaves with reniform glands. Flowers small, 

 Fruit middle-sized, pale green and red, ripening in the beginning 

 of September. A second-rate fruit. 



14 Braddick's red. Leaves without glands. Flowers large. 

 Fruit large, pale green and dark red, ripening end of August, 

 and beginning of September. A large handsome peach of good 

 quality. 



