174 



HEATH FREE 



ILLINOIS 



tipped with reddish-brown glands ; petiole % inch long, 

 with 2-7 small, mostly reniform, reddish-brown glands. 

 Blossoms midseason, a faded pink, white at the center 

 of the petals, % inch across. Fruit very late ; 2 *4 

 inches in diameter, round-oval, compressed and some- 

 what angular, with unequal sides ; cavity variable in 

 depth and width, flaring ; suture shallow ; apex ending 

 in a swollen, pointed tip ; color creamy-white, blushed 

 with red, splashed and mottled with darker red ; pubes- 

 cence short, thick, fine ; skin thin, adhering to the 

 pulp ; flesh white, juicy, firm, tender, sweet or some- 

 what sprightly ; good in quality ; stone clinging, oval, 

 plump, flattened and pointed toward the base, tapering 

 to a short point at the apex, with dark brown, grooved 

 surfaces. 



HEATH FREE. Heath. Heath Free is 

 now rarely planted, being replaced by better 

 sorts. The tree-characters of the variety seem 

 to be very good, but the fruits are poor in 

 quality. Possibly it is worth growing under 

 some conditions as a late, white-fleshed peach. 

 Heath Free is another old variety, a native of 

 New England. Kenrick, one of the first 

 American pomologists, received the variety 

 from General Heath, Roxbury, Massachusetts, 

 early in the nineteenth century. 



Tree very large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open- 

 topped, unproductive. Leaves 7 inches long, 1% inches 

 wide, folded upward, recurved slightly, long-oval to 

 obovate-lanceolate, rather thin ; margin finely serrate, 

 with reddish-brown glands ; petiole % inch long, with 

 2-5 reniform, reddish-brown glands. Flowers midseason, 

 dark pink along the margins of the petals changing to 

 white toward their centers. Fruit late midseason ; 2 % 

 inches in diameter, round-oval, often strongly compressed, 

 with halves nearly equal ; cavity medium to shallow ; 

 apex roundish, with a depressed, mucronate tip ; color 

 creamy-white, blushed or mottled with red, with splashes 

 of deeper red ; pubescence rather coarse, thick ; skin 

 thick, tough, adherent to the pulp ; flesh white, bronzed 

 at the pit, juicy, coarse, firm but tender, mild subacid 

 with some astringency ; good in quality ; stone free, 

 flattened near the base, oval, with long grooves deeply 

 sunken in the surfaces. 



HILEY. Fig. 166. Early Belle. In spite 

 of keen competition with many other early, 

 white-fleshed peaches, there seems to be a 

 place for Hiley. Two characters make it 



166. Hiley. (Xy 2 ) 



notable in its class: it is the earliest com- 

 mercial freestone, white-fleshed peach; and it 

 is rather better in quality than most of its 

 competitors. Well grown, the peaches are large 

 in size and handsomely colored, but they are 

 not quite so uniform in either size or color as 

 could be desired for a commercial variety. 

 The trees, while productive, are neither large 

 nor sufficiently hardy and vigorous to make 

 an ideal commercial sort. The fruits are easy 



prey to brown-rot. Hiley originated with 

 Eugene Hiley, Marshallville, Georgia, about 

 1886. 



Tree medium in size, lacking in vigor, upright-spread- 

 ing, open-topped, very productive. Leaves 6% inches 

 long, 1% inches wide, narrow-oval to obovate-lanceolate, 

 leathery ; margin finely serrate ; teeth tipped with 

 reddish-brown glands ; petiole % inch long, glandless 

 or with 1 to 8 small, globose and reniform, greenish- 

 yellow glands. Blossoms midseason, pink, 2 inches 

 across, often in twos ; pedicels glabrous, greenish ; calyx- 

 tube dull, dark reddish-green, greenish-yellow within. 

 Fruit midseason ; 2 ^ inches in diameter, oblong-conic, 

 bulged near the apex, with unequal halves ; cavity 

 abrupt, the skin tender and tearing easily ; suture shal- 

 low, deepening toward the apex ; apex pointed ; color 

 greenish-yellow with a dull blush over M> the surface, 

 more or less mottled ; pubescence thick, fine, short ; skin 

 thin, tough, separates from the pulp when fully ripe ; 

 flesh creamy-white, stained red at the pit, stringy, firm 

 but tender, with a distinct, pleasant flavor, sprightly ; 

 good in quality ; stone free, pointed at both ends, with 

 nearly smooth surfaces. 



HOBSON. Hobson Cling. Hobson is a 

 showy red-cheeked, white-fleshed clingstone, 

 strongly recommended several years ago in 

 Texas, but now mentioned in only a few of 

 the catalogs of the southwestern states. It is 

 said to be a seedling of Mamie Ross, grown 

 by E. W. Kirkpatrick, McKinney, Texas, and 

 was first described in the report of the Dela- 

 ware Experiment Station in 1901. The variety 

 seems not to be known in northern or western 

 states. The Delaware Station describes the 

 fruit as follows: 



"Fruit early, medium size, oval, compressed ; apex 

 uneven, blunt ; skin firm, thick, creamy-white faintly 

 blushed ; flesh firm, moderately juicy, astringent ; stone 

 clinging, short, blunt; good for canning." 



HONEY. Honey is the type plant of a 

 group of Chinese peaches, the chief strain of 

 which, as grown in this country, was raised 

 from seed sent from China to Charles Down- 

 ing, Newburgh, New York, some time previous 

 to 1858. Peaches of this group reproduce from 

 seed nearly true to type, and a number of 

 strains of Honey are to be found in America 

 under the one name; there are, also, a consid- 

 erable number of named strains. The variety 

 and its offspring thrive only in the Gulf states 

 and in the warmer parts of California. 



Tree vigorous and productive, hardy only in the 

 South ; glands usually reniform but sometimes globose. 

 Fruit midseason in the South, small to medium, oblong- 

 oval tapering at the apex into a long, sharp beak ; skin 

 pale yellow, washed and dotted with red which deepens 

 almost to a crimson blush ; flesh creamy white, streaked 

 with red around the pit, juicy, very tender, melting, 

 distinct rich, honey-like flavor ; quality very good to 

 best ; pit of medium size, oval, free. 



ILLINOIS. Fig. 167. Illinois is a mid- 

 season, white-fleshed, freestone peach, still on 

 probation, with what result as to commercial 

 possibilities it is impossible to predict, since 

 growers in peach-regions are not in accord as 

 to its value. In size, color, and shape of fruit, 

 Illinois is one of the beauties of the orchard. 

 Yet, all things considered, the new variety is 

 not so good as Champion, with which it would 

 have to compete. Neither tree- nor fruit- 

 characters are quite satisfactory. It must be 

 apparent, also, to all peach-growers that the 



