THE PEACH.
WILLIAM KERR HIGLEY,
Secretary of The Chicago Academy of Sciences.
THE peach (Amygdalus persica, L.), is one of our most important and best-known fruits.
It is not found in the wild state, in its present form, though in some localities it propagates itself, having escaped from cultivation.
It is probably a native of China, where it has been cultivated for centuries and where it is said to reach its greatest perfection, although Darwin holds that the evidence seems to indicate that the wild almond of Persia is the original source of the cultivated almond, the peach, and the nectarine. The specific name persica, has its origin in the fact that the peach was obtained from Persia, both by the Romans and the Greeks.
Dr. Willis tells us that "it was introduced into Italy from Persia by the Romans, in the reign of Claudius Cæsar. It was introduced into Great Britain during the sixteenth century, and thence brought in 1680 by the settlers of Virginia to America."
The number of varieties seems to be unlimited. Over four hundred have been catalogued, though less than one hundred of these are constant. The nectarine is considered a variety and closely related to the peach and the plum, the apricot, and the cherry.
The tree itself, when bearing its beautiful rose-colored, five-petaled flowers, is highly ornamental. It seldom grows higher than twenty feet and its branches form a symmetrical top. One very ornamental variety produces double flowers and bright, shining leaves, but no fruit.