MAY LEE 



MUIR 



179 



said to have originated in North Carolina, but 

 when and by whom does not appear. As 

 grown at Geneva, New York, the tree and 

 fruit characters are as follows: 



Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading 1 , open, hardy, 

 productive ; glands small, globose, usually at the base 

 of the leaves. Fruit very early, 2 inches in diameter, 

 round ; cavity deep, narrow, abrupt ; suture deep ; apex 

 rounded, with the tip depressed in the suture ; color 

 creamy-white with a dark red blush, mottled and splashed 

 with red ; pubescence rather heavy and unsightly ; flesh 

 greenish-white, tinged with red at the skin, juicy, ten- 

 der, subacid ; quality fair to good ; stone rather large, 

 ovate, conspicuously winged, clinging tenaciously. 



MAY LEE. May Lee is a very early white- 

 fleshed, clingstone, pink-cheeked peach intro- 

 duced to rival Alexander, Triumph, and other 

 early sorts. It fails because the peaches run 

 small, the flesh clings too tenaciously, and the 

 stones crack. The fruit is neither attractive 

 in color nor high in quality. The peaches may 

 be as good in quality as Alexander or Triumph 

 but are no better. May Lee originated with 

 E. W. Kirkpatrick, McKinney, Texas, from 

 a seed of Mamie Ross planted in 1896. 



Tree large, spreading, low-growing, very productive. 

 Leaves 6% inches long, 1% inches wide, obovate- 

 lanceolate, thick, leathery ; margin crenate ; teeth tipped 

 with small reddish glands ; petiole % inch long, gland- 

 less or with 1-5 large, reniform glands. Flowers mid- 

 season, 2 inches across, light pink ; pedicels very short, 

 of medium thickness, glabrous ; calyx-tube greenish- 

 red, campanulate. Fruit early ; 2 % inches in diameter, 

 round, compressed, with unequal halves ; cavity deep, 

 narrow, abrupt ; suture variable in depth, extending 

 beyond the tip ; apex small, mucronate, depressed ; color 

 creamy-white, with a blush toward the apex ; tomentose ; 

 skin thick, tough, semi-free to free ; flesh white, very 

 juicy, tender and melting, sweet, mild, pleasantly flav- 

 ored ; good in quality ; stone semi-clinging to clinging, 

 oval, conspicuously winged, flattened near the base, 

 with deeply grooved surfaces. 



MORRIS WHITE. White Rareripe. Mor- 

 ris White is one of the ancients of American 

 peach-orchards, deserving notice now only be- 

 cause of its worthy past. The fruit is distin- 

 guished by its flesh, which is white to the pit, 

 with no trace of red on the surface or next 

 to the stone; and by its sweet, rich flavor, 

 which gives it high rank among the best of 

 peaches. The day of Morris White is past 

 for either commercial or home orchards, but 

 it might still be used advantageously in breed- 

 ing late, white-fleshed, freestone peaches. The 

 origin of the variety is in doubt, but probably 

 it originated in the latter part of the eight- 

 eenth century, at Flushing, Long Island. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped, 

 productive. Leaves 6% inches long, 1% inches wide, 

 flat, obovate-lanceolate, leathery ; margin finely serrate ; 

 teeth tipped with reddish-brown glands ; petiole ^ inch 

 long, with 1-5 small, globose and reniform glands. 

 Flowers midseason, 1 inch across, pale pink, deepening 

 in color along the edges. Fruit late ; 2 inches in 

 diameter, cordate-oval or oblate, compressed, with halves 

 nearly equal ; cavity flaring ; suture a line, becoming 

 deeper toward the tip ; apex roundish, depressed in the 

 suture, with mucronate tip ; color pale white, usually 

 without blush ; pubescence heavy, long and coarse ; skin 

 thin, tough, somewhat adherent ; flesh white, juicy, 

 tender and melting, sweet, pleasantly flavored ; good in 

 quality ; stone nearly free, obovate, flattened near the 

 base, with deeply grooved surfaces. 



MOUNTAIN ROSE. Mountain Rose is 

 preeminent among white-fleshed, freestone 



peaches for fruits of high quality and hand- 

 some appearance, which are further distin- 

 guished by a distinct and delicious flavor a 

 sort of scented sweetness. Unfortunately, the 

 variety fails in the chief requirement for popu- 

 larity in these days of commercial fruit-grow- 

 ing the trees are unproductive, a fault so 

 marked that Mountain Rose is rapidly passing 

 from cultivation. The crop sells well in all 

 markets where it is known, usually bringing 

 a fancy price because of its extra good quality. 

 The variety originated about 1851 on the 

 farm of a Dr. Marvin, Morristown, New 

 Jersey. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, low-growing 

 and dense- topped, unproductive. Leaves 6% inches 

 long, 1% inches wide, flattened or curled downward, 

 obovate-lanceolate, thick, leathery ; margin finely ser- 

 rate ; teeth tipped with reddish-brown glands ; petiole 

 % inch long, with 2-4 small, globose, reddish-brown 

 glands. Blossoms midseason, small, pale pink. Fruit 

 early midseason ; 2 % inches in diameter, abrupt, often 

 twig-marked ; suture shallow, becoming deeper toward 

 the tip ; apex rounded, depressed in the suture, with 

 mucronate or sometimes mamelon tip ; color creamy- 

 white, blushed with deep red, with a few splashes of 

 darker red ; pubescence long, thick ; skin thin, tough, 

 variable in adhesion ; flesh white, stained red near the 

 pit, juicy, tender and melting, sweet, mild, pleasantly 

 flavored ; good to very good in quality ; stone free, 

 ovate, plump, bulged on one side, contracted toward 

 the base, tapering to a short point, usually with small 

 pits in the surfaces. 



MUIR. Fig. 173. Muir is suitable only for 

 culinary purposes attractive enough inside, 

 but so unattractive externally that it could 



173. Muir. (X%) 



tempt no one who did not know the fruit to 

 be sweet and delicious in flavor. It is a late 

 midseason, yellow-fleshed, freestone peach 

 much used by canners on the Pacific slope. It 

 ought to be more generally grown for the 

 same purpose in the East; for, as a canned 

 product, it is hardly surpassed in appearance 

 or quality. The trees are vigorous, productive, 

 and little subject to leaf-curl, but the fruits 

 are often marred by peach-scab. The variety 

 seems perfectly at home in most peach-regions. 

 In fruit-characters, Muir is very similar to 

 Wager. The variety was found about 1880 on 

 the farm of John Muir, Silveyville, California. 



Tree vigorous, upright or somewhat spreading, hardy, 

 productive. Leaves fall early in the season, 6% inches 

 long, 1% inches wide, flat or somewhat curled down- 

 ward, oval-lanceolate, leathery ; margin bluntly serrate ; 

 teeth tipped with reddish-brown glands ; petiole % inch 

 long, with 1-5 large, reniform glands. Flowers late, 1 



