PREFACE 



The present volume is the fifth in the plan of the New York Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station to make a more or less complete record of all 

 of the different fruits grown in this region. This work differs from the 

 preceding fruit-books but little or not at all in nature and purposes, yet a 

 statement of its contents, even though it be almost identical with that in 

 the prefaces of the preceding volumes, is necessary for those who may not 

 have the other books and may be a convenience to those who have all of 

 the series. 



The title impUes that The Peaches of New York is written for the con- 

 fines of a state; but all varieties of the peach grown in North America, as 

 well as many known only in other continents, Europe especially, have been 

 considered, under the supposition that all might be grown in New York and 

 are therefore of interest to the peach-growers of the State. Broadly speaJc- 

 ing, then, the design is to make the book as complete a record as possible 

 of the development of the peach, wherever grown, up to this time. 



The book contains : An account of the history and uses of the peach ; 

 a discussion of the botanical characters of the species of cultivated peaches; 

 an account of the peach-regions and of peach-growing in New York with 

 the most important statistics relating to this fruit; and, lastly and in 

 greatest detail, the synonymy, bibliography, economic status, and full 

 descriptions of all the most important cultivated peaches, with briefer 

 notices of varieties of minor importance and of those appearing in peach- 

 literature which are now no longer grown. In foot-notes running through 

 the text, biographical sketches are published of the persons who have done 

 most in America toward improving the peach. Incidentally, all that was 

 thought would be helpful in breeding peaches was included. So, too, 

 whatever appeared to be of interest to students of ecology has been given 

 a place. 



As in the preceding books, color-plates occupy prominent places in 

 this volume. Pains and expense have not been spared in the attempt to 

 make the plates the best possible with the present knowledge of repro- 

 duction in colors. All who have seen the plates in this and the first four 

 fruit-books of the series will agree that the reproductions of peaches are 



