THE PEACH AND NECTARINE. 301 



a village near Paris; and one tree there sometimes 

 covers sixty feet of wall, from the one extremity to 

 the other. The Montreuil peaches are of the finest 

 flavour; and their excellence is properly attributed 

 to the exclusive attention of the people to their cul- 

 ture. The sub-division of labour and skill produces 

 the same results in every art. 



The espalier peaches of the Due de Praslin, near 

 Melun, are stated to be the finest in Europe.* 



All the peaches have in the kernel a flavour resem- 

 bling that of noyau, which depends on the presence 

 of prussic or hydrocyanic acid. The leaves have the 

 same flavour, which they impart by infusion either in 

 water or in spirits. 



The facility of raising the peach from the stone has 

 probably tended to its general diffusion throughout 

 the world. This fruit has steadily followed the pro- 

 gress of civilization; and man, " from China to 

 Peru," has surrounded himself with the luxury of 

 this, and of the other stone fruits, very soon after he 

 has begun to taste the blessings of a settled life. 

 There are still spots where ignorance prevents por- 

 tions of the human race from enjoying the blessings 

 which Providence has everywhere ordained for in- 

 dustry; and there are others where tyranny forbids 

 the earth to be cultivated and produce its fruits. The 

 inhabitants of the Haouran, who are constantly 

 wandering, to escape the dreadful exactions of some 

 petty tyrant, have neither orchards nor fruit-trees, 

 nor gardens for the growth of vegetables. " Shall we 

 sow for strangers?" was the affecting answer of one 

 of them to Burckhardt. 



Even in the same land there is a striking contrast 



between such scenes as Burckhardt thus describes, 



and the effects of a settled industry, proceeding from 



a peaceful security. Dandini, in remarking the rich- 



* Le Bon Jardinier, 1829. 



vor. ii. 8* 



