THE PEACHES OF NEW YORK 29 



" Under the head of apples, we include a variety of fruits, although 

 of an entirely different nature, such as the Persian apple, for instance, 

 and the pomegranate, of which, when speaking of the tree, we have already 

 enumerated nine varieties. The pomegranate has a seed within, enclosed 

 in a skin; the peach has a stone inside. Some among the pears, also, known 

 as ' libralia,' show, by their name, what a remarkable weight they attain. 



" Among the peaches the palm must be awarded to the duracinus: 

 the Gallic and the Asiatic peach are distinguished respectively by the 

 names of the countries of their origin. They ripen at the end of autumn, 

 though some of the early kinds are ripe in the summer. It is only within 

 the last thirty years that these last have been introduced; originally they 

 were sold at the price of a denarius apiece. Those known as the ' super- 

 natia ' come from the country of the Sabines, but the ' popularia ' grow 

 everywhere. This is a very harmless fruit, and a particular favourite 

 with invalids: some, in fact, have sold before this as high as thirty 

 sesterces apiece, a price that has never been exceeded by any other fruit. 

 This, too, is the more to be wondered at, as there is none that is a worse 

 keeper: for, when it is once plucked, the longest time that it will keep is 

 a couple of days; and so sold it must be, fetch what it may." 



The first of Pliny's six varieties is the " Persian Apple " — " malum 

 persicum " in the original text. It is well to note the author's statement 

 that " Under the head of apples, we include a variety of fruits." A literal 

 translation of the Latin word malum in Pliny has brought about many 

 misunderstandings. Beside the peach, pear and pomegranate grouped 

 here as " apples," the apricot, orange, citron and no doubt other fruits 

 come " under the head of apples." The " Persian apple," then, must be 

 counted as one of Pliny's " six varieties of peaches." From the name we 

 know whence the Romans had the peach. 



The second variety is the duracinus, to which, among peaches, " the 

 palm must be awarded." The name translated literally is " hard-berry " 

 and must refer to the firmness of the flesh. Despite the fact that De Can- 

 doUe ^ and others hold that Pliny does not mention the nectarine, " dvira- 

 cinus " can hardly be other than the nectarine — at least the name fits 

 the nectarine better than it does any peach. 



The third and fourth of Pliny's peaches are the " Gallic " and 

 " Asiatic," " distinguished respectively by the names of the countries of 

 their origin." Can it be possible that there is a peach native to France? 

 We should say at once that this is but one of Pliny's inaccuracies were it 

 not for the fact that several of the highest French pomological authorities 



' De CandoUe Alphonse Or. Cult. Plants 225. 1885. 



