'16 PEACH CULTURE. 



may be obscure, these pages have been prepared. They 

 have been written with that view, and for that purpose, 

 and are very minute in details, and severely practical in 

 description. 



In this introductory chapter, we propose to speak of 

 matters of a more general nature ; not, indeed, essential 

 to success in business, but, nevertheless, interesting, and 

 useful to the intelligent and cultivated planter. 



Most of our large peach growers are gentlemen of 

 wealth, refinement, and leisure ; many of great social, and 

 some of high official, position. They have engaged in 

 this honorable and delightful pursuit not only as a means 

 of increasing their revenues, but also of gratifying their 

 rural tastes. In the early spring, the soft and delicate 

 tints of the peach blossoms gladden the eye, while the 

 air becomes fragrant with their delightful perfume. In 

 the high noon of summer, Beauty crowns herself with 

 Plenty, and dispenses health, wealth, and happiness, in 

 her flowery way. Thus, flowers and fruit, beauty and 

 use, are delightfully blended, and the peach plantations 

 become at once a source of present gratitude and future 

 hope to their owners. 



Such planters will be expected, and should be able, not 

 only to tell how peaches are grown, and where they are 

 sold, but also to speak of their origin and history, the 

 countries in which they flourish, and the latitudes that 

 limit their production. 



In the brief space of an introduction, we can only give 

 an outline of the subject, which we hope will be useful, 

 not so much for what it imparts, as for stimulating a de- 

 sire to know more. To trace the history of the peach, 

 from its origin to the present day, would be a very inter- 

 esting and pleasing task, and we cordially commend it 

 to the many intelligent and public spirited planters on the 

 Delaware Peninsula, who have both the leisure and abili- 

 ty to perform it in a manner worthy of the subject. 



