CHAPTER II. 



HISTORY, IMPROVEMENTS, AND NOMENCLATURE. 



earliest fruits mentioned in history, are the 

 Grape, the Apple, and the Fig, the former being 

 cultivated about the time of the deluge. The Al- 

 mond is mentioned repeatedly in the sacred records, 

 nearly 4000 years ago ; and Theophrastus, who 

 lived about 300 years before the Christian era, re- 

 marks that it was the only tree in Greece that pro- 

 duced blossoms before the leaves ; hence we may 

 safely infer that the Peach was then unknown. 

 The fact that the Jewish history no where speaks 

 of the Peach, indicates that it was not a native of 

 Persia, a country long inhabited by that people.* 

 It was known to the Eomans at the height of their 

 power, and the Nectarine was spoken of by Colu- 

 mella and by Pliny, as an admired fruit of their 

 time. The Apple and Pear were well known in 

 the days of Pliny, who speaks of twenty-two vari- 

 eties of the former, and thirty-six of the latter. The 

 Cherry, a native of Pontus and some parts of Eu- 



* II is found wild on the Himalayan mountains, whence it was 

 probably carried to Persia, and to other parts of the world. 



