Tree vigorous, upright or somewhat spreading, hardy, productive; trunk rough; branches smooth, ash-gray over reddish-brown; branchlets slender, long, with short internodes, dark pinkish-red with but a trace of green, smooth, glabrous, with inconspicuous, small, raised lenticels.
Leaves fall early in the season, six and three-fourths inches long, one and three-eighths inches wide, flat or somewhat curled downward, oval-lanceolate, leathery; upper surface dull, dark green, nearly smooth; lower surface olive-green; apex acuminate; margin bluntly serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole seven-sixteenths inch long, with one to five large, reniform glands variable in position.
Flower-buds small, short, obtuse, very plump, heavily pubescent, appressed; blossoms open late; flowers seven-eighths inch across; pale pink, darker about the edges, usually singly; pedicels short, green; calyx-tube reddish-green, orange-red within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes short, obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals narrow-oval or ovate, tapering to claws of medium width; filaments three-eighths inch long, equal to the petals in length; pistil as long as the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and three-fourths inches long, two and three-eighths inches wide, roundish-cordate or oval, slightly angular, compressed, with unequal halves; cavity shallow, contracted about the sides, abrupt or flaring; suture medium in depth; apex pointed, with a large, recurved, mamelon tip; color greenish or lemon-yellow, with little if any blush; pubescence heavy, long; skin thin, tough, separates from the pulp when fully ripe; flesh yellow, faintly tinged with red near the pit, dry, coarse, tender, sweet, mild; good in quality; stone free, one and seven-sixteenths inches long, fifteen-sixteenths inch wide, ovate, flattened, wedge-shape toward the base, tapering to a long apex, with large pits and a few small grooves in the surfaces; ventral suture deeply grooved along the sides, very wide, deeply furrowed; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.
NIAGARA
1. W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 115. 1900. 2. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 2:352, 353. 1903. 3. W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 24. 1904. 4. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 38. 1909. 5. N. Y. Sta. Bul. 403:213, 214, Pl. 1915.
Newark Seedling. 6. Del. Sta. Rpt. 5:99. 1892.
Niagara is a variant of a peach which all growers lament as being less and less grown, the Crawford. The Crawford group, though a dominant type, is, as we have several times pointed out, a little too capricious as to soil and climate to suit the needs of commercial peach-growers, failing to bear regularly or abundantly in most soils. For this reason the once very popular Early and Late Crawfords are now seldom grown. All who know these varieties regret that a sort of their type, without their faults, has not yet come to light. In New York the best of the comparatively new Crawford-like peaches is Niagara, said to be a seedling of one of the Crawfords. The fruit ripens later than Early Crawford, averages larger, is borne more abundantly and holds its size better to the end of the season. But Niagara's great point of merit, as compared with Crawford, is that it is more dependable in all tree-characters, being, especially, less capricious as to soil and climate. Niagara, as the color-plate shows it, is a beautiful fruit, yellow, with a handsome over-color of red. The flesh, too, is attractive and delectable—yellow, thick and firm, with a rich, sweet flavor which makes it one of the most palatable peaches of its season. It is, as are most of its type, a freestone. Niagara fails in productiveness in some localities, having in this respect the fault of all its tribe; but it should have a welcome place in any home collection and, where it proves productive, is one of the best for general market.
Niagara probably came originally from Maryland to Julius Harris, Ridgeway, New York. Later it was sold to a grower near Lockport, New York, who disposed of it to a Mr. Corwin, Newfane, Niagara County, New York, who called it Corwin's Crawford. It then came into possession of the Rogers Nurseries, Dansville, New York, from whom this Station received its trees under the name Niagara. It is probably a seedling of Early Crawford. Niagara was added to the fruit-list of the American Pomological Society in 1909.
NIAGRA
Tree large, upright-spreading, hardy, medium in productiveness; trunk thick and smooth; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown mingled with light ash-gray; branchlets thick, red intermingled with olive-green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with conspicuous, large, raised lenticels.
Leaves six and three-fourths inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, flattened or curled downward, oval to obovate-lanceolate, leathery; upper surface dull, dark green, rugose along the midrib; lower surface grayish-green; apex acuminate; margin finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole three-eighths inch long, glandless or with one to five small, globose, raised, reddish-brown glands variable in position.
Flower-buds large, long, conical or pointed, very plump, pubescent, usually free; blossoms open in mid-season; flowers one inch across, white near the center of the petals changing to dark pink near the edges; pedicels very short, thick, glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish-green, orange-colored within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, acute, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals round-oval, tapering toward the apex, broadly notched near the base, contracting to claws red at the base; filaments three-eighths inch long, equal to or shorter than the petals; pistil pubescent at the ovary, longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and one-half inches long, two and three-eighths inches wide, round-cordate to oval, compressed, with equal halves; cavity medium to deep, flaring to abrupt, with very tender skin, often splashed with red; suture shallow, deepening toward the apex and often extending beyond; apex rounded or pointed, with a mamelon and sometimes recurved tip; color orange-yellow, blushed with deep, dull red, with stripes and splashes of darker red; pubescence short, thick, fine; skin thick, tough, adherent to the pulp; flesh yellow, deeply tinged with red near the pit, juicy, coarse but tender, sprightly; very good in quality; stone free, one and five-eighths inches long, one and one-eighth inches wide, broadly ovate, plump, with long point at the apex, usually with grooved surfaces and with few pits, tinged with red; ventral suture very deeply grooved along the sides, winged, rather wide; dorsal suture deeply grooved, wing-like.
OLDMIXON CLING
1. Coxe Cult. Fr. Trees 218. 1817. 2. Kenrick Am. Orch. 231. 1832. 3. Prince Pom. Man. 2:23. 1832. 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 497. 1845. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 211. 1856. 6. Fulton Peach Cult. 198. 1908. 7. Waugh Am. Peach Orch. 205. 1913.
Oldmixon. 8. Hoffy Orch. Com. 1:1841-42. 9. Elliott Fr. Book 278. 1854.