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PHILLIPS CLING 



RED BIRD CLING 



from the fruits of other members of Prunus 

 as to make this about the most unique of all 

 drupe-fruits. Besides being remarkable for 

 shape, the fruits are distinguished by a rich, 

 sweet flavor with a savor of the almond. With- 

 out doubt, Peento is a descendant of the flat 

 Eeaches of China, but the original tree came 

 om Java to England, whence it was im- 

 ported to America in 1828 by William Prince. 

 The variety is a parent of a score of more 

 worthy offspring, few of which are flat, how- 



Tree vigorous, open-topped, tender in the North, pro- 

 ductive. Leaves mature late, 1% inches long, l%o 

 inches wide, oblong-oval, thin, leathery ; margin coarsely 

 serrate ; teeth tipped with dark glands ; petiole with 

 2 or 3 reniform glands of medium size, gray or greenish- 

 yellow. Fruit early; 1% inches thick, 2% inches wide, 

 strongly oblate ; cavity shallow, very wide, flaring ; 

 suture deep, wide, extending two-thirds around the 

 fruit ; apex depressed, set in a large, wide, flaring 

 basin ; color creamy-yellow, mottled and delicately pen- 

 cilled with red, often blushed toward the apex ; pubes- 

 cence short, thick ; skin thick, tough, nearly free ; flesh 

 white, stained red at the stone, juicy, stringy, tender 

 and melting, sweet, mild, with an almond-like flavor ; 

 very good in quality ; stone clings, red, strongly oblate, 

 with corrugated surfaces ; ventral suture very deep at 

 the edges, narrow at the base, becoming wide at the 

 apex ; dorsal suture a . wide, deep groove, merging into 

 a line at the apex. 



PHILLIPS CLING. Phillips Cling has the 

 reputation of being the most popular yellow- 

 fleshed clingstone grown in California for the 

 great canning industry of that state. The 

 fruits ripen progressively, so that picking 

 covers from two to three weeks, and hang on 

 the trees well even after fully mature. Their 

 firmness enables them to be delivered to the 

 cannery without bruising. Canners like the 

 product because the peaches are of even size, 

 of the same color from skin to stone, have 

 a small pit, and the flesh is exceedingly rich 

 in flavor and very highly colored. The trees 

 are very large, vigorous, and heavy producers, 

 but require rich land and an abundance of 

 moisture. The variety originated with Joseph 

 Phillips, Sutter County, California, sometime 

 .previous to 1889, when it was first described. 



Tree very large, upright, vigorous, healthy, very pro- 

 ductive. Fruits 3 inches in diameter, round-oblong ; 

 cavity deep, wide, abrupt ; apex rounded, usually with 

 an erect tip ; skin golden-yellow with faint stripes of 

 red and blushed on the sunny side ; pubescence short, 

 fine ; skin thin, tender, adherent ; flesh yellow, juicy, 

 fine-grained, firm, sweet and rich ; quality fair to good ; 

 stone bulged at apex, flattened at the base, ovate, rather 

 large, clinging tenaciously. 



PROLIFIC. New Prolific. Prolific was 

 heralded a quarter-century ago as a great 

 acquisition to the peach-flora of the country, 

 but it is doubtful if it is as popular now as 

 it was a few years after its introduction. The 

 trees are satisfactory, excelling most of their 

 orchard associates in vigor, size, health, hardi- 

 ness, and productiveness; but the peaches fall 

 below the mark in several characters. The 

 fruits are of but medium size, not uncommonly 

 attractive in color, and too poor in quality to 

 rate high among the peaches of its season, 

 which is a few days before Elberta. The flesh 

 is yellow, firm, dry, and little attacked by 



rot. With the qualities just named, the fruits 

 ship well and might be in demand in the mar- 

 kets for culinary purposes. Prolific was intro- 

 duced about 1890 by Greening Brothers, Mon- 

 roe, Michigan, under the name New Prolific. 



Tree large, vigorous, spreading, becoming drooping, 

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

 1 % inches wide, obovate-lanceolate, leathery ; margin 

 finely serrate ; teeth tipped with reddish-brown glands ; 

 petiole y 2 inch long, with from 1-5 small, globose 

 glands. Flowers early, 1% inches across, white near 

 the center becoming pink along the edges. Fruit mid- 

 season ; 2 % inches wide, round-oval, bulged on one 

 side, compressed, with unequal halves ; cavity deep, 

 usually abrupt, frequently mottled with red ; suture a 

 line, becoming deeper toward the tip ; apex round or 

 somewhat pointed, with a recurved, mamelon tip ; color 

 light orange, mottled and blushed with red ; pubescence 

 thick, fine ; skin thin, tough, separates from the pulp ; 

 flesh light yellow, stained with red near the pit, medium 

 juicy, coarse, stringy, tender, sweet, mild, pleasantly 

 flavored ; good in quality ; stone free, ovate, bulged on 

 one side, plump, with long, pointed apex, with surfaces 

 grooved and marked by small pits. 



RAY. This is another of the many early, 

 white-fleshed, freestone peaches which are 

 competing for favor among peach-growers. 

 Several faults condemn it; worst of all, the 

 trees are not productive. Add to unproduc- 

 tiveness, lack of uniformity in size, shape, 

 color and flavor of fruit, and the variety is 

 out of the race as a commercial sort. Never- 

 theless, Ray is well spoken of in several states. 

 The variety originated with D. Ray, Tyler, 

 Texas, about 1890. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, the lower 

 branches drooping, medium in productiveness. Leaves 

 6% inches long, 1% inches wide, flattened or curled 

 downward, obovate-lanceolate, leathery ; margin finely 

 serrate ; teeth tipped with reddish-brown glands ; petiole 

 % inch long, glandless or with 1-3 small, globose 

 glands. Flowers midseason, 1 inch across, light pink 

 becoming darker pink along the edges ; pedicels short. 

 Fruit midseason; 2% inches in diameter, round-conic, 

 compressed, with nearly equal halves ; cavity narrow, 

 abrupt, with tender skin ; suture shallow, deepening 

 toward and often extending beyond the tip ; apex round, 

 with a mucronate tip ; color greenish-white with a 

 bright pinkish-red blush, faintly mottled ; pubescence 

 coarse, thick, long ; skin very thin, tough, separates 

 from the pulp ; flesh greenish-white, stained with red 

 near the pit, juicy, stringy, firm but tender, aromatic, 

 sprightly ; good in quality ; stone semi-free to free, 

 ovate, plump, with short point at the apex, with grooved 

 and pitted surfaces. 



RED BIRD CLING. Some growers say 

 that Red Bird Cling and Early Wheeler are 

 identical, but the two varieties received from 

 reliable nurserymen seem to be distinct on 

 the grounds of the New \ork Agricultural 

 Experiment Station. The variety has been 

 on probation in peach-growing sections of the 

 United States for some fifteen or twenty years, 

 but so far finds favor only in the southwestern 

 part of the country, where, on account of its 

 bright red color, earliness, and fair shipping 

 qualities, it proves to be a fairly good com- 

 mercial sort. The tree is hardy, healthy, and 

 holds its foliage very late. The variety was 

 introduced by Stark Brothers, Louisiana, Mis- 

 souri, about 1900. 



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

 erately productive ; glands globose, variable in coter. 

 Flowers midseason, large, 1% inches across, pink. Fruit 

 very early, 2*6 inches in diameter, round-oval, irregular, 

 more or less bulged at the apex ; cavity very deep. 



