6S0 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. ' PART III. 



which kind is itself nothing more than an improved or fleshy almond; the 

 almond being to the peach and nectarine what the crab is to the apple, and 

 the sloe to the plum. To prove that the peach and the nectarine are essen- 

 tially the same species, we may mention that fruits of both have been found on 

 the same branch ; and a fruit has been even discovered with the smooth surface 

 of the nectarine on one side, and the downy skin of the peach on the other 

 side. (See Gard. Mag., vol. i. p. 471., vol. iv. p. 53., and om fig. 396.) 



¥ 1. P. vulga v ris Mill. The common Peach Tree. 



Identification. Mill. Diet., No. 1. ; Dec. Fl. Fr., 4. p. 487. ; Prod., 2. p. 531. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 483. 



Synonymes. .-/mj'gdalus Persica Lin. Sp., 677., Lam. Diet., 1. p. 99. No. 1—20. and 28 — 42., Noi- 

 sette Jard. Fruit., No. 1 — 16. 22 — 35. ; Peche duveteuse, Fr. ; Pfirsche, Ger. 



Engravings. N. Du Ham., 1. 2 — 8. ; Nois. Jard. Fruit. Icon, j and the plate of this tree in our Second 

 Volume. 



Varieties. 



1 P. v. 1, the freestone common Peach , has the flesh of the fruit parting 

 from the shell of the nut (the stone). Peche, Fr. 



i P. v. 2, the clingstone common Peach, has the flesh of the fruit ad- 

 hering to the shell of the nut (the stone). Pa vie, Fr. 



*£ P. v. 2t fibre pleno Hort. The double-flowering common Peach. 



& P. v . 4 alba Lindl. The wfo'fe-flowering common Peach, Bot. Reg., 

 t. 1586. — " The white-blossomed 397 



peach is a hardy ornamental shrub, 

 with the habit of an almond. Its 

 fruit has little merit." (Lindley.) 

 The flowers of this variety being 

 produced as early as those of the 

 common peach, their different co- 

 lour will contribute to the variety 

 of the shrubbery. 



¥ P. v. 5 foliis variegatis Hort. The 

 variegated-leaved Peach Tree. 



safc P. v. 6 compressa Hort., the flat Peach 

 of China, (Hort. Trans., iv. t. 19. 

 and our^zg. 397.) is chiefly remark- 

 able for the form of its fruit, and 

 for being nearly evergreen in its leaves. In the Horticultural So- 

 ciety's Garden, against a wall, it keeps growing throughout the 

 winter, when the weather is not too severe. (Encyc. of Gard., 

 ed. 1835, p. 908.) 



tit 2. P. (v.) LiE N vis Dec. The smooth-skinned Peach, or Nectarine Tree. 



Identification. Dec. Fl. Fr., 4. p. 487. 



Svnonymes. ^mygdalus Persica Lam. Diet, 1. p. 100. No. 21—27. ; A. Persica Nectarina Ait. Hort. 



Kew , ed. 2. vol. 3. p. 194., Nois. Jard, Fruit., p. 89—90. No. 17—22. ; PSche lisse, Brugnon, Fr. 

 Engravings. Nois. Jard. Fruit, t. 20. f. 2, 3., t. 21. f. 3, 4. 



Varieties. There are two forms of this kind, — 



¥ P. (v-) I' 1, the freestone Nectarine, with the fruit parting from the nut. 



Peche lisse, Fr. 

 =¥ P. (*>.) /. 2, the clingstone Nectarine, with the flesh adhering to the 

 nut. Brugnon, Fr. 

 Description, fyc. The different varieties of peach and nectarine, when treated 

 as standard trees in the open garden, assume the general form and character of 

 the almond; but, as they are more delicate, in consequence of being farther re- 

 moved from their aboriginal state, they are of slower growth, form trees of less 

 size, and are of shorter duration. The nectarine, as a standard in the open 

 uarden, forms a smaller and more delicate tree than the peach ; and the double- 

 flowered peach is of less vigorous growth than most of the single-flowered 

 varieties. 



Geography, History, $c. The peach is generally considered to be a native 

 of Persia, in which country it is common, both wild and in a state of culti- 



