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Show 338 FRUfTS. CHAP. X. Andrew Knight,23 from finding that a seedli11g-irco,. ra~sed ~rom. a sweet almond fertilised by the pollen of a peach, yieldoJ. fr~Jt qwto llke that of a peach, suspected that the pc::toh-troo is a modified almond; and in this he has been followed by various authorS.24 A first-rate P.cach, almo -t globular in shape, formed of soft and sweet pulp, su:Toundmg a hard, much furrowed, and slightly-flattened stone, certainly differs greatly from an almond, with its Roft, slightly furrowed, much flat~cncd, and clongat. eJ. stone, prot.ectcd by a tonglt, grccni. h layer of l>Jttc~· flesh. Mr. Bentham 26 has particularly called attention to the stone o~ the almond being so much more fl.attcncd tl1an that of tho P?ach. But m tho sc_vor~l varieties of tho almond, tho stone differs greatly m the dogr~o to ':h10h It is compressed, in size, shape, strength, a~d in tho clcpth of thy iurr~wR, as may be seen in tho accompanying drawmgs (Nos. 4 to 8) ,of such lnnds as I have been able to collect. With peach-stones also (Nos. 1 to 3) the degree of compression and elongation is seen to vary; so that tho stone of the Chinese Honey-poach (fig. 3) is roue~ mor~ olong~tcd an~ compressed than that of tho (No.8) Smyrna almond. Mr. lbvcrs of Sawbndgcworth, to whom I am indebted for some of the specimens above figmod, and who has had such great horticultural experience, has called my attention to several varieties which connect the almond and tho peach. In France there is a variety called tho Peach-almond, which Mr. Rivers formerly cultivated and which is correctly described in a Prench catalogue as being oval and 'swollen with the aspect of a peach, including a hard stone surrounded by a' fleshy covering, which is sometimes eatable.26 A remarkable statement by M. Luizet has recently appeared in the 'Revue IIorticolc,' 27 namely, that a Peach-almond, grafted on a peach, bore during 1863 and lb64 almonds alone, but in 1865 bore six peaches and no almonds. M. Carriere, in commenting on this fact, cites the case of a double-flowered almond which, after producing during several years al~onds,. suddcn~y bore for two years in succession spherical fleshy poach-like ,frmts, but m 1865 reverted to its f01·mer state and produced largo almonds. Again, as I hear from Mr. Rivers, the double-~ower~g Chinese peach~s resemble almonds in their manner of growth and m their flowers ; the frwt is much elongated and flattened, with the flesh both bitter and sweet, but 2a • Transactions of Hort. Soc.,' vol. iii. p. 1, and vol. iv. p. 369, and note to p. B70. A coloured dmwing is given of this hybrid. 24 • Gardener's Chronicle,' 1856, P. 532. A writer, it may be presumed Dr. Lindley, remarks on the perfect series which may be formed between the almond and tho pcnch. Another high authority, Mr. Rivers, who has hatl such witlo experience, strongly suspects (' Ganleucr's Chronicle,' 1863, p. 27) that peaches, if left to a state of nature, would in the course of time retrograde into thick-fleshed almonds. 25 • J uurnal of Hort. Soc.,' vol. L". p. W& . 26 Whether this is the same variety as one lately mentioned (' Carel. Chron.' 1865, p. 1154) by M. Carriero under the name of l'ersica intermeclia, I lmow not: this var. is said to be intermediate in nearly oJl its ch~racters between the almond aml peach ; it produces during sucre~sive years very different kinds of fruit. ~7 Quoted in • Card. Chron.' 1866, P· 800. Crr ,\P. X. PEACH AND NECTARINE. not uneatable, and it is said to be of better quality in China. From this stage one small step leads us to such inferior peaches as are occasionally raised from seed. For instance, Mr. Rivers sowed anum ber of peach-stones imported from the United States, whore they arc collect.ed for raising stocks, and somo of the trees raised by him produced peaches which wero very like almonds in appearance, being small and hard, with the pulp not softening till very late in the autumn. Van Mons 28 also states that he once raised· from a peach-stone a peach having the aspect of a wild tree, with fruit like that of the almond. Prom inferior peaches, such as these just described, we may pass by small transitions, through clingstones of poor quality, to our best and most melting kinds. Prom this gradation, from tho cases of sudden variation above Tccorded, and from tho fact that the peach has not been found wild, it seems to me by far the most probable view, that tho peach is tho descendant of the almond, improved and modified in a marvellous manner. One fact, however, is opposed to this conclusion. A hybrid, raised by Knight from the sweet almond by the pollen of the peach, produced flowers with little or no pollen, yet bore fruit, having been apparently fertilised by a neighbouring nectarine. Another hybrid from a sweet almond by the pollen of a nectarine produced dming the fiTst three years imperfect blossoms, but afterwards perfect flowers with an abundance of pollen. If this slight degree of sterility cannot be accounted for by the youth of tho trees (and this often causes lessened fe1·tility), or by the monstrous state of the flowers, or by the conditions to which the trees were exposed, these two cases would afford a strong argument against the peach being the descendant of the almond, Whether or not the :rreach has proceeded from the almond, it bas certainly given rise to nectarines," or smooth peaches, as they arc called by the French. Most of the varieties both of the peach and nectarine reproduce themselves truly by seed. Gallesio 29 says he bas verified this with respect to eight races of the peach. Mr. Rivers 30 has given some striking instances from his own experience, and it is notorious that good peaches are constantly raised in North America from seed. Many of the American subvarieties come true or nearly true to their kind, such as tho white-blossom several of the yellow-fruited freestone peaches, the blood clingstone, th~ heath, and the lemon-clingstone. On the other band, a clingstone peach has been known to give rise to a freestone. 31 In England it has been noticed that seedlings inherit from their parents flowers of the same size and colour. Some characters, however, contrary to what might have been expected, often are not inherited; such as the presence and form of the glands on the leaves.32 With respect to nectarines, both cling and freo- 28 Quoted in 'Jomnal de la Soc. Imp. d'Horticultur ,' 1855, p. 238. 29 • 'l'eoria della Riproduzione Vegetate,' 1816, p. 86. ao • Gardener's Chronicle,' 1862, p. 1195. 3! Mr. Rivers, • Gardener's Chron.,' 1859, p. 771. 32 Downing, 'The Fruits of Americn,' 1815, pp. 475, 489, 492, 194, 49(). See also F. Michaux, ''l'ravels in N. America' (Eng. translat.), p. 228. For • similar cases in l!"ranco see Godron, • De l'.F.. . spcce,' tom. ii. p. 97. :.-:: ~ |