BOTANICAL AND POMOLOGICAL STATUS 189 



this is the most striking characteristic of the variety 

 Peen-to itself, the seedlings raised from this variety 

 seldom show this peculiar form.) Skin white and 

 mottled with red, much as in the Chinese Cling 

 group, flavor sweet but peculiar; stone flattened 

 endwise like the fruit. This is said to be a distinctly 

 southern type, ranging farther south than any of 

 the other peaches. Until very recently it was sup- 

 posed to be too tender to be grown outside of 

 Florida; but in 1902 the variety was discovered 

 growing thriftly and fruiting nicely on the grounds 

 of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, Amherst, 

 Mass. The variety is said to grow in China as far 

 north as Tien-Tsin. These things suggest that the 

 Peen-to group may have a northern range much be- 

 yond that now assigned to it. 



The peaches are unusually easy of classification 

 on purely arbitrary lines, and such classifications 

 have accordingly been in most general use. The 

 one which we may take as representative of them 

 all, and which is, at the same time, one of the best 

 yet devised, is the classification of John J. Thomas. 

 This arrangement was used in the various editions 

 of "The American Fruit Culturist." The "Synopsis 

 of Arrangement" follows, a few varieties being 

 named in each group by way of illustration. These 

 varieties are named and classified here exactly as 

 given in Thomas' book. Many varieties of recent 

 introduction might, perhaps, be used better by way 

 of illustration ; but this would require not only a 

 thorough study of the varieties in question, but per- 

 haps also some readjustment of the scheme of 

 classification. 



I. Freestones, or melters; flesh not clinging to the stone. 

 1. White flesh, or nearly white. 



