THE EARLY CRAWFORD PEACH. 



Eakly Ceawford. American Orchardist, 3cl Ed. 1841. 



Crawford's Early Melocoton, Fruits and Fruit Trees of America. 

 Crawford's Early, of some Collections. 



The Early Crawford peach stands preeminent among the great num- 

 ber of seedhngs v/liich have been produced by the zeal and perseverance 

 of American cultivators. Notwithstanding very good seedling varieties 

 may be calculated upon with considerable certainty, if pains are taken in 

 the selection of the seeds, it is no very easy task to produce one which 

 shall contain so many fine qualities, and take so high a rank, as the 

 variety now under notice. Its remarkable beauty and very large size — 

 its earliness and productiveness — its rich color and fine form — as well 

 as its melting flesh and luscious flavor, place it first among the yellow- 

 fleshed peaches. 



The Early Crawford was oiiginated by William Crawford, Esq., of 

 Middletown, New Jersey, but a few years since, and was first described 

 by Mr. Kenrick, in the American Orchardist. It is esteemed in New 

 Jersey as the very best of all the early peaches, and one of the most 

 productive and profitable for extensive cultivation. 



Peach trees so much resemble each other in then' shape, as well as 

 habit of growth, that sketches of the trees would not possess any gi-eat 

 value in the identification of kinds. The form of the fruit, of a larger 

 part of the numerous varieties, is so similar, that outline engravings 

 would, also, be of little use for the same object. We shall, therefore, 

 omit these in our descriptions of peaches, and look to the leaves for 

 peculiarities, which are invariable, and without recourse to which it 

 would be almost impossible to identify any particular variety. These 

 peculiarities are the glands, then* for7n, or then" entke absence, and are 

 divided into three classes, as follows : — 



Class 1. Leaves deeply and doubly serrated, without glands. (a) 

 Class 2. Leaves crenate or serrulate, with round or globose glands. (&) 

 Class 3. Leaves crenate orserrulate,withirregularorreniform glands. (c) 

 The blossoms also form a very distinguishing feature of peaches, and, 

 though not so constant, or so much to be relied upon, as the leaves, they 

 greatly assist in the labor of determining varieties. Duhamel had four 

 classes of flowers, while Lindley reduces them to three, — large, medium, 

 and small. But it requires nice observation and much practice to dis- 

 tinguish accurately which are the medium-sized, and we therefore admit 



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