60 Report of the Fruit Committee. 



Chancelliere, and a Nectarine, proceeded immediately from 

 the same twig, and actually touched each other: the French do 

 well, perhaps, in calling a Nectarine a smooth Peach; not that 

 it is here intended, by any means, to recommend a change in 

 our present Nomenclature of these fruits, or a deviation from 

 the old established custom of Horticulturists. It would, 

 however, perhaps be adviseable to reduce the variety of 

 names, by which each kind is now called, to a single one ; 

 and the French name by which it was first known in this 

 country seems the most adviseable; correcting as far as 

 possible, the errors which have crept into our orthography 

 by bad spelling, or by vicious pronunciation. 



Your Committee have, in the rules which they have laid 

 down for the description of each kind of Peach or Nectarine, 

 paid strict attention to those previously observed by that 

 most excellent naturalist Duhamel, and have, in great 

 measure, followed them ; but though his description of each 

 kind of fruit has been constantly before their eyes, yet in no 

 one instance has that description been in the slightest parti- 

 cular adopted, without their being fully assured, by their 

 own attentive examination of the tree itself, the bud, blos- 

 som, leaf, and fruit, of its perfect accuracy. 



The buds and blossoms, indeed, it has not been in their 

 power, at this season of the year, to inspect : therefore, when- 

 ever a description of them is attempted, it is from observa- 

 tion of preceding years. Miller's description of each 

 kind of Peach and Nectarine is very good as far as it goes; 

 but he has wholly omitted any mention of the bud, blos- 

 som, or leaf. 



It is believed that the number of the kinds of Peaches, as 



