LUTHER BURBANK 



And I suspect that a very large number of per- 

 sons under the same circumstances would be of 

 the same mind, for I am told that the aversion to 

 the fuzz of the peach is a by no means uncommon 

 form of phobia. 



It might be of interest to inquire just how this 

 curious antipathy to anything so soft and delicate 

 as the structure of the peach's skin was developed. 

 I know men of perfectly stable nerves who cannot 

 touch a peach without experiencing a disagreeable 

 sensation, and who cannot bite through the fuzzy 

 surface without shuddering. And as there seem 

 to be large numbers who experience more or less 

 the same sensation, it goes without saying that 

 there must be some hereditary basis for this curi- 

 ous and seemingly absurd prejudice. 



It is somewhat comparable to the fear of the 

 mouse so common with women, or the instinctive 

 dread of the snake that most of us feel. 



Just how the peculiar antipathy was developed, 

 would, as I say, be a curious matter for specula- 

 tion. Here, however, we are concerned with the 

 fuzz of the peach not in its direct relation to hu- 

 man psychology, but in its bearing on the heredity 

 of the peach itself. To the plant developer this 

 is a matter of interest, because linked with it is 

 the question of the way in which the superfluous 

 skin-covering can be eliminated. 



[144] 



