THE PEACH AND NECTARINE. 



509 



melting, _ greenish yellow quite to the stone, 

 from which it separates freely ; size large ; form 

 roundish, having an acute nipple at the apex ; 

 flavour of the very highest character ; ripe the 

 end of August ; colour pale yellowish green 

 where shaded, marbled with dull red where ex- 

 posed to the full sun; a beautiful delicate-look- 

 ing fruit ; one of the very best either for the 

 peach-house or the open wall. It is also one of 

 the hardiest, and perhaps the most common in 

 cultivation. In regard to this sort some dis- 

 crepancy appears to exist between Mr G. Lind- 

 ley and Mr R. Thompson, the latter making the 

 Vanguard a synonym of the Noblesse, while the 

 other asserts they are distinct. Our own opin- 

 ion is, that they are so near alike, although both 

 ranking in the highest class as to merit, as to 

 be scarcely worth cultivating in a private gar- 

 den as distinct sorts. They are, however, so 

 excellent that a tree or two under each name 

 wiU cause no disappointment. The characters 

 of the fruit given by both these excellent autho- 

 rities are very much the same. Mr Lindley, 

 however, remarks : " Nurserymen need not be 

 at any loss to distinguish the two sorts, when 

 maiden plants, in the nursery, the lateral shoots 

 of the Noblesse being nearly as long as the main 

 leader, those of the Vanguard being less nu- 

 merous, and exceeded considerably by the main 

 shoot ; besides, the plants of the Vanguard are 

 of a taller growth than those of the Noblesse. 

 Indeed, so obvious and invariable have I found 

 these characters, that, should the two kinds be- 

 come inadvertently mixed in the nursery rows, 

 the most inexperienced foreman would be en- 

 abled to separate them without any fear of mis- 

 take." Synonyms — MelUsh's favourite, Van- 

 guard of Thompson, Lord Montague's noblesse. 



PourprSe hdtive. — Leaves crenate ; glands 

 kidney-shaped ; flowers large ; flesh melting, 

 pale yellowish white, becoming very red towards 

 the stone, from which it parts freely; size as 

 large as the Grosse mignonne ; form roundish, 

 flattened at the apex ; suture deep, extending 

 over the apex ; flavour excellent ; ripe towards 

 the end of August ; colour pale whitish yellow 

 where shaded, deep red or purple where fully 

 exposed to the sun ; stone rugged, obtuse at 

 the ends. Synonyms — Early avant of some, 

 Pourpree hdtive A grandes fiev/rs of the French 

 gardens, Avant rouge of some. The Pourpr4e 

 hdtive. Veritable, Du vin, Early pwple, and True 

 early purple, are probably nothing difierent from 

 the Orosse mignonne, and may be seedlings from 

 it. If different, the shade is so small as not to 

 warrant their being propagated for sale under 

 the two names. 



Rosanna. — Leaves crenate ; glands kidney- 

 shaped ; flowers small ; flesh melting, deep yel- 

 low, but very red near the stone, from which 

 it parts easily ; size medium; form roundish, 

 somewhat flattened ; suture reaching to the 

 apex, terminating in a sharp-pointed nipple ; 

 colour yellowish white in the shade, deep red 

 or purple where fully exposed ; flavour good ; 

 ripe about the beginning of September. Often 

 confounded with the Purple cdberge. An ex- 

 amination of the glands will determine the dif- 

 ference ; for while in the Rosanna they are reni- 

 VOL II. 



form or kidney- shaped, they are, in the Purple 

 alberge, globular or round. In this we have a 

 good instance of the importance of making the 

 glands a character of distinction. Of French ori- 

 gin. Synonyms — Petite rosanne, Alberge jaune, 

 Peohe jaune, St Laurentjaune of " Bon Jardinier." 

 This is a very hardy peach, and has occasionally 

 produced ripe fruit as a standard in good sea- 

 sons and favourable places — indications of its 

 suitableness for the open walls in cold localities. 

 Royal George. — Leaves doubly serrated ; 

 glands none; flowers small; flesh melting, juicy, 

 yellowish white, very red towards the stone, and 

 separating freely from it ; size large ; form 

 round ; suture deep, extending beyond the apex ; 

 flavour excellent ; ripe towards the end of 

 August ; colour yellowish white where shaded, 

 deep red where fully exposed to the sun. One 

 of our best peaches, and one extensively culti- 

 vated both under glass and in the open air. An 

 excellent forcer, but both in the peach-house 

 and on the open walls subject to mildew, which 

 all serrated-leaved varieties in general are. In 

 consequence of its popularity, there are several 

 sorts sold under this name ; and we believe the 

 humblest nursery in Britain would be found, 

 upon inquiry, competent to supply a consider- 

 able number of trees of the Boyal George. 

 Synonyms — Early Royal George, Superb, Red 

 Magdalen,Millet's mignonne, Lockyer's mignonne. 

 Griffin's rkignonne, French chancellor of some. 

 Early bourdine of some, Madeleine rouge A 

 petites fleurs, Double swalsh of some. The Royal 

 George mignonne, and New Royal George mi- 

 gnonne of the nurseries, are so closely allied to 

 the Royal George that their cultivation in the 

 same collection may be regarded as superflu- 

 ous. The smooth-leaved Royal George has been 

 identified as synonymous with the Bellegarde 

 (which see.) 



Royal Charlotte. — Leaves deeply and coarsely 

 serrated ; glands none ; flowers small ; flesh 

 melting, white, but very red at the stone ; 

 size above medium ; ripe beginning of Septem- 

 ber ; colour pale greenish white where shaded, 

 marbled with deep red on the exposed side ; 

 form somewhat ovate ; suture of moderate de- 

 lineation. A peach of great excellence, and may 

 be almost known from most others by the 

 coarse and deeply-serrated character of its 

 leaves. Synonyms — New Royal Charlotte, Grim- 

 wood's Royal Charlotte, Early purple of Kew, 

 Lord Nelson's, Lord Pauconberg's, Lord Faucon- 

 berg's mignonne, Madeleine rouge & m^yennei 

 fleurs, Madeleine & petites fleurs. According to 

 Mr G. Lindley, this is made to be somewhat 

 different from what he calls the Old Royal 

 Charlotte, ( " Horticultural Society's Transac- 

 tions," vol. V. p. 540, and " Guide to the Or- 

 chard," p. 2S0.) If different, as in the case of 

 many others equally nearly related, they are not 

 worth growing in private gardens as distinct 

 sorts. Both, if they must be considered dis- 

 tinct, are very excellent, and very closely allied 

 to the Royal George, the chief difference being 

 in its deeply and coarsely serrated leaves ; and 

 Williams' Early purple and Williamsf seedling 

 are scarcely different from the Royal Charlotte. 

 Of American peaches of high character we may 



3t 



