May, 19 10 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



231 



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Kieffer, the first American pear ; of great pro- 

 ductiveness and reasonable degree of immunity from 

 pear blight. It owes its vigor to the sand pear, which 

 comes from China, climate comparable to ours. 



so good, indeed, that most of the canned pears 

 passing as Bartletts are said to be Kieffers. 



The American evolution of the pear has 

 been determined chiefly by the pear blight, 

 an American disease for which there is no 

 cure. Preventive measures help somewhat, 

 but no variety is immune. The Kieffer 

 comes nearest, and doubtless owes its superior 

 hardiness and immense productivity to its 

 Chinese blood. It came in after the Civil War, 

 and made possible pear culture in the South. 



In the North the dominant pear is a 

 European variety, the Bartlett, which has 

 survived since 1770, because it is the most 

 adaptable of all high-quality pears. But 

 the standard of quality in pears is Seckel, 

 an American variety. 



All things considered, the pear is Amer- 

 icanized to a greater degree than appears 

 on the surface. 



EVOLUTION OF THE PEACH 



The peach is popularly supposed to be 

 a native of Europe, but it reached there via 

 Persia, for which reason it was called Primus 

 Persica. Moreover, the probability is that 

 it came originally from China, and, there- 

 fore, from a climate like our own. It may 

 seem that the peach is very ill-adapted to 

 America, considering its long list of troubles, 

 of which yellows is the worst. But should 

 we not think of the peach as essentially 

 a short-lived tree, even in China? If so, 

 this weakness is offset from Nature's point 

 of view, by the fact that the peach comes 

 into bearing sooner than other fruit trees. 

 Moreover, in spite of all its misfortunes, 

 we have been able to grow it well enough to 

 give the poor a chance to eat it, whereas in 

 Europe it is a luxury. Since July, 1889, 

 when the first big crop of Southern'peaches 

 was marketed in the North, America has 

 enjoyed peaches for a longer season every 

 year than any other country. 



I believe the peach has been considerably 

 Americanized because, as long ago as 1888, 

 93 per cent, of the dessert and market 

 varieties were of American origin, and only 

 only one foreigner was at all prominent. 

 Moreover, the Southern peaches are not 

 such a misfit since the direct importations 

 from China of several races that were 

 unknown to Europe. 



The peach is all one species, but there 

 are five races, as follows: 



1. The Persian race, oldest of all, and 

 comprising the favorite varieties of Europe 

 and the northern United States. Crawford, 

 an American variety, is dominant. 



2. The Indian or Spanish race, which is 

 erroneously called the "native" peach in the 

 South. The early Spaniards brought it to 

 America, and it ran wild. Here belong 

 very late varieties, e.g., Cabler, Columbia, 

 Galveston. 



3. The North China race, mostly cling and 

 semi-cling fruits, including Elberta, now 

 the great market peach of the Middle South. 



4. The South China race, with oval, 

 long-pointed fruits and a deep suture. Here 

 belongs Honey, the great market peach of 

 the far South. 



5. The Peento race, a flat fruit for Flor- 

 ida and the far South. Examples, Peento, 

 Angel, Waldo. 



EVOLUTION OF PLUMS 



The plums are, to some extent, a real 

 exception to the rule that European species 

 are not happy in the Eastern United States. 

 It is not surprising that they should thrive 

 better on the Pacific Coast, but it is sur- 

 prising that the European plums should be 

 so well adapted to Nova Scotia, Cen- 

 tral New England, New York, southern 

 Ontario and Michigan. But outside of 

 these limits they are a flat failure and inside 

 of these limits they come into sharp compe- 

 tition with the Japanese plums, which come 

 from a climate closely comparable to ours. 



Moreover, even these plums of the Euro- 

 pean type have been Americanized, for of the 

 283 varieties cultivated in 1872, 39 per cent, 

 were of American origin, and by 189 1 nearly 

 one-half the varieties recommended by the 

 AmericanPomologicalSociety were American. 



But the greatest marvel of Pomology is 

 the amazing development of our truly 

 native plums, over two hundred varieties 

 of which have been introduced within forty 

 years. In the great continental basin they 

 are the only plums that Nature has fitted 

 to battle with the black knot, leaf blight, 

 and curculio. The story of the plums 

 is too long and technical for a magazine 

 article, but you can find it in Waugh's 

 book. To 

 show the 

 modernness 

 of these 

 plums I will 

 merely say 

 that as late as 

 1872 Down- 

 ing described 

 only three na- 

 tive plums — 

 the Miner, 

 Wild Goose, 

 and Newman. 



SUMMARY 



By this 

 time my read- 

 ers must be 

 forced to 

 these conclu- 



The Elberta, an American variety of peach, which 

 extended our peach season about a month, the first 

 big Southern crop being marketed in 1889 



sions which Bailey reached in "The Sur- 

 vival of the Unlike." 



i. American fruits constantly tend to 

 diverge from the foreign types which were 

 their parents, and they are, as a rule, better 

 adapted to our environments than foreign 

 varieties are. 



2. The horticulture of eastern and cen- 

 tral North America must constantly tend to 

 differentiate itself from that of all countries. 



3. At the expiration of another century 

 we should stand upon a basis which is 

 nearly, if not wholly, American. 



Please do not jump to the conclusion 

 that we advise our readers altogether against 

 fruits of European origin. European varie- 

 ties are often so much superior in flavor that 

 amateurs are often willing to take the 

 trouble, expense and risk of growing them. 

 I do not even think it worth while for most 

 amateurs to inquire into the nativity of 

 every fruit they plant. But I do advise 

 every one to ask the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture for Farmers' Bulletin 

 No. 208, and to study that faithfully before 

 buying fruit plants of any kind. 



In conclusion, I can claim no credit for 

 the figures or ideas here presented. I 

 have drawn very freely from Bailey's "Evo- 

 lution of Our Native Fruits," and "Survival 

 of the Unlike," using many phrases without 

 quotation marks. So, if any reader detects 

 errors herein he should blame me, and if 

 he has been entertained, he should thank 

 Professor Bailey. 



The Spy apple, an American variety noted for its adaptation to American conditions, 

 being remarkably hardy and resistant to insects and diseases 



