THE PEACHES OF NEW YORK 7 



79, expressly states that the peach was imported by the Romans from 

 Persia not long before. 



De Candolle gives no authority for his statement that the peach was 

 spoken of 2000 years before its introduction into Europe and I cannot 

 verify it ; but a search through even such Chinese literature as is accessible 

 to one who does not read the Chinese language shows that the peach was 

 commonly spoken of in the literature of China several hundred years before 

 the Christian era. Two examples must suffice, taking those that seem 

 most authentic as to the identity of the peach. In the Shi- King, or book of 

 poetr>', a collection of ancient Chinese poems made by Confucius (551-478 

 B. c.) the peach, in common with the plum, pear, jujube and other fruits, 

 is several times mentioned. According to the translator all of these poems 

 were written before the Sixth Century B. c, the oldest dating back eighteen 

 centuries. Thus in Book I,' Odes of Chow in the South, is the following 

 bit of verse: 



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; 

 Large crops of fruit it soon will show. 

 This bride to her new home repairs; 

 Chamber and house her sway shall know. 



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." 



Other references to the peach may be found in Book IX,- The Odes 

 of Wei, and Book XIII,' The Odes of Kwei. 



Superstitions and legends throw light on the antiquity of the objects 

 with which they are connected. It is significant that the Chinese alone 

 ascribe miraculous powers to the peach, their traditions of the properties 

 of different forms of this fruit being both numerous and very ancient. 

 M. Cibot, a French missionary among the Chinese, in a series of cyclopedic 



' Chinese Literature, Edited by Epiphanius Wilson Bk. I:i26. 

 'Ibid. Bk. IX:i48, 149. 1902. 

 'Ibid. Bk. Xni:i6i. 1902. 



