FRUITS VARIETIES AMD CULTURE. 557 



its small size the Kumquat is also well suited for room 

 decoration, and it is made all the more attractive because 

 of the bright yellow clusters of fruit which hang on the 

 limbs in profusion all winter. The flowers are also abun- 

 dant. There are two varieties, differing only in the size 

 and shape of the fruit — the Marumi (round fruit) and 

 Nagami (oblong fruit). The latter is the largest, and is 

 the variety usually grown in Florida. 



Marketing. — Citrus fruits are packed in crates and 

 barrels which are well ventilated. It is of the greatest 

 importance that the fruits should be in prime condition 

 before packing, because nothing so much detracts from 

 the value of the package as to have unsound fruit mixed 

 with the good. Great care should also be taken to select 

 and grade the fruit and pack each size in separate crates, 

 and, in the case of oranges, wrapping each one in tissue 

 paper. Pack firmly and press in well, so that the pack- 

 ages will not show shrinkage when the crates reach their 

 destination. Fruit sells well when the greatest care is 

 taken in packing the same sizes and qualities together 

 and avoiding all unsound and unsightly forms. 



PEACH.— ( Persica vulgaris.) 



The Peach is a native of Persia, whence its cultivation 

 has proceeded westward ; but it has nowhere found a soil 

 or climate more congenial to it than in these Southern 

 States. Indeed, the peach is the favorite, and in many 

 instances the only fruit tree cultivated by our planters. 

 It requires a soil of but moderate fertility; its enemies 

 and diseases are but feAV, and the return so speedy that 

 there is no excuse for being without good peaches. 



A somewhat serious difficulty in peach culture, which 

 results from bad pruning, is the tendency to overbear 

 and break down the limbs from the excess of the crop. 

 More peach trees are destroyed or badly injured from 



