PERSIC A, PEACH TREE. 63 



to rid them of suckers and branches that are dead, worn out, and too weak. And to prune 

 the good branches, less with a view to giving the trees a uniform shape than to prolong 

 their existence, to maintain their strength, & to use them to sustain useful production. 

 Peaches should be uncovered with great care & gradually allowed to become 

 accustomed to the sunshine necessary to give them beautiful color & to develop their 

 flavor. They must be picked only when they're completely ripe; that's easy to tell by their 

 color & the ease with which they come off the tree. It's a good idea to leave them for at 

 least several hours in a cool place before they're eaten. Even those that need to be 

 transported should be picked only a very short time before they're fully ripe. If the 

 peaches form much of their juice when off the tree in a fruit loft or elsewhere, the juice 

 often is unpleasant & always is of poorer quality than that formed while they're still on 

 the tree. 



USES. 



Peach tree leaves boiled in milk are given to children as a vermifuge. Peach tree 

 blossoms when eaten in a salad are a strong purgative. A syrup made from them has the 

 same property. Peach kernels have the same qualities as bitter almonds. 



Peaches are eaten fresh, with or without sugar. They're stewed in boiling water 

 (they're cooked about the same time necessary to cook a fresh egg) & dusted with sugar. 

 They're eaten in fritters, compotes, marmalade preserves, made into brandy, oven-dried, 

 and pickled in vinegar. For the last two, clingstones are preferred to soft peaches. 



