Chat. X. PEACH AND NECTARINE, 363 



Two explanations have been suggested to account for these 

 conversions. First, that the parent trees have been in every case 

 hybrids 53 between the peach and nectarine, and have reverted 

 by bud- variation or by seed to one of their pure parent forms. 

 This view in itself is not very improbable ; for the Mountaineer 

 peach, which was raised by Knight from the red nutmeg-peach 

 by pollen of the violette native nectarine/ 54 produces peaches, but 

 these are said sometimes to partake of the smoothness and flavour 

 of the nectarine. But let it be observed that in the previous list 

 no less than six well-known varieties and several unnamed varieties 

 of the peach have once suddenly produced perfect nectarines by 

 bud variation : and it would be an extremely rash supposition 

 that all these varieties of the peach, which have been cultivated 

 for years in many districts, and which show not a vestige of 

 a mixed parentage, are, nevertheless, hybrids. A second explana- 

 tion is, that the fruit of the peach has been directly affected by the 

 pollen of the nectarine : although this certainly is possible, it 

 cannot here apply; for we have not a shadow of evidence that 

 a branch which has borne fruit directly affected by foreign pollen 

 is so profoundly modified as afterwards to produce buds which 

 continue to yield fruit of the new and modified form. Now it 

 is known that when a bud on a peach-tree has once borne a nectarine 

 the same branch has in several instances gone on during successive 

 years producing nectarines. The Carole w nectarine, on the other 

 hand, first produced half-and-half fruit, and subsequently pure 

 peaches. Hence we may confidently accept the common view that 

 the nectarine is a variety of the peach, which may be produced 

 either by bud- variation or from seed. In tho following chapter 

 many analogous cases of bud- variation will be given. 



The varieties of the peach and the nectarine run in parallel lines. 

 In both classes the kinds differ from each other in the flesh of the 

 fruit being white, red, or yellow ; in being clingstones or freestones ; 

 in the flowers being large or small, with certain other characteristic 

 differences; and in the leaves being serrated without glands, 

 or crenated and furnished with globose or reniform glands. 65 We 

 can hardly account for this parallelism by supposing that each 

 variety of the nectarine is descended from a corresponding variety 

 of the peach ; for though our nectarines are certainly the descend- 

 ants of several kinds of peaches, yet a large number are- the 

 descendants of other nectarines, and they vary so much when 

 thus reproduced that we can scarcely admit the above explanation. 



The varieties of the peach have largely increased in number 

 since the Christian era, when from two to five varieties were 

 known ; 56 and the nectarine was unknown. At the present time, 



53 Alph. De Candolle, ' Geograph. Hurt. Soc.,' 1842, p. 105. 



Bot,, p. 886. 5B Dr. A. Targioni-Tozzetti, ' Jour- 



54 Thompson, in Loudon's ' Ency- nal Hort. Sec.,' vol. ix. p. 167. Alph. 

 clop, of Gardening,' p. 911. de Candolle, 'Geograph. Bot.,' p 



65 'Catalogue of Fruit in Garden of 885. 



