256 THE PEACHES OF NEW YORK 



three-eighths inch long, equal to or longer than the petals; pistil pubescent near the base, 

 usually equal to the stamens in length. 



Fruit matures late; about two and one-half inches in diameter, round or roundish- 

 oval, bulged along one side, compressed, with unequal halves; cavity medium to deep, 

 Vpide, variable in shape; suture shallow, becoming deeper toward the apex and extending 

 beyond ; apex round, with a recurved, mucronate or prominent and prolonged mamelon 

 tip; color creamy-white, with a blush of lively red and faint splashes of darker red; 

 pubescence fine, short, thick ; skin thin, tough, separates from the pulp ; flesh white, faintly 

 stained with red near the pit, juicy, stringy, tender, melting, sweet but sprightly, 

 pleasantly flavored; very good in quality; stone clinging, one and seven-sixteenths inches 

 long, one and one-eighth inches wide, ovate to oval, bulged on one side, flattened near the 

 base, plump, long-pointed, with grooved surfaces; ventral suture deeply grooved along 

 the edges, furrowed; dorsal suture grooved, with tendency to wing. 



OLDMIXON FREE 



I. Kenrick Am. Orch. 221. 1832. 2. Prince Pom. Man. 2:23. 1832. 3. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 

 484. 1845. 4. Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Gr. 51. 1848. 5. Elliott Fr. Book 278. 1854. 6. Am. Pom. 

 Soc. Rpt. 45, 183, 211. 1856. 7. Fulton Peach Cult. 187, 188. 1908. 8. Waugh Am. Peach Orch. 

 205. 1913. 



Oldmixon Clearstone. 9. Coxe Cult. Fr. Trees 222. 1817. 



Oldmixon Free is a variant of Oldmixon Cling, differing, essentially, 

 as the name implies, in having a free stone; it is, also, more sprightly 

 in flavor and not quite as well endowed with the characters that consti- 

 tute high quality. Side by side, outwardly, the two peaches can hardly 

 be told apart. Since Oldmixon Cling is sometimes semi-free and Old- 

 mixon Free often clings more or less, the two are often confused in 

 orchards and markets. Both of these Oldmixons, as those who live in regions 

 where cold and frost do frequent damage should know, are as hardy in wood 

 and bud as any of the white-fleshed varieties. The blossoms of both, too, 

 appear in late mid-season, thereby often escaping frosts. The trees of 

 Oldmixon Free, like those of Oldmixon Cling, have the fault of being 

 tinproductive. 



Oldmixon Free is supposed to be an American seedling of Oldmixon 

 Cling, a fruit for the introduction of which we are indebted to Sir John 

 Oldmixon of early colonial fame. At the Convention of Fruit-Growers 

 held in 1848, Oldmixon Free was placed on the hst of recommended peaches. 

 In 1856 it appeared in the fruit-list of the American Pomological Society 

 where it still remains. 



Tree very large, vigorous, upright to spreading, hardy, rather unproductive; trunk 

 thick, smooth; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown tinged with light ash-gray; 



