PEACH VARIETIES 255 



that happened to be lying around loose and 

 taking it for their own. Those old Persians 

 were good "livers," and if there had been a 

 peach tree any place in the known world they 

 were pretty likely to have found it. From 

 there it was introduced into Southern Europe, 

 but from what we know now the Chinese had 

 cultivated it long before the Persians grew it 

 in their orchards. 



Frank Meyer, the explorer for the Bureau 

 of Plant Introduction, found a wild peach 

 growing in the hills of China which he felt 

 sure was the original wild fruit. He had 

 searched the world over looking for it and I, 

 for one, would risk his judgment in a question 

 of that sort. Additional evidence of the 

 antiquity of peach culture in China is found in 

 the literature of that country. In a collection 

 of poems, all of which were written at least 

 five centuries B. C, we find the following: 



In Praise of a Bride. 



Graceful and young the peach tree stands ; 

 How rich its flowers, all gleaming bright; 

 This bride to her new home repairs; 

 Chamber and house she'll order right. 



Graceful and young the peach tree stands; 

 Its foliage clustering green and full. 

 This bride to her new home repairs; 

 Her household will attest her rule. 



