February, 1917 
43 
building. If this latter place is chosen, let it 
be the north side. Care for the trees exactly 
as for peaches; and if you have a space for 
more than one, choose an early and a late 
ripening kind. There is Elruge for the lat¬ 
ter, and Early Violet for the early, ordinarily 
ripening early in September and late in Au¬ 
gust, respectively. 
Apricots are round-headed trees very like 
the peach in a general way, yet having leaves 
that are decidedly round instead of long and 
tapering. One variety is grown in its native 
land, Japan, for the flowers; and, like all of 
this species, the trees are lovely when in 
bloom. A soil that is light and deep and per¬ 
haps a little more loamy than that on which 
the peach does its best, suits apricots; and 
they are quite as hardy as the peach. Plant 
them likewise in a backward location, where 
they will not start into growth prematurely 
in the spring. Always remember that this is 
one of the great essentials with all of these 
fruits. Grown upon a wall facing north or 
west, they are lovely. 
The varieties which are hardiest and best 
are, in the order of their ripening, Alberge 
de Montgamet and Early Golden, early in 
July; Moorpark, which is one of the very 
best with large and luscious red-cheeked 
fruit, late in July; and St. Ambroise, also 
very large and j uicy, early in August. 
It is to be noted that apricots, both early 
and late, come between the cherries and the 
peaches, and therefore just at a time when 
fresh fruits are especially scarce and desira¬ 
ble. The dried form with which we are gen¬ 
erally familiar gives but little idea of the 
exquisite quality of the fresh fruit. 
All of this great Prunus family originated 
ages back, presumably in China. Its botani¬ 
cal appellation was the Latin name of just 
the plum, long ago. All of the pit fruits 
belong to it: the plum, cherry, apricot, al¬ 
mond and peach ; and all of these have flow¬ 
ers that are either white or pink, of the 
same delicacy and charm. 
The Almonds 
I am going to speak of almonds next, not¬ 
withstanding they are a nut tree rather than 
a so-called “fruit” tree, because almonds 
belong right here culturally, being Prunus 
Amygdalus; and also because there are few 
things of greater decorative value than this 
last member of this family to be listed as an 
uncommon or little-known fruit. 
The almond has been in cultivation so 
many ages that the time of its domestication 
Gan you imagine a country autumn in 
Virginia without persimmons? They 
have been grown even in Connecticut 
So closely allied to the peach is the 
apricot that similar cultural conditions 
apply generally to both 
"Nectarines grown on your own place need 
not be a mere dream. They do best in 
locations which retard the opening of the 
flower buds in the spring 
is completely lost to history. Unlike the 
apricot and nectarine, however, it comes pre¬ 
sumably from the shores of the Mediterra¬ 
nean, and the fleshy portion of its fruit, 
which in these others is the edible portion, 
is very thin and dries and splits as the fruit 
matures. The trees are nearly as hardy as 
the peach, and therefore desirable. 
The soil best suited to them is light and 
well drained. They cannot survive, indeed, 
if it is not the latter, and they will endure 
greater drought than almost any other tree. 
As they are still earlier flowering than the 
nectarine or apricot, the device of holding 
them back in order to avoid late frosts must 
be even more cunningly contrived. It is 
only the flower buds that are injured by 
these late touches of frost; the trees them¬ 
selves are not endangered by severe weather 
—only their fruiting is inhibited. The Soft- 
shell is the hardier of the two varieties 
available, and the best for home planting. 
Persimmons in Cultivation 
Anyone who has ever picked ripe persim¬ 
mons in Virginia under the glow of the au¬ 
tumn sunshine, and stood right there and 
eaten them, ought to rejoice that this queer 
but altogether delightful fruit is hardy to a 
satisfactory degree even pretty well north. 
It is found wild up to a latitude of 38° or 
39°, and there are places even in Connecti¬ 
cut where it grows. As the fruit is sweet¬ 
ened up by frost action, presumably, it is by 
no means certain that it will not grow much 
farther north than Nature herself has scat¬ 
tered it. It is worth trying, anyhow. 
In Japan, the native persimmon {Diospy- 
ros Kaki) is regarded as their very best 
native fruit; and this has been grown here 
successfully for an extended period. It is 
apparently not as hardy by nature as our 
native species, but cultivation is gradually 
working it up to a higher standard in this 
respect, so that it is likely it will be possible 
to raise it anywhere that the native Diospy- 
ros Virginiana will grow. Its fruits are 
coming more and more into the metropolitan 
markets, and they are as lovely to the eye as 
to the taste, being large and golden-scarlet. 
Near the tempering influence of the ocean, 
it is likely that persimmons will withstand 
the winter even as far north as Massachu¬ 
setts ; but inland it is doubtful if they will 
endure its rigors save here and there in 
favorable and isolated places. They trans¬ 
plant with great difficulty, owing to their 
{Continued on page 92) 
Hazels in a wild state are among our most attractive but neglected 
hedge-row bushes. They are well worth cultivating for the sake of 
their general appearance as well as the quality of their nuts 
The quince is an old-time favorite which seems to have lost popular 
favor without apparent cause. It is at its best when cooked, of 
course; but that best is too good to be overlooked 
