262 



which appears to have been the Nectarine, 

 Persica rubra. " The fruit or peaches/' says 

 Gerard, " of this sort, be round, of a red 

 colour on the outside: the meat likewise 

 about the stone is of a gallant red colour. 

 These kinds of peaches are very like to wine 

 in taste, and therefore marvellous pleasant/' 



Pliny says, of all the peaches, the one 

 most admired in Rome is that named Du- 

 racina, from the solid substance of the meat; 

 which seems to agree with the quality of the 

 nectarine, the principal distinction of which, 

 from other peaches, consists in the firmness 

 and fineness of it's pulp, it's superior flavour, 

 and smooth skin. 



There have been many instances of nec- 

 tarines having grown not only on peach- 

 trees, but on branches bearing both peaches 

 and nectarines, without either budding or 

 grafting : whether this is owing to it's being 

 so nearly allied to the peach, or by the pollen 

 of the nectarine being conveyed by the bees 

 or the wind, I have not yet been able to 

 ascertain, although this circumstance has oc- 

 curred in the gardens of persons eminent for 

 their knowledge of fruits, as witness Mr. 

 Wilmot, of Isleworth; James Wyatt, Esq., 

 Hounslow; William Gilpin, Esq., East 



