THE PEACH. 151 



or disappears : burn over the fields and supply the alkalies from the burnt wood and the 

 whortleberry appears again, as flourishing' and productive as ever. Who doubts that the 

 plant would bear continuously for years if the alkalies, so essential in this case, were only 

 supplied. The same holds true with the peach and all other fruits. To supply continual 

 crops and prolong the life of the tree give it its food, and it will continue to bear for an in- 

 definite period. It should be nourished, and in giving nourishment it is quite essential to 

 remember that certain trees require something specific. Some require potash and all the 

 alkaline and earthy phosphates. So there is undoubtedly certain specific modes of treat- 

 ment of the roots which will favor the constitutional character of the tree. 



The native country of the peach is not well determined ; the common opinion, however 

 is that it is a native of Persia ; but, as in the case of others, and indeed most of our do- 

 mesticated fruits and animals, their origin goes back to a period anterior to the historical 

 era ; and the countries severally assigned as having furnished the parent stocks do not pro- 

 duce them in an unculivated state. There must, therefore, remain much uncertainty in 

 questions concerning the origin of fruits whose cultivation extends back to the remotest 

 periods. 



The peach has been extensively cultivated by all civilized nations wherever the climate 

 has been favorable. It has followed the race in its wanderings, and in consequence of its 

 easy propagation ; has, in its class, furnished a luxury of the highest grade. It is well 

 known that the qualities of the peach are modified by climate and modes of cultivation. 

 Where the climate is in a degree unfavorable, the rearing of trees against walls and pro- 

 tecting screens overcomes the disadvantage, and fine, large and juicy fruits are grown. 

 Scarcely any fruit so well repays for the skill which may be brought to bear upon its pro- 

 duction. 



The peach, in the course of time, has broken up or into an immense number of varieties 

 and still new ones are produced. These varieties, however, do not bear those characteristic 

 marks which may be used for distinctions of kinds, as in the apple and pear. The form of 

 the peach, as it grows in this country, is not very variable ; there are large and small 

 peaches, and peaches whose flesh is yellow, and those where it is white ; some whose flesh 

 clings to the stone, others where it separates readily ; and again some whose flesh is only 

 moderately adherent. 



Peach trees exhibit marked difference in the color and size of their blossoms. The 

 leaves differ in their serratures as well as in the appendages at their bases which are 

 called glands ; some furnish one or more, while others are destitute of them. 



A variety still more strongly marked is furnished in the nectarine, or peach with a 

 smooth skin. The same variations occur in the adhesion of the flesh to the stone as in 

 the common peach. The nectarine tree is smaller, and more delicate for standards in gar- 

 dens and ornamented enclosures than the peach. Its fruit, however, is less rich but has 

 the advantage of ripening at an earlier day, and hence is well worthy of cultivation. 



