PEACHES. 17 



Persia, according to Buhse ; a and the writer has been assured by 

 native Persians and by travelers that small hard peaches occur wild 

 in the mountains of northern Persia. But the question of whether 

 or not the peach came from China we shall not raise here. So far as 

 we know at present, three important strains of peaches have been 

 developed in China, i. e., the Chinese Cling group, the Honey group, 

 and the Peento group. That these groups have proved more suc- 

 cessful in the southern portions of the United States than the vari- 

 eties introduced from Europe is also certain, and that some of our 

 most important commercial varieties to-day are wholly or partly 

 of Chinese origin has been proved indisputably. 6 



The Chinese Cling group reaches its greatest perfection in those 

 parts of China where the summer is hot and fairly dr} r and the winter 

 moderately cold and dry. The Honey group is to be found mainly 

 in the more southern and central parts, where the summers are hot 

 and humid, while the winters are mild and wet. The last group, the 

 "peon" peaches, apparently thrives everywhere, from the extreme 

 south to the north; but it is the least grown of all the peaches in China, 

 and it is only in the extreme south where the better, larger varieties 

 of peaches fail that the little Peen peaches are cultivated somewhat 

 extensively. 



In China the thriftiest and healthiest peach trees are always seen 

 at the foot of a mountain or a hill, growing in decomposed rocky 

 or sandy soil, and it is in such locations also that the fruit has the 

 finest flavor. In the neighborhood of large cities, like Shanghai, one 

 finds peaches grown on rather low, rich land, but the trees have so 

 many diseases to battle with and the fruit is so watery that one 

 clearly sees that such places are not congenial to the habits of the 

 peach. 



In general, a Chinese peach orchard contains many different 

 varieties. Seedlings and budded trees are mixed in an irregular 

 planting. Pruning is not resorted to, but the soil is kept in a high 

 state of cultivation so as to minimize the danger of the trees suffering 

 from a lack of sufficient moisture. In case the season is very dry 

 and water is available, the Chinese often irrigate their trees, for it 

 gives them much larger fruit. 



As to the variation of peaches in China, it is as great as, if not greater 

 than, an} r where else. Of the Chinese Cling group, there are some 

 most excellent varieties to be found in northern China. The best of 

 them all is the "Fei tau," or Fei peach (see PL IV, fig. 1), Feitcheng 



a Hehn, Victor. Kulturpflanzen und Hausthiere, in ihrem Ubergang aus Asien, etc. 

 & Powell, G. Harold. The Chinese Cling Group of Peaches. Bulletin 54, Delaware 

 College Agricultural Experiment Station. 

 64262°— Bui. 204—11 3 



