LEADING VARIETIES OF PEACHES
ADMIRAL DEWEY
=1.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =42=:232. 1898. =2.= _Mich. Sta. Sp. Bul._
=30=:14. 1905. =3.= Albertson-Hobbs _Cat._ 29. 1906.
_Admiral._ =4.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:335. 1903.
_Dewey._ =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 36. 1909. =6.= Waugh _Am.
Peach Orch._ 201. 1913.
Perhaps the peach most of all desired nowadays by peach-growers is
a very early, yellow-fleshed freestone. For years Admiral Dewey and
Triumph, both seedlings of Alexander, have been grown to fill this
place and both, in the main, fail. Admiral Dewey, while early, yellow
in flesh and good in quality, is not always a freestone and has several
other defects which make it nearly worthless as a commercial fruit.
Thus, though the trees are very productive, the peaches run small, are
so heavily pubescent as to be unattractive, are very susceptible to
brown-rot and are often disfigured with the peach-scab. The trees, too,
suffer much from leaf-curl. With Alexander as the parent, the trees
should be hardy, and from behavior elsewhere, must be so rated; but
they have not proved exceptionally so on our grounds. While nowhere
largely planted, Admiral Dewey is often set, as no doubt it should be,
for an early peach in the home orchard. Of the two early sorts, this
variety stands shipment rather better than Triumph. The varieties are
of about the same season, both coming a week or thereabouts later than
the well-known Alexander.
Admiral Dewey was grown from a seed of Alexander by J. D. Husted,
Vineyard, Georgia, in the latter part of the Nineteenth Century. It was
introduced in 1899 by Mr. Husted and has since been grown commercially
east and west, north and south. The American Pomological Society placed
the variety on its fruit-list in 1909 as Dewey but the full name
bestowed to commemorate the great Admiral should, we think, be retained.
[Illustration: ADMIRAL DEWEY]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, very
productive; trunk thick, smooth; branches stocky, reddish-brown
mingled with light ash-gray; branchlets slender, long,
olive-green overspread with dark red, glossy, smooth, glabrous,
with numerous lenticels, raised near the base.
Leaves six inches long, one and one-half inches wide, folded
upward, oval to obovate-lanceolate, thin; upper surface
olive-green, smooth except near the midrib; lower surface light
grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown
glands; petiole one-fourth inch long, with one to seven large,
reniform, greenish-yellow glands variable in position.
Flower-buds small, short, conical, pubescent, plump, free;
blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers pink, one and one-half
inches across, well distributed, usually in twos; pedicels
short, thick, glabrous, green; calyx-tube dull reddish-green,
orange-colored within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
short, broad, obtuse, glabrous within, slightly pubescent
without; petals round-ovate, tapering to short, broad claws red
at the base; filaments one-half inch long, shorter than the
petals; pistil pubescent at the ovary, equal to the stamens in
length.
Fruit matures early; two and one-fourth inches long, two and
one-half inches wide, round-oblate, slightly compressed; cavity
deep, wide, abrupt, with tender skin; suture shallow, becoming
deeper at the extremities; apex roundish or flattened, with
mucronate tip variable in size; color deep orange-yellow,
blushed with dark red, indistinctly splashed and mottled;
pubescence heavy; skin thin, tender, adherent to the pulp;
flesh yellow, tinged with red near the pit, juicy, stringy,
tender, melting, sweet but sprightly; good in quality;
stone semi-free to free, one and one-fourth inches long,
seven-eighths inch wide, oval to obovate, flattened at the
base, tapering to a short point, with grooved surfaces; ventral
suture deeply grooved along the sides, wide; dorsal suture a
deep, wide groove.
ALEXANDER
=1.= _Cult. & Count. Gent._ =38=:598. 1873. =2.= _Mich. Hort.
Soc. Rpt._ 263, 264. 1874. =3.= _Gard. Mon._ =17=:367, 368.
1875. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 28. 1877. =5.= _Gard. Mon._
=19=:147, 303. 1877. =6.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 436. 1884. =7.=
_Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 424. 1886. =8.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._
=39=:809, figs. 5 & 9. 1896. =9.= _Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt._
=6=:21 fig. 1899. =10.= Fulton _Peach Cult._ 173. 1908. =11.=
Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 198. 1913. =12.= _U. S. D. A. Plant
Immigrants_ =117=:958. 1916.
_Alexander's Early._ =13.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 75, 76. 1873.
=14.= _Horticulturist_ =28=:224. 1873.
For nearly a half-century Alexander has been one of the notable early
peaches on this continent, hardiness and vigor of tree contributing
with earliness to make the variety popular. Unfortunately, there are
few fruit-characters to commend Alexander; the peaches run small,
the flesh clings to the stone and is so tender that the two can be
separated only with difficulty, and the quality is poor. Added to
the defects of the fruit the trees have the grave fault of being
unproductive. The fruits, too, are very susceptible to brown-rot but to
offset this weakness, the trees are more resistant to leaf-curl than
those of the average variety. Alexander has been more or less grown in
every peach-region on this continent, sometimes attaining considerable
commercial importance, but is now widely cultivated only on the Pacific
Slope, and even here it is evidently destined to pass out before many
years in the competition with newer and better sorts. It is often
confused with Amsden though the two are quite distinct.
Alexander originated soon after the Civil War on the farm of O. A.
Alexander, Mount Pulaski, Illinois. Since 1877 it has been on the
fruit-list of the American Pomological Society. It has been the parent
of a score or more of meritorious extra-early peaches.
[Illustration: ALEXANDER]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, unproductive;
trunk stocky, smooth; branches reddish-brown overlaid with
light ash-gray; branchlets medium to long, olive-green overlaid
on the sunny side with dark red, smooth, glabrous, with
conspicuous, large, raised lenticels.
Leaves six inches long, one and one-half inches wide, folded
upward, oval-lanceolate, thin, leathery; upper surface dark
green, smooth; lower surface light grayish-green; margin finely
serrate, tipped with dark red glands; petiole three-eighths
inch long, glandless or with one to four small, usually
globose, greenish-yellow glands tipped with red, variable in
position.
Flower-buds oblong-conic, pubescent, usually free; blooming
season early; flowers pale pink, one and seven-sixteenths
inches across, in well-distributed clusters; pedicels very
short, thick, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube dull green, light
yellowish within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes short,
broad, acute, glabrous within, slightly pubescent without;
petals roundish, often broadly notched near the base, tapering
to short, broad claws marked with red; filaments nearly
one-half inch long; pistil pubescent at the ovary, equal to the
stamens in length.
Fruit matures very early; two and one-eighth inches long, two
and one-fourth inches wide, round, slightly compressed, with
sides nearly equal; cavity deep, abrupt or slightly flaring;
suture shallow; apex depressed, ending in a mucronate or
small, mamelon, recurved tip; color greenish-white becoming
creamy-white, blushed and blotched with dark red, mottled;
pubescence short; skin separates readily from the pulp; flesh
greenish-white, juicy, stringy, sweet, very mild; fair to good
in quality; stone clinging, one and one-fourth inches long,
five-eighths inch thick, oval, plump, faintly winged, abruptly
pointed at the apex, with slightly pitted surfaces and with a
few grooves; ventral suture deeply grooved along the sides,
bulged; dorsal suture deeply furrowed, faintly winged.
ALTON
=1.= _Ill. Hort Soc. Rpt._ 181. 1898. =2.= _Rural N. Y._
=60=:726, 774. 1901. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 35. 1909. =4.=
_N. Y. State Fr. Gr. Assoc. Rpt._ 21. 1912.
_Minnie._ =5.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =118=:30. 1895. =6.= _Tex.
Sta. Bul._ =39=:813. 1896. =7.= _Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 53.
1896. =8.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:220. 1899. =9.= Budd-Hansen
_Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:351, 352. 1903.
Alton is everywhere held in high esteem as an early mid-season,
white-fleshed, semi-free peach. It merits the esteem bestowed upon it
by virtue of large size, handsome appearance and high quality of the
peaches and hardiness and productiveness in the trees. It ripens a
little earlier than Champion, long the favorite white-fleshed peach of
its season, does not rot so readily when brown-rot is rife and hangs
longer on the tree in good condition. It is not, however, quite so
choicely good in quality as Champion, nor, on the Station grounds at
least, are the trees quite as productive. Other faults of Alton are
that leaf-curl takes heavy toll on unsprayed trees, the blossoms open
so early as often to be caught by spring frosts, and the peaches show
great variation in size and shape and even in texture and flavor.
The accompanying cut shows the beauty of the outside but unfortunately
on the grounds of this Station the variety is almost a clingstone so
that the stone could not be separated to permit photographing the
creamy-white flesh, red at pit, and, all in all, most tempting to the
eye. Alton seems to be most at home in the Middle West and South and is
not a familiar inhabitant of eastern orchards as a commercial product.
This variety originated with T. V. Munson, Denison, Texas, a
quarter-century ago and was introduced by him under the name Minnie. By
some it is supposed to have come from Alton, Illinois, and to have been
introduced as Emma but this is an error. Munson's Minnie was tested at
the Illinois Experiment Station from which place Stark Brothers Nursery
Company, Louisiana, Missouri, received it and propagated it under the
name Alton. In 1909 the American Pomological Society placed the variety
upon its list of fruits as Alton, a name which usage makes preferable
to the first one, Minnie.
[Illustration: ALTON]
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, hardy, medium in
productiveness; trunk very stocky; branches thick,
reddish-bronze overlaid with light ash-gray; branchlets
slender, long, olive-green mingled with dull red, smooth,
glabrous, with many small, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves six and one-fourth inches long, one and three-fourths
inches wide, folded upward, oval-lanceolate, broad; upper
surface dark green, rugose at the base; lower surface light
grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped with dark glands;
petiole three-eighths inch long, with two to four reniform
glands, greenish-yellow, tipped with dull red, variable in
position.
Flower-buds small, short, conical, usually appressed, heavily
pubescent; season of bloom early; flowers pale pink, nearly
two inches across; borne usually singly; pedicels very short,
glabrous, green; calyx-tube dull reddish-green, tinged with
greenish-yellow within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
acute to slightly obtuse, glabrous within, heavily pubescent
without; petals roundish-oval, with blunt apex, frequently
notched near the base, tapering to narrow claws; filaments
one-half inch long; pistil pubescent at the ovary, as long as
the stamens.
Fruit matures in early mid-season; two and five-sixteenths
inches long, two and five-eighths inches thick, round-oblate,
slightly compressed, with unequal halves; cavity abrupt or
slightly flaring; suture of medium depth; apex roundish,
mucronate; color creamy-white overspread with dull red, dotted
and splashed with carmine; pubescence thin, short; skin tough,
adhering slightly to the pulp; flesh white, juicy, stringy,
tender, pleasantly subacid; fair in quality; stone semi-cling,
one and three-eighths inches long, seven-eighths inch wide,
obovate, plump at the apex, winged near the base, with pitted
surfaces; ventral suture deeply grooved along the sides,
narrow; dorsal suture deeply grooved.
ARP
=1.= _N. Y. State Fr. Gr. Assoc. Rpt._ 24. 1913.
_Arp Beauty._ =2.= _N. J. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 100. 1911. =3.= _N.
Y. State Fr. Gr. Assoc. Rpt._ 213. 1913. =4.= _N. Y. Sta. Bul._
=364=:183. 1913.
Arp is the earliest good yellow peach. This is the chief reason for
its cultivation though it has other good characters beside earliness
to give it a place among yellow peaches. At this Station the trees are
healthy, vigorous, productive and hardier in bud than the average, the
buds having withstood the cold of two test winters. The round-oval
shape and shallow suture give it a pleasing appearance of rotundity.
To its shapeliness, add a skin creamy-yellow, heavily blushed with red
and covered with short, thick pubescence with the sheen of velvet, and
you have a beautiful peach--well shown in the color-plate. The flesh
is light yellow, firm, juicy, sweet, rich, and of excellent quality,
but unfortunately clings rather tenaciously to the stone. The season of
Arp is from a month to five weeks earlier than Elberta and for so early
a peach is remarkably long. It is somewhat susceptible to brown-rot.
We do not know from experience how the fruit will ship but believe it
will stand the wear and tear of transportation and markets as well as
any of the standard peaches. Arp ought to be in every home orchard.
Attention is called to the fact that the June Elberta in the hands of
some growers is Arp.
Arp originated with C. P. Orr, Arp, Texas, about 1897. Elberta is
supposed to have been one of the parents while the other may have
been a peach of the Indian type. The variety was introduced by the
originator about 1902.
[Illustration: ARP]
Tree rather large, vigorous, spreading, hardy, productive;
trunk stocky, intermediate in smoothness; branches thick,
smooth, reddish-bronze overlaid with light ash-gray; branchlets
with internodes intermediate in length, pinkish-red mingled
with green, smooth, glabrous, with many smallish lenticels.
Leaves six and one-fourth inches long, one and one-half inches
wide, folded upward, oval-lanceolate, sometimes inclined to
obovate, thin, somewhat leathery; upper surface dark green;
lower surface grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped with
reddish-brown glands; petiole three-eighths inch long, with
one to three large, reniform, greenish-yellow or reddish-brown
glands usually at the base of the leaf.
Flower-buds intermediate in size and length, plump,
oblong-conic, pubescent, appressed; blossoms opening in
mid-season; flowers light pink, one and three-fourths inches
across; borne seldom in twos; pedicels short, glabrous, green;
calyx-tube dark reddish-green, dull orange within, campanulate,
glabrous; calyx-lobes long, medium in width, obtuse to
acute, glabrous within, heavily pubescent without; petals
round-obovate, usually broadly notched on each side of the
base, tapering to short, narrow claws; filaments one-half inch
long; pistil glabrous, pubescent at the ovary, equal to the
stamens in length.
Fruit matures early; two and one-sixteenth inches long, two
and one-eighth inches wide, oval to round, compressed, the
halves unequal; cavity medium to deep, wide, abrupt; suture
shallow, deeper at the base; apex roundish or depressed,
with a mucronate tip; color greenish-yellow changing to deep
yellow, heavily blushed with red, indistinctly striped, with
conspicuous, large dots; pubescence short, stiff, thick;
skin thick, tough, adhering to the pulp; flesh light yellow
mingled with faint stripes of red radiating from the pit,
juicy, stringy, tender, sweet, highly flavored; very good in
quality; stone clinging, one and three-sixteenths inches long,
three-fourths inch wide, narrow-oval, plump, with short, acute
apex, the surfaces pitted and with few short grooves; ventral
suture slightly winged, rather widely furrowed; dorsal suture a
deep, narrow groove.
BELLE
=1.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =42=:233. 1898. =2.= _Am. Gard._ =21=:852.
1900. =3.= _Ga. Sta. Rpt._ =13=:308. 1900. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Cat._ 35. 1909.
_Belle of Georgia._ =5.= _Am. Gard._ =17=:67. 1896. =6.= _Ohio
Sta. Bul._ =170=:172, 173 fig. 1906.
_Georgia._ =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 33. 1899. =8.= _Del. Sta.
Rpt._ =13=:99, 100 fig. 5. 1901.
Belle elicits praise from all who know it because of the great
beauty of its fruits. At its best it is one of the glories of the
peach-orchard, the fruits being large, trim in contour, creamy-white,
with a beautiful crimson cheek--truly voluptuous in form and color.
The color-plate--made in a poor season--falls far short of doing the
fruits justice in size and art cannot depict the soft tints of red and
cream which make Belle so beautiful. The fruits are as enticing to the
eye inwardly as outwardly, the white flesh being delicately marbled,
tinted with red at the pit and the flesh and pit usually part cleanly.
Unfortunately, appearance misrepresents quality; for the variety, while
good, falls short in flavor, and the flesh is stringy so that it must
be rated as not above the average for its type. The trees are large,
open-headed, a little straggling, fast-growing and hardy, though, like
most of its type, easy prey to leaf-curl. Belle prefers a southern
climate and in the South is often a good commercial sort but in New
York is grown only for local markets and home use, hardly equalling
Champion as a white-fleshed peach for distant markets.
Belle came from a seed of Chinese Cling planted in 1870 by L. A.
Rumph, Marshallville, Georgia. The other parent is unknown but it is
supposed to have been Oldmixon Free, a tree of which stood near the
Chinese Cling tree. The variety came to notice about the same time as
Elberta and has been thought by some to be a seedling of Elberta. The
American Pomological Society listed Belle in its catalog in 1899 as
Georgia but in 1909 changed the name to Belle and it is so designated
in horticultural treatises but popularly it is "Belle of Georgia."
[Illustration: BELLE]
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, hardy, very
productive; trunk thick; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown
covered with light ash-gray; branchlets thick, medium to long,
olive-green overlaid with dark red, smooth, glabrous, with
numerous conspicuous, rather small lenticels.
Leaves five and one-half inches long, one and one-half inches
wide, folded upward, oblong-lanceolate, somewhat leathery;
upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface light
grayish-green; margin coarsely serrate, tipped with dark red
glands; petiole three-eighths inch long, with two to six
large, reniform or globose, greenish-yellow glands variable in
position.
Flower-buds large, long, oval, very plump, strongly pubescent,
usually appressed; blooming season early; flowers pale pink
but deeper in color along the edges, one and three-eighths
inches across, often in twos; pedicels long, thick;
calyx-tube dull reddish-green, yellowish within, campanulate,
glabrous; calyx-lobes medium in length and width, acute to
obtuse, glabrous within, heavily pubescent without; petals
roundish-oval, tapering to short, broad claws red at the base;
filaments nearly one-half inch long; pistil pubescent at the
ovary, longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and one-sixteenth inches long,
two and one-eighth inches wide, roundish-oval, often bulged
near the apex, somewhat compressed, with halves nearly equal;
cavity abrupt or somewhat flaring, red, with tender skin;
suture shallow, deepening toward the apex; apex roundish to
slightly pointed, with a mucronate tip; color greenish-white
changing to creamy-white, blushed with red, with faint stripes
and splashes of darker red, mottled; pubescence short, fine,
rather thick; skin thin, tender, adherent to the pulp; flesh
white, tinged with red at the pit and with radiating rays of
red, juicy, stringy, tender, sweet, mild; good in quality;
stone semi-free to free, one and one-eighth inches long,
thirteen-sixteenths inch wide, oval, bulged near the apex,
blunt at the base, with short, sharp point at the apex, with
deeply-pitted surfaces; ventral suture deeply furrowed along
the sides, wide; dorsal suture a narrow groove.
BEQUETTE FREE
=1.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =118=:32. 1895. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Cat._ 35. 1909.
_Bequett Free._ =3.= _U. S. D. A. Pom. Rpt._ 41. 1895. =4.=
_Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 32. 1899. =5.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort.
Man._ =2=:337. 1903.
_Becquette Free._ =6.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._ =39=:806. 1896. =7.=
_Del. Sta. Rpt._ =13=:91. 1901.
As it grows at this Station, Bequette Free makes a favorable impression
because of the flavor and attractive appearance of the fruit. It is not
a new variety, however, and the fact that it seems to have been rather
widely and well tested without receiving general commendation except
on the Pacific Slope is against its having a place in the list of
desirable peaches for the Eastern States. The trees are fast-growing,
very vigorous, hardy and densely clothed with foliage but cannot be
called fruitful and are, possibly, a little too susceptible
to leaf-curl. The color-plate shows the fruit to be a little more
irregular than it is in nature.
This variety originated about 1860 in a seedling orchard of Benjamin
Bequette, Visalia, California. J. H. Thomas of the same place named
the sort and first propagated it about 1877. In 1899 the American
Pomological Society added the variety to its list of fruits under the
name Bequett Free but in 1909 corrected the spelling to Bequette Free.
[Illustration: BEQUETTE FREE]
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, hardy, rather
unproductive; trunk thick, smooth; branches stocky, smooth,
reddish-brown mingled with light ash-gray; branchlets slender,
long, olive-green mingled with dark red, smooth, glabrous, with
numerous large and small, inconspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves very numerous, six and three-fourths inches long, one
and three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, oval-lanceolate
inclined to broad-obovate, leathery; upper surface very
dark green, smooth or slightly rugose; lower surface light
grayish-green; margin coarsely serrate, tipped with dark
glands; petiole three-eighths inch long, with two to five
large, reniform, greenish-yellow glands variable in position.
Flower-buds large, long, oblong-conic, plump, pointed, heavily
pubescent, usually appressed; blossoms appear in mid-season;
flowers light to dark pink, nearly one and one-fourth inches
across, borne in ones and twos; pedicels short, thick,
glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish-green, light yellow within,
campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes rather short, medium to
narrow, nearly acute, pubescent within, heavily pubescent
without; petals roundish-oval, slightly notched near the base,
tapering to short, narrow claws tinged with red at the base;
filaments nearly one-half inch long, shorter than the petals;
pistil heavily 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-oval, compressed,
often with unequal sides; cavity small, deep, abrupt or
flaring, often tinged with red; suture shallow, deepening
toward the apex; apex roundish, depressed at the center, with
a small, recurved, mamelon tip; color greenish-white mingled
with yellow, blushed, splashed and blotched with dark red;
pubescence thick, long, coarse; skin thin, tough, separates
readily from the pulp; flesh white, slightly tinged with red
near the pit, juicy, stringy, tender and melting, pleasantly
flavored, sprightly; good to very good in quality; stone nearly
free, one and three-eighths inches long, seven-eighths inch
wide, oval, with a short-pointed apex, medium in plumpness,
with deeply pitted and slightly grooved surfaces; ventral
suture slightly bulged near the apex, deeply furrowed along the
edges, narrow; dorsal suture grooved.
BERENICE
=1.= _La. Sta. Bul._ =3=:44. 1890. =2.= _Ibid._ =27=:941. 1894.
=3.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._ =39=:806. 1896. =4.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._
4=2=:233. 1898. =5.= _Del. Sta. Rpt._ =13=:92. 1901. =6.=
_Mich. Sta. Bul._ =194=:45. 1901. =7.= Berckmans _Cat._ 10.
1912-13.
When at its best Berenice is hardly surpassed in quality by any other
peach but it seems capricious, in the North at least, and this, with
the fact that it is none too attractive in coloring, is probably
the reason why the variety is not more grown. The trees are about
all that could be desired, falling short chiefly in not being as
productive as several other peaches of its season and in being a little
susceptible to leaf-curl. The variety has been offered to fruit-growers
a sufficient length of time to have had its merits well tried as a
commercial peach and the fact that it is not now largely grown is
presumptive evidence that it has little commercial value. Its high
quality makes the variety a good sort for the home collection at least.
Berenice originated some thirty or more years ago with the late Dr. L.
E. Berckmans of Augusta, Georgia. It is supposed to have sprung from
the pit of a General Lee tree which grew in one of Mr. Berckmans' test
orchards. In the Berckmans nursery catalog it is stated of Berenice
that after thirty years' trial "there is nothing equal to it in the
same season."
[Illustration: BERENICE]
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, hardy, medium to
productive; trunk stocky; branches thick, smooth, reddish-brown
mingled with light ash-gray; branchlets with short internodes,
dark red overlaid with olive-green, smooth, glabrous, with
numerous large and small lenticels raised at the base.
Leaves six inches long, one and five-eighths inches wide,
folded upward, oval to obovate-lanceolate, leathery; upper
surface dark green, smooth; lower surface light grayish-green;
margin coarsely serrate, tipped with dark glands; petiole
one-fourth inch long, with two to ten large, reniform,
yellowish-green glands variable in position.
Flower-buds large, oblong, slightly pointed, heavily pubescent,
usually appressed; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers
one and three-sixteenths inches across, pale pink, tinged
darker along the edges, well distributed; pedicels short,
glabrous, green; calyx-tube red mingled with dull, dark green,
orange-colored within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes often
broad, acute to obtuse, glabrous within, slightly pubescent or
heavily pubescent without; petals round-ovate, broadly notched,
tapering to short claws red at base; filaments three-eighths
inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil pubescent at the
ovary, longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and five-eighths inches
long, two and one-half inches wide, round-oval, with halves
often unequal; cavity deep, medium to wide, contracted around
the sides, with tender skin, often blushed with red; suture
shallow, deepening toward the apex; apex roundish or depressed,
with a mucronate or mamelon tip; color greenish-yellow, blushed
and splashed with red; pubescence short, medium fine; skin
tough, separates from the pulp; flesh yellow, faintly tinted
with red near the pit, stringy, tender and melting, sweet,
mild, pleasant flavored; good in quality; stone nearly free,
one and three-eighths inches long, fifteen-sixteenths inch
wide, oval, plump, drawn out at the ends, usually with pitted
surfaces; ventral suture deeply furrowed along the edges;
dorsal suture deeply grooved, with sides slightly wing-like.
BLOOD CLING
=1.= Bridgeman _Gard. Ass't_ Pt. =3=:109. 1857. =2.= _Am. Pom.
Soc. Cat._ 21. 1897. =3.= Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 199. 1913.
_Blood Clingstone_. =4.= Prince _Treat. Fr. Trees_ 17. 1820.
=5.= Floy _Am. Fruits_ 411. 1825. =6.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._
493, 494. 1845. =7.= _Ibid._ 601. 1869. =8.= Fulton _Peach
Cult._ 201. 1908.
_Blood Peach_. =9.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 197. 1841.
_Indian Blood Cling._ =10.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 18. 1871.
_Indian Blood._ =11.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =42=:237. 1898.
Blood Cling is the favorite curiosity of the peach-orchard and as such
we accord it a color-plate and a full description in _The Peaches of
New York_. Unfortunately, the beet-red color of the flesh could not be
reproduced with sufficient accuracy to make the attempt satisfactory.
It is a pleasant peach to eat out of hand and is much used for pickling
and preserving, for which purposes it has real merit. The round-headed,
compact tree might make the variety a desirable parent in breeding new
peaches.
This peach is an American seedling raised many years ago from the
Blood Clingstone of the French. The fruit is much larger than that of
the parent sort but otherwise is much the same. The Blood Free raised
by John M. Ives of Salem, Massachusetts, while somewhat of the nature
of Blood Cling, is, nevertheless, a different sort. The American
Pomological Society listed Blood Cling in its catalog in 1871 under the
name Indian Blood Cling. In 1897 this name was changed to Blood Cling.
[Illustration: BLOOD CLING]
Tree large, vigorous, round, compact, hardy, unproductive;
trunk thick; branches stocky, reddish-bronze, with a light
ash-gray tinge; branchlets slender, long, with short
internodes, olive-green overlaid with dark red, smooth,
glabrous, with numerous usually small, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves five and three-fourths inches long, one and one-half
inches wide, folded upward, oval-lanceolate; leaves thin,
somewhat leathery; upper surface dark green, varying from
smooth to rugose; lower surface light grayish-green; margin
finely serrate, with dark brown glands; petiole three-eighths
inch long, with two to five reniform, light or dark green
glands variable in position.
Flower-buds large, long, plump, oblong-conic, pubescent,
free; flowers open in mid-season; blossoms pink, one and
three-eighths inches across; pedicels short, glabrous,
pale green; calyx-tube dull, speckled, greenish-red, light
greenish-yellow within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
long, narrow, acute, glabrous within, heavily pubescent
without; petals oval to ovate, crenate near the base,
tapering to short, narrow claws white at the base; filaments
three-eighths inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil
pubescent, seven-sixteenths inch long, equal to or shorter than
the stamens.
Fruit matures very late; one and three-fourths inches long, one
and seven-eighths inches thick, compressed, with unequal halves
often giving a lopsided appearance; cavity narrow, abrupt,
usually white; suture shallow; apex round, with a mucronate
tip; color dull greenish-white, entirely overspread with dingy
pink mingled with splashes and stripes of darker, clouded red,
mottled; pubescence long, coarse; skin tough, adherent to the
pulp; flesh red, becoming lighter colored next the stone,
juicy, coarse, stringy, tough and meaty, brisk, pleasantly
flavored; fair in quality; stone clinging, one and one-fourth
inches long, seven-eighths inch wide, oval to slightly obovate,
short-pointed, strongly bulged near the apex, with grooved and
pitted surfaces; ventral suture deeply furrowed at the sides,
narrow; dorsal suture deep, medium in width.
BLOOD LEAF
=1.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =118=:33. 1895.
_Blood-leaved Peach._ =2.= _Gard. Mon._ =13=:206. 1871. =3.=
_Ibid._ =14=:316, Pl. 1872. =4.= _Ibid._ =15=:142, 183. 1873.
=5.= _Horticulturist_ =28=:155. 1873. =6.= _Gard. Mon._
=17=:58, 59. 1875.
Blood Leaf is a handsome ornamental. Its beet-red leaves in early
spring and its pink blossoms, borne in great profusion, entitle it to
esteem for both foliage and flowers. It is worth growing as well for
its fruits. The color-plate opposite page 78 shows the flowers and the
accompanying illustration depicts the fruit-characters. The peaches
are in no way remarkable and yet they please some as a dessert fruit.
Seedlings springing up under two trees of this variety in the Station
orchard in 1913, furnished interesting data on the inheritance of the
blood-red color in the leaves of this peach. Out of 252 young trees,
189 were red-leaved and 63 green-leaved--an exact three-to-one ratio to
show that the green color is carried as a recessive.
Several stories are told of the origin of this peach. One is that
on the battlefield of Fort Donelson, Kentucky, a southern general,
fatally wounded, sucked the juice of a peach and threw the stone into
the little pool of blood which flowed from his side. From this pit in
its bloody seed-bed sprang the tree with its blood-red leaves. John
L. Hebron, in a letter published in _Gardener's Monthly_, 1873, tells
a different tale. According to Hebron the variety was found by P. I.
Connor in 1866 at Champion Hills, Mississippi, on the battlefield where
General Tilghman was killed, a tree having sprung up close to the spot
where the General died. The variety is sometimes called the General
Tilghman peach. Leaving fable and coming to facts, we find that the
variety originated in Mississippi in the sixties and was introduced to
the trade in 1871.
[Illustration: BLOOD LEAF]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, willowy in growth,
open-topped, hardy, unproductive; trunk thick, rough; branches
smooth, reddish-bronze overspread with light ash-gray;
branchlets slender, long, with short internodes, dull green
overlaid with dark red, smooth, glabrous, with numerous small,
inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves four and three-fourths inches long, one and one-fourth
inches wide, folded upward, oval-lanceolate with tendency
to obovate, thin; upper surface when young purplish-red
but changing to green, smooth or rugose; lower surface
purplish-olive; margin finely serrate, tipped with small, dark
glands; petiole three-eighths inch long, with two to five
small, reniform, greenish-yellow, red-tipped glands variable in
position.
Flower-buds large, oblong-conic, plump, pubescent, appressed;
blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers one and one-half
inches across, pale pink, occasionally in twos; pedicels
nearly sessile, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube dark, dull red
mingled with green, yellowish within, campanulate, glabrous;
calyx-lobes long, narrow, acute, glabrous within, slightly
pubescent to heavily pubescent without; petals oval, slightly
contracted toward the apex, tapering to short claws; filaments
three-eighths inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil equal
to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures very late; one and five-eighths inches long,
nearly one and five-eighths inches wide, roundish-oval,
slightly compressed, with unequal sides, with prominent bulge
near the apex; cavity deep, narrow, abrupt, contracted about
the sides, marked with narrow, radiating stripes of pale red;
suture very shallow, becoming deeper toward the apex; apex
roundish or slightly depressed, with a small, mucronate or
recurved, mamelon tip; color greenish-white and pale yellow,
lightly washed with dull pink which changes to dull brown, in
some cases deepening to a reddish blush; pubescence thick,
short, fine; skin thin, tender, adherent to the pulp; flesh
white to the pit, juicy, coarse, meaty but tender, sweetish,
with some astringency; poor in quality; stone clinging, over
one inch long, three-fourths inch wide, oval, very plump,
tapering to a short, blunt point at the apex, with grooved
surfaces; ventral suture lightly furrowed along the sides,
rather wide; dorsal suture with narrow groove, slightly winged.
BRIGDON
=1.= _Am. Gard._ =11=:244, 378. 1890. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._
32. 1899. =3.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:340. 1903. =4.=
Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 199. 1913.
_Garfield._ =5.= _Can. Hort._ =26=:441, fig. 2665. 1903.
Brigdon is a local variety which possibly local pride puts too much
in evidence in assigning it a place among the major varieties in _The
Peaches of New York_. Still, it belongs with the Crawfords, aristocrats
among peaches, and this is enough to give it standing in a home
collection at least. In tree and fruit it is similar to and a worthy
rival of Early Crawford and has the same two fatal faults to bar it
from commercial plantations--the trees are capricious as to soils and
are often unproductive. On the other hand, a character of the tree to
commend it to the amateur is that it is one of the least susceptible of
all peach-trees to leaf-curl. The variety is well known only in western
New York and is going out in this region.
Brigdon originated more than a quarter-century ago in Cayuga County,
New York, and has been grown since more or less extensively on the
shores of Seneca Lake. The name Garfield was given to this peach by
some one but why or when does not appear. The variety was added to the
American Pomological Society's recommended list of fruits in 1899, a
distinction it has since held.
[Illustration: BRIGDON]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, hardy,
unproductive; trunk thick; branches stocky, rather smooth,
reddish-brown overlaid with light ash-gray; branchlets slender,
with tendency to branch, long, olive-green overlaid with
dark red, smooth, glabrous, with numerous large and small,
inconspicuous, irregularly shaped and often raised lenticels,
the expansion of which causes a cracking of the bark.
Leaves five and seven-eighths inches long, one and five-eighths
inches wide, folded upward, oval to obovate-lanceolate,
thin; upper surface dark green, rugose; lower surface light
grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped with dark glands;
petiole nearly one-half inch long, glandless or with one
to four small, globose, greenish-yellow glands variable in
position.
Flower-buds oblong-conic, pubescent, somewhat shrunken, usually
free; blossoms open in mid-season.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and one-half inches long,
two and three-fourths inches wide, round-oval to cordate,
compressed, bulged beak-like near the apex; cavity deep,
medium to wide, abrupt or flaring, often colored with red;
suture shallow, becoming deep near the apex; apex roundish,
with a pointed or recurved, mamelon tip; color greenish-yellow
changing to pale orange-yellow, speckled and splashed with
dull red which often extends over nearly the whole surface;
pubescence long, thick, woolly; skin thin, somewhat tough,
separates from the pulp only when fully ripe; flesh yellow,
juicy, coarse, firm, tender, sweet, mild, pleasant flavored;
very good in quality; stone semi-free to free, one and
one-fourth inches long, seven-eighths inch wide, oval,
decidedly bulged on one side, with a rather long and slightly
curved point, with pitted and grooved surfaces; ventral suture
deeply furrowed along the edges, medium in width; dorsal suture
grooved, slightly winged.
CANADA
=1.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =118=:33. 1895.
_Early Canada._ =2.= _Gard. Mon._ =20=:237. 1878. =3.= _Ibid._
=27=:144, 145. 1885. =4.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 80. 1897.
=5.= Bogue _Cat._ 25. 1905.
_Canadische Frühpfirsich._ =6.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 391. 1889.
Since its introduction some twenty-five years ago, Canada has been
a standard early peach in the northern states and more particularly
in the peach-growing region along Lake Ontario in Canada where it
originated. The variety has few characters to commend it excepting
earliness and hardiness though the trees often load themselves with
fruit. The peaches, though small, are attractive in color which
is bright red on a light background. The red is well shown in the
color-plate though the fruits illustrated are rather smaller than
usual. Canada is about the poorest of all peaches in flavor. The fruits
are firm and ship well for a white-fleshed peach making, so many
maintain, a better commercial variety than its rival, Alexander. On
our grounds Canada is freer from rot than Alexander and the flesh does
not cling as tightly. All agree that the tree is very hardy. However,
there ought to be but small place in the peach-lists of nowadays for
a variety so poor in quality and with fruits of such inferior size as
those of Canada.
The variety originated as a chance seedling more than a quarter-century
ago with A. H. High, Jordan, Ontario, Canada. It is often known as
Early Canada and is not infrequently confounded with Amsden and
Alexander, varieties of the same season.
[Illustration: CANADA]
Tree large, upright-spreading, open-topped, hardy, productive;
trunk thick; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown overspread
with light ash-gray; branchlets with internodes medium in
length, dark red, with a slight tinge of green, glossy, smooth,
glabrous, slightly curving, with numerous conspicuous, large,
raised lenticels.
Leaves folded upward, six inches long, one and one-fourth
inches wide, oval to obovate-lanceolate, medium in thickness;
upper surface pale olive-green, smooth or rugose; lower surface
grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown
glands; petiole one-fourth inch long, with one to four small,
globose, greenish-yellow glands variable in position.
Flower-buds small, short, narrow, pointed, not very plump, dark
colored, appressed; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers
dark pink at the center, bordered with lighter pink, one
and one-half inches across; pedicels very short, glabrous,
green; calyx-tube reddish-green, lemon-yellow within, obconic,
glabrous; calyx-lobes short, obtuse, glabrous within, slightly
or heavily pubescent without; petals roundish-ovate, widely
notched at the base, tapering to long, broad claws red at the
base; filaments one-half inch long, shorter than the petals;
pistil equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures very early; two inches long, two and one-fourth
inches wide, round-oblate, slightly compressed, with unequal
sides; cavity wide, flaring; suture shallow to deep; apex
ending in a mucronate, recurved tip; color creamy white,
blushed with red and mottled and splashed with darker red;
pubescence short, thick; skin thin, tender, separates from the
pulp; flesh white, juicy, fine-grained, meaty but tender, sweet
yet sprightly; fair in quality; stone semi-clinging, one and
one-eighth inches long, seven-eighths inch wide, round-oval to
elliptical, plump, abruptly pointed, with small grooves in the
surfaces; ventral suture very deeply grooved along the sides,
narrow; dorsal suture deeply grooved.
CAPTAIN EDE
=1.= Lovett _Cat._ 29. 1897. =2.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._
12. 1907.
_Ede._ =3.= _Ohio Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 183. 1888-89. =4.= _Mich.
Sta. Bul._ =169=:212. 1899. =5.= _Del. Sta. Rpt._ =13=:96.
1900. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 37. 1909.
Though Captain Ede has been under cultivation forty-six years it
has but recently come into prominence and seems now to find favor
quite generally as a money-making peach. Those who recommend it
say that the trees are vigorous, heavy bearers and that the crop is
uniform and always fair, smooth and without culls. The crop matures
in a short time, ships well and is in demand in the markets either
as a dessert peach or for culinary purposes. On the Station grounds,
Captain Ede comes up to the reputation given it in all respects
excepting productiveness--here it is a shy bearer. The peaches, as the
color-plate shows, are beautiful, the flavor is subacid but rich, with
a distinct smack of the almond. Captain Ede ripens with Early Crawford,
a week or ten days before Elberta. The tree, as it grows here, can
hardly be distinguished from that of Elberta. We should unhesitatingly
recommend Captain Ede to New York peach-growers, were it not for the
fear that it does not accommodate itself to a diversity of soils and
climates. It does rather better farther south.
Captain Ede originated in 1870 as a seedling in the door-yard of
Captain Henry Ede, Cobden, Illinois. Later, it was introduced by George
Gould and Son, Villa Ridge, Illinois. The parentage of the variety is
unknown. By some, Chinese Cling is supposed to have been one of the
parents and others give the same credit to Honest John. The American
Pomological Society added Captain Ede to its fruit-list in 1909.
[Illustration: CAPTAIN EDE]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, not always
productive; trunk thick; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown
overspread with very light ash-gray; branchlets slender,
olive-green more or less overspread with dark red, smooth,
glabrous, with numerous large or very small, inconspicuous
lenticels.
Leaves five and three-fourths inches long, one and one-half
inches wide, folded upward, oval to obovate-lanceolate; upper
surface dark green, smooth; lower surface light grayish-green;
margin finely serrate, tipped with dark red glands;
petiole one-fourth inch long, with two to six, reniform,
greenish-yellow glands medium in size and variable in position.
Flower-buds large, long, oblong-conic, plump, usually
appressed; blossoms open very late; flowers three-fourths
inch across, dark pink; pedicels short, glabrous, pale
green; calyx-tube dull, dotted reddish-green, orange-red
within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes short, broad,
obtuse, glabrous within, heavily pubescent without; petals
roundish-ovate, notched near the base, tapering to short,
narrow, white claws; filaments one-fourth inch long, equal to
the petals in length; pistil pubescent toward the base, equal
to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures in mid-season; about two and one-fourth inches
in diameter, roundish-cordate to somewhat oval, very slightly
compressed, with nearly equal halves, bulged near the apex;
cavity wide, abrupt or flaring, often tinged with red and with
tender skin; suture variable in depth, extending more than
half-way around; apex roundish, with a prolonged, recurved,
mamelon tip; color orange-yellow, with specks and splashes of
red, blushed with darker red; pubescence thick, short, variable
in coarseness; skin tough, adherent to the pulp; flesh
yellow, stained red at the pit, dry, stringy, tender, somewhat
meaty, strongly aromatic, pleasantly flavored; good in quality;
stone free, one and one-fourth inches long, seven-eighths
inch wide, oval, bulged along the ventral suture, with pitted
surfaces; ventral suture deeply furrowed along the edges,
narrow; dorsal suture grooved, somewhat flattened.
CARMAN
=1.= _U. S. D. A. Pom. Rpt._ 25. 1894. =2.= _Rural N. Y._
=54=:235, 619. 1895. =3.= _Ga. Sta. Rpt._ =13=:308. 1900. =4.=
_Del. Sta. Rpt._ =13=:92, 93 fig. 3. 1901. =5.= _U. S. D. A.
Yearbook_ 385, 386, Pl. XLVIII. 1901. =6.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ 11. 1907. =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 36. 1909.
Among the many white-fleshed peaches of recent introduction, few hold
a more conspicuous place than Carman. Possibly its chief asset is a
constitution which enables it to withstand trying climates, both north
and south, and to accommodate itself to a great variety of soils. Thus,
we find Carman a very general favorite in nearly every peach-region on
this continent. Besides its cosmopolitan constitution, there is much
merit in the fruits especially for a peach ripening so early. While
of but medium size (the color-plate does not do justice in showing
the size of Carman) the peaches are most pleasing in appearance. The
color is a brilliant red splashed with darker red on a creamy-white
background. The shape is nearly round and the trimness and symmetry of
the contour make the variety, especially when packed in box or basket,
one scarcely surpassed in attractiveness of form. Carman is rated
as very good in quality for a peach of its season though a smack of
bitterness in its mild, sweet flavor condemns it for some. The habit
of growth is excellent, peaches are borne abundantly, brown-rot takes
comparatively little toll and in tree or bud the variety is remarkably
hardy. All in all, Carman is one of the most useful peaches of its
class and season for either home or commercial planting.
Carman grew from a seed planted in 1889 by J. W. Stubenrauch, Mexia,
Texas. The tree fruited in 1892 and its earliness and freedom from rot
so pleased Mr. Stubenrauch that he at once began propagating the new
variety, naming it Pride of Texas. Later, in 1894, the name was changed
to Carman in honor of the late E. S. Carman, long editor of the _Rural
New Yorker_. In 1909 the American Pomological Society added Carman to
its list of fruits as one of its recommended varieties.
[Illustration: CARMAN]
Tree large, vigorous, spreading or somewhat upright,
open-topped, hardy, very productive; trunk thick; branches
stocky, smooth, bright red overspread with ash-gray; branchlets
long, olive-green overspread with dark red, glabrous, smooth,
glossy, with numerous small, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves five and seven-eighths inches long, one and
three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, oval to
obovate-lanceolate; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower
surface light grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped with
dark red glands; petiole one-fourth inch long, with three to
five reniform glands medium in size and variable in position
and color.
Flower-buds oval, pointed, plump, heavily pubescent, appressed;
blossoms open in mid-season; flowers one and one-fourth inches
across, pink; pedicels short, glabrous, pale green; calyx-tube
dull reddish-green, speckled, yellowish-green within,
campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes short, acute to obtuse,
glabrous within, heavily pubescent without; petals oval to
ovate, with distinct notches near the base, tapering to narrow,
white claws of medium length; filaments three-eighths inch
long, shorter than the petals; pistil pubescent near the base,
shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures early; about two and one-fourth inches in
diameter, round-oval, compressed, with unequal sides, bulged
near the apex; cavity abrupt or flaring, tinged with pink
and with tender skin; suture shallow, becoming deeper at the
cavity; apex roundish or depressed, with a somewhat pointed or
mucronate tip; color creamy-white more or less overspread with
light red, with splashes of darker red; pubescence very thick,
short; skin thin, tough, adherent to the pulp; flesh white,
red at the pit, juicy, tender, sweet, mild, pleasant flavored;
very good in quality; stone nearly free, about one and one-half
inches long, one inch wide, oval, plump, with thickly-pitted
surfaces; ventral suture deeply grooved along the edges, thick,
furrowed and winged; dorsal suture deeply grooved.
CHAIRS
=1.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:209. 1899. =2.= _Rural N. Y._
=59=:642 fig. 236. 1900. =3.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._
=2=:340. 1903.
_Chairs' Choice._ =4.= _N. C. Sta. Rpt._ =11=:108. 1889. =5.=
Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 200. 1913.
_Chair's Choice._ =6.= _Col. O. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 151. 1893.
=7.= _Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 166. 1895. =8.= _Ibid._ 26. 1899.
_Chair Choice._ =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 44. 1891.
Chairs is a select fruit in the Crawford group, in its turn the
most select of the several groups of peaches. In quality Chairs is
unapproachable by varieties outside of its own family and is not
surpassed by any within its group. The variety was at one time a
standard late, yellow-fleshed, freestone, market peach competing in
popularity with Late Crawford over which it often held ascendency
because less subject to brown-rot. The coming of the showier and more
productive but less well-flavored varieties of the Elberta type has
driven the Crawford group from the markets and Chairs is now known
only in collections where it will long be treasured for its delectable
quality. Unproductiveness and capriciousness in soil and climate,
faults of all Crawford-like peaches, are marked in Chairs. The fruits
are usually larger than the specimens shown in the accompanying
illustration.
Chairs originated about 1880 in the orchard of Franklin Chairs,
Anne Arundel County, Maryland. First called Chairs' Choice, the
apostrophe was dropped in 1891 by the American Pomological Society and
still later the same organization shortened the name to Chairs. Its
horticultural value was early appreciated by all pomologists and it has
long been a prime favorite.
[Illustration: CHAIRS]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, unproductive;
trunk stocky; branches thick, smooth, reddish-brown covered
with light ash-gray; branchlets inclined to rebranch, short,
with long internodes, olive-green overlaid with dark red,
smooth, glabrous, with numerous large and small, raised
lenticels.
Leaves five and three-fourths inches long, one and one-half
inches wide, folded upward, oval to obovate-lanceolate,
thin; upper surface dark green, smooth or somewhat rugose;
lower surface light grayish-green; margin coarsely serrate,
often in two series, tipped with reddish-brown glands;
petiole one-fourth inch long, with two to six small, globose,
greenish-yellow glands variable in position.
Flower-buds large, oblong-obtuse, very plump, usually free;
season of bloom late; flowers dark pink fading toward the
whitish centers, three-fourths inch across; pedicels short,
glabrous, pale green; calyx-tube dull, dotted reddish-green,
orange-red within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes obtuse,
glabrous within, heavily pubescent without; petals oval or
ovate, nearly entire, often notched near the base, tapering to
claws of medium width, white at the base; filaments one-fourth
inch long, equal to the petals in length; pistil pubescent near
the ovary, usually longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures in late mid-season; two and three-fourths inches
long, two and seven-eighths inches thick, roundish-oval,
irregular, bulged beak-like along one side toward the apex,
compressed, with unequal halves; cavity deep, wide, abrupt
or flaring; suture shallow, deepening toward the apex and
extending slightly beyond; apex roundish, with a mucronate or
small, recurved, mamelon tip; color golden-yellow, blushed
and splashed with dull red; pubescence short, fine; skin
thin, tough, free; flesh yellow, faintly stained with red
near the pit, juicy, stringy, tender, subacid or sprightly,
pleasantly flavored; very good in quality; stone free, one
and three-fourths inches long, one and three-eighths inches
wide, large, broadly oval, bulged along one side, plump, with
surfaces deeply pitted and with short grooves; ventral suture
wide, deeply furrowed along the sides, winged; dorsal suture a
deep, wide groove inclined to wing.
CHAMPION
=1.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 392. 1891. =2.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._
=118=:33. 1895. =3.= _Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt._ =2=:57. 1895.
=4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 21. 1897. =5.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._
=42=:233. 1898. =6.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:209, 210. 1899.
=7.= _Kan. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 48. 1901. =8.= _Mich. Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ 112. 1903. =9.= _Can. Hort._ =27=:97, 98, fig. 2746.
1904. =10.= _U. S. D. A. Yearbook_ 478, 479, Pl. XLV. 1908.
=11.= Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 200. 1913.
Champion is the white-fleshed peach _par excellence_ in
quality--rightly used as the standard to gauge the quality of all
other white-fleshed peaches. The fruits are nearly as attractive to
the eye as to the palate but unfortunately run small and off color
in all but choicely good peach-soils. The peaches are not only very
good in the characters that make up quality--tender flesh, juiciness,
pleasant flavor--but there is a peculiar honeyed sweetness possessed by
few other peaches which gives the Champion individuality. The color,
barring a slight excess in yellow, is well shown in the color-plate but
the size as shown is small. The tree of Champion is almost perfect from
the ground up, few other varieties surpassing it in height and girt and
none, on the Station grounds at least, equalling it in the quantity and
the luxuriant green of its foliage. A Champion tree is known by its
foliage as far as the eye can distinguish color. As would be expected
from the tree-characters given, in soils to which it is suited,
Champion rejoices in vigor and health as do few other varieties. The
variety surpasses most of its orchard-associates in productiveness but
the peaches are inviting prey to brown-rot and the trees are sometimes
defoliated with leaf-curl so that, with its capriciousness as to
soils, it has grave faults as a commercial variety. Because of high
quality of the fruit and the beauty of the tree, Champion should have a
conspicuous place in the orchard of the amateur.
Champion is a seedling of Oldmixon Free supposedly fertilized by Early
York. The original seed was planted about 1880 by I. G. Hubbard,
Nokomis, Illinois, and the variety was introduced by him and by the
Dayton Star Nurseries in 1890. In the early years of its dissemination
Champion was confused with an early, semi-cling variety which
originated in western Michigan and which was locally sold for a time
under the same name. The American Pomological Society added Champion to
its fruit-list in 1897.
[Illustration: CHAMPION]
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, very productive;
trunk thick; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown covered
with ash-gray; branchlets thick, very long, with short
internodes, olive-green overspread with dull red, smooth,
glabrous, with numerous large lenticels, inconspicuous except
toward the base.
Leaves five and one-fourth inches long, one and one-half
inches wide, folded upward, oval to obovate-lanceolate; upper
surface dark green, rugose along the midrib; lower surface
grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped with dark red
glands; petiole three-eighths inch long, with two to five
small, globose, greenish-yellow glands variable in position.
Flower-buds large, medium in length, plump, conical, pubescent,
free; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers pink, less
than one inch across, well distributed; pedicels short,
glabrous, pale green; calyx-tube dark, mottled reddish-green,
greenish-yellow within, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes short,
broad, obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent without, slightly
reflexed; petals round-oval to ovate, tapering to narrow,
short, white claws; filaments three-eighths inch long, equal to
the petals in length; pistil pubescent about the ovary, equal
to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures in early mid-season; two and one-fourth inches
long, two and three-eighths inches wide, round or round-oval,
somewhat truncate, with halves usually equal; cavity shallow,
narrow, abrupt or flaring, contracted; suture shallow; apex
roundish, usually with a slightly recurved, mucronate tip;
color pale green changing to creamy-white, with splashes of
carmine mingled with a blush of darker red; pubescence short,
thick; skin tough, adherent to the pulp; flesh white, tinged
red at the pit, very juicy, markedly tender, sweet, pleasant
flavored; very good; stone semi-free to free, one and one-half
inches long, about one inch wide, oval, long-pointed, with
deeply grooved surfaces; ventral suture furrowed deeply along
the sides, wide; dorsal suture deeply furrowed, rather wide,
with sides slightly wing-like.
CHILI
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 21. 1897. =2.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort.
Man._ =2=:340. 1903.
_Hill's Chili_ =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 184, 211. 1856. =4.=
Elliott _Fr. Book_ 298. 1859. =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 2nd
App. 142, 143. 1872. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 28. 1873. =7.=
_Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 483, 484. 1873.
_Sugar._ =8.= _Gard. Mon._ =11=:148. 1869.
_Stanley Late._ =9.= _Ibid._ =14=:347. 1872. =10.= _Mich. Sta.
Sp. Bul._ =44=:62. 1910.
_Jenny Lind._ =11.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 116. 1872.
_Cass._ =12.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 14, 15. 1899.
Chili, long familiar to the older generation of peach-growers as Hill's
Chili, is now waning in popularity though for nearly a century it was
one of the mainstays of peach-growing, having been widely and commonly
planted in commercial orchards the country over. Chili, in its day, was
one of the notable culinary peaches, being especially desirable for
canning and curing because of its firm, dry, but well-flavored flesh,
and, besides, it ripened late in the season when cool weather gave
storage conditions and made culinary work more agreeable to housewives.
The peaches are not at all attractive in size, color or shape, are
quite too dry of flesh to eat with pleasure out of hand and are made
even less agreeable to sight and taste by pubescence so heavy as to be
woolly. The trees of Chili are about all that could be desired, for,
while of but medium size, they are vigorous, very hardy, long-lived
and, barring injury from cold or frost, are annually fruitful, though
the variety has the fault of ripening its crop unevenly--an asset in
home orchards, a liability in commercial plantings.
Chili came into cultivation early in the Nineteenth Century, the first
tree probably having appeared in the orchard of Deacon Pitman Wilcox,
Chili, Monroe County, New York. It comes almost true to seed and
several seedlings have sprung up which are almost indistinguishable
from it. Among these are Sugar, Stanley Late, Jenny Lind and Cass.
Chili was mentioned by the American Pomological Society in 1856 as a
worthy sort under the name "Hill's Chili"; placed under this name on
the fruit list in 1873; and changed to Chili in 1897.
[Illustration: CHILI]
Tree medium in size, compact, vigorous, upright-spreading,
hardy, productive; trunk thick, shaggy; branches stocky,
smooth, reddish-brown covered with light ash-gray; branchlets
unusually long, with spur-like branches near the tips, dark
reddish-green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with conspicuous,
raised lenticels.
Leaves folded upward and recurved, six inches long, one and
one-half inches wide, long-oval to obovate-lanceolate, thin;
upper surface dark, dull olive-green, smooth; lower surface
grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown
glands; petiole three-eighths inch long, with two to seven
small, usually reniform, reddish-brown glands mostly on the
petiole.
Flower-buds small, short, obtuse, plump, pubescent, nearly
free; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers pink, one and
one-half inches across, well distributed; pedicels short,
glabrous, green; calyx-tube red at the base, orange-colored
within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes short, medium to
broad, obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals oval,
faintly notched near the base, tapering to short claws of
medium width, tinged with red at the base; filaments one-half
inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil pubescent near the
base, longer than the stamens.
Fruit late; two and one-half inches long, two and one-fourth
inches wide, oblong-conic, somewhat angular, compressed,
with unequal halves; cavity uneven, shallow, medium to wide,
contracted, abrupt or flaring, the skin tender and tearing
easily; suture shallow, sometimes extending beyond the apex;
apex slightly pointed; color greenish-yellow changing to
orange-yellow, with a dark red blush, splashed and mottled
with red; pubescence long, thick, coarse; skin thin, tough,
separates from the pulp; flesh stained red at the pit,
yellowish, dry, stringy, firm but tender, mild but sprightly;
good in quality; stone free, one and one-half inches long,
fifteen-sixteenths inch wide, flattened wedge-like at the base,
oval to obovate, winged, usually without bulge, long-pointed at
the apex, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture deeply furrowed,
wide; dorsal suture deeply grooved.
CHINESE CLING
=1.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 636. 1857. =2.= _Horticulturist_
=14=:107. 1859. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 18. 1871. =4.= _Del.
Sta. Rpt._ =13=:85, 86, 95, 107, fig. 4. 1901.
_Shanghae._ =5.= _Mag. Hort._ =17=:464. 1851. =6.= _Gard.
Chron._ 693. 1852. =7.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 641. 1857.
_Chinese Peach._ =8.= _Horticulturist_ N. S. =3=:286, 472. 1853.
_Shanghai._ =9.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 231. 1866.
_De Chang-Hai._ =10.= Mas _Le Verger_ =7=:211, 212, fig. 104.
1866-73.
Chinese Cling holds a high place in the esteem of American pomologists
for its intrinsic value, because it was the first peach in one of the
main stems of the peach-family to come to America, and because it
is the parent, or one of the parents, of a great number of the best
white-fleshed peaches grown in this country. The variety is not now
remarkable for either fruit- or tree-characters, being surpassed
in both by many of its offspring, except, possibly, in quality. The
flavor is delicious, being finely balanced between sweetness and
sourness, with sweet predominating, and with a most distinct, curious
and pleasant taste of the almond. The fruits are too tender for
shipment and very subject to brown-rot. The trees are weak-growers,
shy-bearers, tender to cold and susceptible to leaf-curl. Chinese
Cling created a sensation in pomology when it was brought to America
because it was very different from any other peach then here and was
superior to any other in several characters. Its seedlings quickly came
into prominence with the result that possibly a hundred or more of the
varieties named in _The Peaches of New York_ have descended from it.
The attempt to hold it and its seedlings in a distinct group fails, as
we have tried to show in discussing groups of peaches, because through
hybridization they are hopelessly confused with other stocks. The
color-plate is an excellent illustration of Chinese Cling.
Chinese Cling was found growing in the orchards south of the city of
Shanghai, China, by Robert Fortune, the indefatigable English botanist,
who was sent to China by the London Horticultural Society to collect
useful and ornamental plants. Fortune sent the peach to England in
1844 under the name Shanghai, a name which it retains, with variable
spellings, in Europe. Chinese Cling was imported as potted plants to
America in 1850 by Charles Downing through a Mr. Winchester, British
consul at Shanghai, China. Downing forwarded one of the trees to Henry
Lyons, Laurel Park, Columbia, South Carolina, with whom the variety
first fruited in America. Lyons called the new fruit "Chinese Peach."
In 1871 the American Pomological Society placed Chinese Cling on its
recommended list of varieties, a place it still holds.
[Illustration: CHINESE CLING]
Tree rather weak in growth, upright-spreading, round-topped,
not very hardy, medium in productiveness; trunk thick; branches
stocky, reddish-brown mingled with light ash-gray; branchlets
with short internodes, olive-green more or less overlaid with
dark red, smooth, glabrous, with numerous large and very small,
inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves seven and one-half inches long, two inches wide, folded
upward, broad oval-lanceolate, thick, leathery; upper surface
dark green, smooth, becoming slightly rugose along the midrib;
lower surface light grayish-green; margin coarsely crenate to
finely serrate, tipped with dark red glands; petiole one-half
inch long, with two to five reniform, greenish-yellow,
dark-tipped glands variable in position.
Flower-buds large, long, obtuse, plump, very pubescent,
somewhat appressed; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers
pink, one and one-half inches across, well distributed;
pedicels short, glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish-green;
calyx-lobes medium to broad, obtuse, glabrous within, heavily
pubescent near the outer edges; petals ovate, irregularly
notched near the base, tapering to short, white claws;
filaments one-fourth inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil
pubescent at the base, longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures late; two and five-eighths inches long, two and
nine-sixteenths inches wide, round-oval, compressed; cavity
deep, contracted, narrow, abrupt, faintly tinged with red;
suture deep, extending beyond the apex; apex roundish or
flattened, with a mucronate tip; color greenish-white changing
to creamy-white, blushed on one side with lively red, splashed
and marbled with duller red; pubescence thick; skin tough,
adhering to the pulp; flesh white, tinged with red near the
pit, juicy, meaty, tender, sweet but sprightly, aromatic; good
in quality; stone clinging, one and three-eighths inches long,
one inch wide, oval, conspicuously winged, bulged on one side,
with pitted surfaces; ventral suture deeply furrowed along the
sides, rather narrow; dorsal suture large, deep, wide, winged.
CHINESE FREE
=1.= _Ala. Sta. Bul._ =11=:7, 11. 1890. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Cat._ 44. 1891. =3.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =42=:234. 1898. =4.= _Del.
Sta. Rpt._ =13=:95. 1901. =5.=_Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 36. 1909.
=6.= Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 200. 1913.
Perhaps it is enough to say that Chinese Free is Chinese Cling with a
free stone--at least it has been so heralded. On our grounds, however,
leaves, flowers and fruits are all smaller and the quality of the fruit
is not nearly as good while the tree runs a little better in most
characters. This, perhaps, is a good example of many of the seedlings
of Chinese Cling--the influence of another parent and the stimulus of
hybridization are apparent. Chinese Free is surpassed by many other
white-fleshed peaches of its season for both home and market. Doubt
has arisen as to whether the tree on the Station grounds is the true
Chinese Free, yet we think it is the variety now commonly going under
this name.
This variety grew from a seed of Chinese Cling in the orchard of W. P.
Robinson, Atlanta, Georgia, nearly forty years ago. Mr. Robinson first
exhibited it before the Georgia Horticultural Society in 1881 as an
unnamed seedling. Thereafter it was sometimes known locally as Robinson
but commercially it has always been called Chinese Free. In 1891 the
Georgia Horticultural Society formally adopted the latter name. The
American Pomological Society listed Chinese Free on its fruit-list in
1891 but dropped it in 1897. In 1909, however, another change in heart
caused the Society's officials again to list it in the catalog where it
still remains.
Tree above medium in size, vigorous, spreading, the lower
branches slightly drooping, open-topped, neither very hardy
nor very productive; trunk thick; branches stocky, smooth,
reddish-brown tinged with light ash-gray; branchlets slender,
inclined to rebranch, long, dark red intermingled with
olive-green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with numerous large,
conspicuous lenticels raised toward the base.
Leaves five and three-fourths inches long, one and five-eighths
inches wide, folded upward, oval-lanceolate, medium in
thickness and toughness; upper surface dark green, rugose along
the midrib; lower surface dull grayish-green; margin finely
serrate, tipped with dark red glands; petiole three-eighths
inch long, with two to six rather large, reniform,
greenish-yellow, dark-tipped glands variable in position.
Flower-buds usually obtuse, plump, very pubescent, somewhat
appressed; blooming season early; flowers pale pink, darker
along the edges, one and one-fourth inches across, often
in twos; pedicels short, glabrous, green; calyx-tube dull,
dark reddish-green, light yellow within, obconic, glabrous;
calyx-lobes acute, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals
oval or ovate, tapering to small, narrow claws tinged with red
at the base; filaments one-half inch long, usually shorter than
the petals; pistil pubescent at the ovary, often longer than
the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and one-half inches long, two
and three-fourths inches wide, roundish-oval, bulged at one
side, compressed, with unequal halves; cavity narrow, abrupt,
tinged with red, with tender skin; suture shallow but deepening
at the apex; apex roundish or pointed, with a mucronate tip;
color greenish-white changing to creamy-white, blushed with
red, mottled and striped with darker red; pubescence very
short, thin; skin thin, tough, separates from the pulp; flesh
greenish-white or whitish, stained with red at the pit,
juicy, tender, melting, subacid, sprightly; fair to possibly
good in quality; stone free, one and one-fourth inches long,
fifteen-sixteenths inch wide, oval, plump, abruptly pointed,
with purplish-brown, pitted surfaces; ventral suture deeply
furrowed along the sides, winged near the base, rather wide;
dorsal suture deeply grooved, wing-like.
CLIMAX
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 44. 1891. =2.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._
=39=:804. 1896. =3.= Glen St. Mary _Cat._ 11. 1900. =4.= _Fla.
Sta. Bul._ =73=:143. 1904. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 36. 1909.
Climax is a honey-sweet, freestone peach supposedly adapted only to
the far south. The trees on the grounds of this Station seem as hardy
as the average and are as productive. Whether or not the peaches are
as large and as attractive here as in Florida, where the variety is
a commercial sort, we cannot say but certain it is, Climax has no
commercial value in New York. The peaches are small, unattractive in
color, drop badly, are disfigured by peach-scab and have only honeyed
sweetness to recommend them. We figure and describe the variety in full
only to show that honey-fleshed peaches can be grown this far north and
to call attention to the possibility and desirability of using peaches
of this stock in breeding to improve the quality or give new flavors to
northern peaches. It would, too, give pleasant variety and add quality
to the home orchard.
Climax is a seedling of Honey but neither the date of origin nor the
name of the originator is known. The variety was introduced by G. L.
Taber, Glen Saint Mary, Florida, in 1886. The American Pomological
Society added Climax to its fruit-list in 1891 but dropped it in 1899.
In 1909, however, the variety was replaced in the Society's catalog as
a peach of merit for the South.
[Illustration: CLIMAX]
Tree small, vigorous, upright-spreading, round-topped,
dense, productive; trunk roughish; branches roughened by the
lenticels, reddish-brown covered with gray; branchlets very
slender, long, with short internodes, olive-green overspread
with darker red, smooth, glabrous, with very few small,
inconspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves six inches long, one and three-eighths inches wide,
flattened, lanceolate, thin, leathery; upper surface dull,
medium green, smooth; lower surface olive-green; margin bluntly
serrate, glandular; petiole three-eighths inch long, slender,
glandless or with one to four small, reniform glands usually at
the base of the leaf.
Flower-buds small and short, conical, plump, pubescent,
appressed; blooming season late; flowers pale pink, one inch
across; pedicels slender, glabrous, green; calyx-tube dotted
reddish-green, greenish-yellow within, obconic, glabrous;
calyx-lobes acute or obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent
without, partly erect; petals ovate or oval, tapering to narrow
claws whitish at the base; filaments shorter than the petals;
pistil shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and three-eighths inches
long, two and one-eighth inches thick, oval, but slightly
compressed, with unequal sides; cavity usually shallow flaring,
splashed with red; suture shallow, deepening toward the apex;
apex conic, with a long, swollen, often recurved tip; color
greenish-white or creamy-white, occasionally with a blush or
faint mottlings of red toward the base; pubescence short,
thick; skin thin, adherent to the pulp; flesh white, stained
with red near the pit, juicy, stringy, melting, very sweet,
mild; very good in quality; stone semi-free to free, one and
one-fourth inches long, thirteen-sixteenths inch wide, oval,
plump, bulged on one side, long-pointed at the apex, with
pitted and grooved, reddish-brown surfaces; ventral suture
deeply furrowed along the sides, narrow; dorsal suture grooved.
CROSBY
=1.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 391, Pl. VIII. 1891. =2.= _Ont. Fr.
Exp. Sta. Rpt._ =2=:58. 1895. =3.= _Minn. Hort. Soc. Rpt._
224 fig. 1896. =4.= _Ohio Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 58, 59. 1896-97.
=5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 21. 1897. =6.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._
=169=:211. 1899. =7.= _Can. Hort._ =23=:379. 1900.
_Excelsior._ =8.= _Am. Gard._ =12=:699. 1891. =9.= _Rural N.
Y._ =50=:736. 1891. =10.= _Am. Gard._ =13=:47. 1892.
Of the several virtues which entitle Crosby to the esteem of
fruit-growers, possibly the most notable is hardiness in tree and
bud so marked that it is often called the "frost-proof" peach. It is
doubtful, however, whether it is hardier than other peaches of its kind
as Chili, Smock and Heath Cling. Besides hardiness, the trees have to
recommend them vigor, health and productiveness, the latter character
offset somewhat by small size. The quality of the fruit is excellent.
The rich, yellow, freestone flesh is delicious to the taste either as a
dessert or as a culinary fruit. In these days of showy fruits, however,
Crosby falls far short in appearance, the peaches running small, being
somewhat irregular and covered with dense tomentum. Still, at its
best, in soils to which it is perfectly suited, the peaches are often
handsome. But there lies another fault, the variety accommodates
itself but poorly to trying soils and climates, failing especially in
hungry soils and dark climates. The variety is noted for its willowy
growth, small leaves, small flowers, small pits and, as has been said,
hardiness. It is an ideal home sort.
Crosby was sent out about 1876 by a Mr. Crosby, a nurseryman of
Billerica, Massachusetts. Later the Massachusetts Agricultural College
propagated and distributed it in a small way in northern Massachusetts
where it was known as Excelsior. The fact that there was another
variety called Excelsior made a change necessary and the peach was
renamed in honor of Mr. Crosby. The American Pomological Society placed
Crosby on its list of recommended varieties in 1897.
[Illustration: CROSBY]
Tree small, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, with lower
branches slightly drooping, unusually hardy, very productive;
trunk thick; branches of medium size, smooth, reddish-brown
overspread with light ash-gray; branchlets slender, inclined
to rebranch, long, olive-green almost overspread with dark
red, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with numerous large and small,
conspicuous lenticels.
Leaves rather small and narrow, five and three-fourths inches
long, one and one-fourth inches wide, folded upward, oval to
obovate-lanceolate, thin; upper surface dark green, smooth;
lower surface light grayish-green; margin finely serrate
or crenate, tipped with dark brownish-red glands; petiole
three-eighths inch long, with two to seven rather small,
reniform, greenish-yellow glands variable in position.
Flower-buds small, short, conical, pubescent, appressed;
flowers appear in mid-season; blossoms pale pink, darker
near the edges, nearly one inch across, well distributed;
pedicels very short, thick; calyx-tube dull reddish-green,
orange-colored within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
short, narrow, acute, glabrous within, pubescent without;
petals oval, tapering to long, narrow claws often red at the
base; filaments three-eighths inch long, equal to the petals in
length; pistil pubescent at the ovary, equal to or sometimes
longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures late; two and three-fourths inches long, two
and three-eighths inches thick, roundish or roundish-oblate,
slightly compressed, bulged near the apex, with unequal sides;
cavity deep, abrupt or flaring, sometimes splashed with red;
suture shallow, becoming deeper near the apex and extending
beyond; apex roundish, with a sunken, mucronate tip; color
orange-yellow, often blushed over much of the surface with dull
red, splashed and striped with darker red; pubescence long,
thick, coarse; skin thick, tough, adherent to the pulp; flesh
deep yellow, stained with red near the pit, juicy, stringy,
firm but tender, sweet, mild, pleasant flavored; very good in
quality; stone free, one and five-sixteenths inches long, one
inch wide, oval, plump, bulged near the apex, with pitted and
grooved surfaces; ventral suture with shallow furrows along the
sides; dorsal suture deeply grooved, winged.
DAVIDSON
=1.= Harrison & Sons _Cat._ 16. 1905. =2.= _Mo. State Fr. Sta.
Rpt._ 12. 1905-06. =3.= _Mich. Sta. Sp. Bul._ =44=:35 fig., 36.
1910.
Davidson is on probation as an early peach for northern climates with
the chances greatly against its ever proving worthy the attention of
New York peach-growers. Still, it comes so highly recommended that we
give it a place among the major varieties in _The Peaches of New York_
hoping that the growers of the State will at least try it out. It is a
white-fleshed peach similar to the well-known Rivers, larger in size,
but not quite as early. The trees are very hardy, come into bearing
early and bear heavily but ripen their crop unevenly. The peaches,
as the color-plate shows, are handsome, and for a variety of early
season they are particularly good in quality but are very susceptible
to brown-rot, peach-scab, leaf-curl and seemingly all the other ills
peach-flesh is heir to.
Davidson originated with G. W. Davidson, Shelby, Michigan, and is
supposed to be a sport of Early Michigan, being very similar to that
sort in all respects except season, Davidson being two weeks earlier.
It is often confused with Eureka.
[Illustration: DAVIDSON]
Tree large, upright-spreading, hardy, productive; trunk thick;
branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown covered with ash-gray;
branchlets dull red strongly colored with olive-green, smooth,
glabrous, with numerous small, conspicuous lenticels raised
toward the base.
Leaves five and three-fourths inches long, one and five-eighths
inches wide, folded upward, oval to obovate-lanceolate; upper
surface dark green, smooth or slightly rugose; lower surface
light grayish-green; margin broadly crenate or coarsely
serrate, tipped with dark red glands; petiole one-half
inch long, glandless or with one to five small, reniform,
greenish-yellow glands variable in position.
Flower-buds conical, pubescent, plump, appressed; blooming
season early; flowers pink, one and three-fourths inches
across, well distributed; pedicels nearly sessile, glabrous,
green; calyx-tube dull reddish-green, yellowish-green
within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes medium in length,
narrow, acute, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals
roundish-ovate, often broadly notched near the base, tapering
to short, broad claws occasionally with a red base; filaments
one-half inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil pubescent
at the ovary, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures early; two and one-half inches long, two
and three-eighths inches wide, roundish, bulged near the
apex, compressed, with unequal halves; cavity contracted,
deep, narrow, abrupt; suture shallow, becoming deep at the
extremities; apex roundish, with a small, mucronate tip; color
creamy-white blushed with dull red, indistinctly striped with
darker red; pubescence short, thick; skin tough, separates
from the pulp; flesh white, juicy, stringy, tender, melting,
sweet or with some sprightliness; fair to good in quality;
stone semi-free to free, one and three-eighths inches long,
one inch wide, oval, plump, tapering to a short, abrupt point,
bulged near the apex, contracted toward the base, with grooved,
light-colored surfaces; ventral suture deeply furrowed along
the sides, narrow, winged; dorsal suture winged, grooved.
EARLY CRAWFORD
=1.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 184. 1841. =2.= Hovey _Fr. Am._
=1=:29, 30, Pl. 1851. =3.= Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 201. 1913.
_Crawford's Early Melocoton._ =4.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 490.
1845. =5.= Mas _Le Verger_ =7=:45, 46, fig. 21. 1866-73.
_Crawford's Early._ =6.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 272, 273. 1854.
=7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 211. 1856. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._
42, 43. 1856. =9.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =6=:104 fig. 105. 1879.
=10.= _Fulton Peach Cult._ 192, 193. 1908.
_Willermoz._ =11.= Carrière _Var. Pêchers_ 76, 77. 1867. =12.=
_Pom. France_ =6=: No. 10, Pl. 10. 1869. =13.= Lauche _Deut.
Pom._ =VI=: No. 22, Pl. 1882. =14.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 418.
1889.
Unproductiveness and uncertainty in bearing keep Early Crawford from
being the most commonly grown early, yellow-fleshed peach in America.
In its season, when well grown, it is unapproachable in quality by any
other peach and is scarcely equalled by any other of any season. The
peach has all of the characters that gratify the taste--richness of
flavor, pleasant aroma, tender flesh and abundant juice. Besides being
one of the very best in quality it is one of the handsomest peaches.
Unfortunately, this Station is one of the many places in which Early
Crawford is not at home and the accompanying illustration is far from
doing the variety justice in size, shape or color. At their best, the
fruits are larger, more rotund and more richly colored than shown in
_The Peaches of New York_. In soils to which it is well adapted the
peach is large, often very large, roundish-oblong, slightly compressed,
distinguished by its broad, deep cavity, rich red in the sun, splashed
and mottled with darker red, and golden yellow in the shade. The
flesh is a beautiful, marbled yellow, rayed with red at the pit and
perfectly free from the stone. The trees are all that could be desired
in health, vigor, size and shape but are unproductive and uncertain and
tardy in bearing. Yet with these faults Early Crawford, for at least
a half-century, was the leading market peach of its season giving way
finally to white-fleshed sorts of the Belle, Carman and Greensboro
type. Fast passing from commercial importance, Early Crawford ought
long to be grown in home plantations because of the beauty and
unexcelled quality of the fruit.
Early Crawford came into existence in the orchard of William Crawford,
Middletown, New Jersey, early in the Nineteenth Century. Its merits
were first set forth by William Kenrick in the _American Orchardist_
in 1832. The variety in some manner found its way to Europe and came
into the hands of Ferdinand Gaillard, a nurseryman at Brignais, Rhone,
France, but without a name. Gaillard, believing it to be a new sort,
gave it the name Willermoz in honor of M. Willermoz, Secretary of the
Pomological Congress of France. Later, French pomologists decided
that Gaillard's peach and Early Crawford were identical. The American
Pomological Society put this peach on its fruit-list in 1856 under the
name Crawford's Early. The name has several times been varied but today
the variety is listed as Early Crawford.
[Illustration: EARLY CRAWFORD]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, round-topped,
often unproductive; trunk thick; branches stocky, smooth,
reddish-brown very lightly tinged with ash-gray; branchlets
with internodes of medium length, pinkish-red intermingled with
darker red, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with numerous large and
small, conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves six and three-fourths inches long, one and
one-half inches wide, folded upward and recurved, oval
to obovate-lanceolate, medium in thickness, leathery;
upper surface dark green, usually smooth except along the
prominent midrib; lower surface light grayish-green; margin
finely serrate, often in two series, tipped with very fine,
reddish-brown glands; petiole three-eighths inch long,
glandless or with one to five small, globose, greenish-yellow
glands variable in position.
Flower-buds conical, heavily pubescent, free; blossoms appear
in mid-season; flowers pale pink, less than one inch across,
well distributed; pedicels very short, thick, glabrous, green;
calyx-tube reddish-green, orange-colored within, obconic;
calyx-lobes short, medium to narrow, acute, glabrous within,
pubescent without; petals oval, broadly notched near the base,
tapering to broad claws red at the base; filaments one-fourth
inch long, equal to the petals in length; pistil often longer
than the stamens.
Fruit matures in early mid-season; two and one-half inches
long, two and nine-sixteenths inches wide, round-oval or
cordate, bulged near the apex, compressed, with unequal halves;
cavity deep, wide, abrupt; suture shallow, becoming deeper
near the apex; apex variable in shape, often with a swollen,
elongated tip; color golden-yellow, blushed with dark red,
splashed and mottled with deeper red; pubescence thick; skin
separates from the pulp; flesh deep yellow, rayed with red near
the pit, juicy, tender, pleasantly sprightly, highly flavored;
very good in quality; stone free, one and one-half inches long,
one inch wide, oval or ovate, bulged along one side, medium
plump, with small, shallow pits in the surfaces; ventral suture
deeply furrowed along the sides, medium in width, winged;
dorsal suture grooved, slightly winged.
EARLY YORK
=1.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 220. 1832. =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees
Am._ 475, 476. 1845. =3.= _Horticulturist_ =2=:399. 1847-48.
=4.= _Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Gr._ 37, 38, 51. 1848. =5.= Hovey
_Fr. Am._ =1=:45, Pl. 1851. =6.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 273.
1854. =7.= Hooper _W. Fr. Book_ 221. 1857. =8.= _Mag. Hort._
=23=:518. 1857. =9.= _Flor. & Pom._ 24, Pl. 1862. =10.= Hogg
_Fruit Man._ 446. 1884. =11.= Fulton _Peach Cult._ 184. 1908.
_Serrate Early York._ =12.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 290 fig.
1849. =13.= _U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt._ 334. 1856.
_York Précoce._ =14.= Mas _Le Verger_ =7=:115, 116, fig. 56.
1866-73. =15.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =6=:308, 309 fig., 310. 1879.
Early York is entitled to a place among the leading varieties of
peaches only because of the part it played in the beginning of the
peach-industry in America. As the history which follows shows, it
was one of the first named varieties to be grown in this country.
It is of more than passing interest, too, because it is one of
the few sorts with glandless leaves. The fruits of Early York are
insignificant, though the color-plate hardly does the variety justice,
but the vigorous, healthy, compact trees have much to recommend them
so that the variety might be used as a stepping-stone in improving
tree-characters of peaches.
No doubt several distinct varieties have been grown as Early York.
Large York, for example, which originated with Prince at Flushing,
New York, has probably been more often sold for Early York than any
other sort. Early Purple, a very old peach of European origin, was
introduced to America about the time Early York came to notice. In
some manner this variety has been confused with Early York, the name
often being given as a synonym of that variety. The two sorts, however,
are distinct and the error of connecting the name has led to much
misunderstanding. Early Purple disappeared from American cultivation
soon after its introduction and peaches sold under this name today are
probably Early York. A controversy has arisen as to the origin of Early
York, both America and England having been given as its home. That
Early York is of American origin, however, there can be little doubt.
Its parentage, the time and place of origin, however, are unknown. It
may have come in existence in New York, or possibly New Jersey or,
as some have thought, near York, Pennsylvania. The variety was sent
to Europe about the middle of the Nineteenth Century where Thomas
Rivers grew it at Sawbridgeworth and from it raised several promising
seedlings. The leaves of the variety are distinctly serrated, giving
rise to the name Serrate Early York. Red Rareripe, another variety
having serrated, glandless leaves, has often been confused with Early
York. The two are very similar but the fruit of Red Rareripe is larger,
broader and ripens about a week later. Early York was placed on the
list of recommended fruits at the National Convention of Fruit-Growers
in 1848 and since that time has had a place on the fruit-list of the
American Pomological Society.
[Illustration: EARLY YORK]
Tree large, compact, upright-spreading, unproductive; trunk
stocky; branches thick, smooth, reddish-brown tinged with
light ash-gray; branchlets very long, dark pinkish-red with
some green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with conspicuous, raised
lenticels variable in size, numerous at the base and well
scattered along the branches.
Leaves six inches long, one and one-half inches wide, folded
upward, oval to obovate-lanceolate; upper surface dark green,
smooth becoming slightly rugose along the midrib; lower
surface light grayish-green; margin sharply serrate, tipped
with reddish-brown glands; petiole seven-sixteenths inch long,
glandless.
Flower-buds conical or pointed, heavily pubescent, free;
blossoms open very late; flowers seven-eighths inch across,
pale pink, the edges darker; pedicels short, glabrous,
green; calyx-tube reddish-green, yellow within, campanulate;
calyx-lobes short, narrow, acute or obtuse, glabrous within,
pubescent without; petals roundish-oval, broadly notched,
tapering to short claws of medium width, sometimes stained with
red at the base; filaments three-eighths inch long, shorter
than the petals; pistil pubescent at the ovary, longer than the
stamens.
Fruit matures in early mid-season; two inches long, two and
one-fourth inches wide, roundish to nearly oblate, somewhat
oblique, with unequal halves; cavity shallow, flaring, with
tender skin, often tinged with red; suture shallow, extending
beyond the tip; apex variable in shape, with mucronate or
sometimes mamelon tip; color pale white or creamy-white,
blushed and mottled with carmine; pubescence thin, short;
skin tough, adherent to the pulp until fully ripe; flesh
white, rayed with red near the pit, juicy, stringy, tender and
melting, mild subacid; good in quality; stone nearly free, over
one inch long, three-fourths inch wide, oval, plump, flattened
at the base, short-pointed at the apex, with pitted surfaces
marked by few grooves; ventral suture narrow, with furrows of
medium depth along the sides; dorsal suture deeply grooved.
EDGEMONT
=1.= Harrison & Sons _Cat._ 18. 1901.
_Edgemont Beauty._ =2.= Barnes Bros. _Cat._ 7. 1910. =3.= _Md.
Sta. Bul._ =159=:159. 1911. =4.= Stark Bros. _Cat._ 35. 1913.
In fruit Edgemont is not easily distinguished from Late Crawford, the
essential differences being that the fruits of Edgemont are more rotund
than those of Late Crawford and the flavor is a little more acid. The
trees differ, chiefly, in the greater productiveness of Edgemont and
in a little later maturity of the crop. Of the score or more peaches
of the Crawford type, in many respects the best of the several types
of peaches, Edgemont is distinctly superior to all on our grounds.
Compared with Elberta, with which it must compete in the markets, it
is several days later, is juicier, less fibrous, much excels that
variety in quality and, though the individual peaches are not quite as
large, at Geneva the yield of fruit is even greater. If Edgemont proves
adapted to as wide a range of climates and soils as Elberta, we shall
have a new commercial peach of very great value. Whether it succeeds in
commerce or not, Edgemont is well worth planting in home orchards by
virtue of the exceptionally high quality and attractive appearance of
the fruit.
Edgemont, shortened from Edgemont Beauty, in accordance with the rules
of the American Pomological Society, is of rather recent origin, having
been introduced by the Miller Orchard Company, Edgemont, Maryland, in
1902.
[Illustration: EDGEMONT]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, productive; trunk
stocky, smooth; branches thick, smooth; branchlets medium in
thickness, purplish-red mingled with brown.
Leaves large, obovate, medium in thickness; upper surface
yellowish-green, somewhat wrinkled; margin crenate; glands
globose.
Flower-buds half-hardy, medium in size; flowers appear in
mid-season, small, dark pink, well distributed, single;
pedicels short, somewhat slender; petals ovate, entire;
filaments long, sometimes longer than the petals.
Fruit matures in late mid-season; large, irregular,
roundish-ovate, truncate at the base, with unequal halves;
cavity rather deep, medium to narrow, regular, abrupt; suture
shallow; apex mucronate; color light yellow or orange-yellow,
with a bronze blush often deepening to an attractive carmine
blush; pubescence short, medium in thickness; skin thick,
somewhat tough, separates from the pulp; flesh yellow, stained
red at the pit, very juicy, slightly coarse and stringy, meaty,
mild subacid or sprightly; very good in quality; stone free,
large, oval, plump, pointed, with corrugated surfaces.
ELBERTA
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 66. 1881. =2.= _Am. Gard._ =9=:391 fig.
1888. =3.= _Can. Hort._ =11=:281, 282. 1888. =4.= _Am. Pom.
Soc. Cat._ 30. 1889. =5.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 382, Pl. 1. 1891.
=6.= _Can. Hort._ =17=:305, Pl. 1894. =7.= _Mo. Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ 272, 273. 1896. =8.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._ =39=:807 fig. 1896.
=9.= _Can. Hort._ =23=:131, 132, fig. 1769. 1900. =10.= _Del.
Sta. Rpt._ =13=:97 fig. 98. 1900. =11.= _Rural N. Y._ =60=:54,
1901. =12.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:343, 344 fig. 1903.
Elberta leads all other peaches in number of trees in New York and in
America. It is, too, the most popular of all peaches in the markets. A
study of the variety, though it reveals some shortcomings, justifies
its popularity with orchardists and marketmen. The preeminently
meritorious character of Elberta is its freedom from local prejudices
of either soil or climate--it is the cosmopolite of cultivated
peaches. Thus, Elberta is grown with profit in every peach-growing
state in the Union and in nearly all, if not all, is grown in
greater quantities than any other market peach. The second character
which commends Elberta to those in the business of peach-growing is
fruitfulness--barring frosts or freezes the trees load themselves
with fruit year in and year out. Added to these two great points of
superiority are ability to withstand, in fair measure at least, the
ravages of both insects and fungi, large size, vigor, early bearing and
longevity in tree, and large, handsome, well-flavored fruits which ship
and keep remarkably well.
Elberta, however, is not without faults and serious ones. The trees are
not as hardy in either wood or blossom as might be wished. In northern
regions peaches of the Crosby, Chili, Smock and Wager type stand winter
freezes and spring frosts much better. The blossoms open rather too
early in New York. The peaches also fall short in quality. They lack
the richness of the Crawfords and the sweetness of the white-fleshed
Champion type. Moreover, the pronounced bitter tang, even when the
peaches are fully ripe, is disagreeable to some. Picked green and
allowed to ripen in the markets, Elberta is scarcely edible by those
who know good peaches. The stone is large but is usually wholly free
from the flesh. With these faults, the dominance of Elberta is not
wholly desirable as growers have a feeling of sufficiency with the one
variety and consumers are forced to put up with a peach none too high
in quality. Still, since no other variety is so reliable for the trade,
this, by the way, being about the only variety suitable for export by
reason of shipping qualities, Elberta promises long to continue its
commercial supremacy.
Elberta was grown by Samuel H. Rumph, Marshallville, Georgia, from a
seed of Chinese Cling planted in the fall of 1870. The Chinese Cling
tree stood near Early and Late Crawford trees and trees of Oldmixon
Free and Oldmixon Cling. Mr. Rumph believed that the Chinese Cling
blossom which produced Elberta was fertilized by pollen from Early
Crawford. The seedling was named Elberta in honor of Mr. Rumph's wife,
Clara Elberta Rumph. An interesting coincidence connected with the
origin of Elberta is that another stone from the same Chinese Cling
tree was given to L. A. Rumph and from this grew Belle, the splendid
white-fleshed, freestone peach. Nurserymen and growers frequently
produce strains of Elberta which they think superior to the older sort
but the several strains which have been tested on the grounds of this
Station have not proved to differ a whit from the old variety. From
the number of so-called "Early Elbertas" and "Late Elbertas" it may be
suspected that occasionally Elberta, because of some local condition,
ripens its fruit prematurely, or that ripening may be delayed; when
removed from the particular local environment, ripening time seems
to occur normally. Elberta was placed on the American Pomological
Society's fruit-list in 1889.
[Illustration: ELBERTA]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped, hardy,
very productive; trunk thick; branches stocky, smooth,
reddish-brown intermingled with light ash-gray; branchlets with
tendency to rebranch, with long internodes, olive-green lightly
overspread with dark red, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with
numerous conspicuous lenticels variable in size.
Leaves six and three-fourths inches long, one and three-fourths
inches wide, oval to obovate-lanceolate; upper surface dull,
dark olive-green, mottled and somewhat rugose; lower surface
grayish-green; margin finely to coarsely serrate, often in two
series, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole three-eighths
inch long, with one to six reniform, greenish-yellow glands
medium in size and variable in position.
Flower-buds large, pubescent, conical or obtuse, plump,
appressed; flowers appear in mid-season; blossoms light
pink near the center, darker pink toward the edges, one and
one-fourth inches across; pedicels short, glabrous, green;
calyx-tube reddish-green, orange-colored within, obconic,
glabrous; calyx-lobes acute, glabrous within, pubescent
without; petals oval to ovate, bluntly notched near the base,
tapering to broad, short claws red at the base; filaments
one-half inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil pubescent
at the ovary, longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and three-fourths inches long,
two and one-half inches wide, roundish-oblong or cordate,
compressed, usually with a slight bulge at one side; cavity
deep, abrupt to flaring, often mottled with red; suture
shallow, deepening toward the apex; apex roundish, with a
mamelon or pointed tip; color greenish-yellow changing to
orange-yellow, from one-fourth to three-fourths overspread with
red and with much mottling extending sometimes over nearly the
entire surface; pubescence thick and coarse; skin thick, tough,
separates from the pulp; flesh yellow, stained with red near
the pit, juicy, stringy, firm but tender, sweet or subacid,
mild; good in quality; stone free, one and eleven-sixteenths
inches long, one and one-sixteenth inches wide, broadly ovate,
varying from flat to plump, sharp-pointed, decidedly bulged on
one side, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture deeply furrowed
along the sides, narrow, winged; dorsal suture deeply grooved,
strongly winged.
ENGLE
=1.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 192, 296, 299. 1893. =2.= _Mich.
Sta. Bul._ =169=:213. 1899. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 37. 1909.
=4.= _Mich. Sta. Sp. Bul._ =44=:39, 40. 1910.
_Engol's Mammoth._ =5.= _Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt._ =2=:58. 1895.
=6.= _Ibid._ =6=:43. 1899.
Engle is almost a counterpart of the well-known Late Crawford from
which it differs essentially in earlier ripening fruit and more
productive trees. Before Elberta became the vogue, Engle stood high
in the esteem of commercial planters in Michigan and its culture was
rapidly spreading into other states but the coming of Elberta stopped
its career. There seems little doubt but that Engle is more productive
than either of the two Crawfords, splendid peaches which fail because
of unproductiveness, and for those who want the best it is as good as
any of this group--quite too good to be lost. One of the faults of the
two Crawfords is that the trees are tardy in coming in bearing. Engle
is said to bear younger. On the Station grounds the fruit drops rather
too readily but we do not find this fault mentioned by others.
Engle was grown some forty years ago by C. C. Engle, Paw Paw,
Michigan, with a number of seedlings, several others of which proved
valuable. Late Crawford may have been the seed parent but of this there
can be no certainty. The American Pomological Society added Engle to
its list of recommended fruits in 1909.
[Illustration: ENGLE]
Tree very large, upright becoming spreading, tall, hardy,
medium in productiveness; trunk thick, variable in smoothness;
branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown covered with light
ash-gray; branchlets long, heavily tinged with olive-green,
glossy, smooth, somewhat tortuous, inclined to rebranch,
glabrous, with numerous small, conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves six and one-fourth inches long, one and three-eighths
inches wide, irregularly curled, oval to obovate-lanceolate,
thin; upper surface rather dark, dull olive-green, rugose
along the midrib; lower surface light grayish-green; apex
narrow-acuminate; petiole three-eighths inch long, with one to
four small, globose, greenish-yellow glands at the base of the
leaf.
Flower-buds large and long, conical, plump, pubescent, free;
blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers light pink at the
center, darker red near the edges, one and one-eighth inches
across; pedicels very short, glabrous, green; calyx-tube dull
reddish-green, orange-colored within, obconic, glabrous;
calyx-lobes narrow, acute, glabrous within, heavily pubescent
without; petals oval to slightly ovate, faintly and broadly
crenate, tapering to claws with red base; filaments
three-eighths inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil
pubescent at the ovary, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two inches long, two and
seven-sixteenths inches wide, round-oval to cordate, becoming
almost oblate in some specimens, bulged near the apex,
compressed, with unequal sides; cavity abrupt to flaring;
suture shallow, deepening toward the apex; apex variable
in shape; color greenish-yellow changing to orange-yellow,
in parts overspread with a bright red blush, splashed with
darker red; pubescence short, thick, fine; skin thin, tough,
separates readily from the pulp; flesh pale yellow, stained
with red near the pit, juicy, tender and melting, sweet or
pleasantly subacid, mild; good in quality; stone free, one
and five-sixteenths inches long, fifteen-sixteenths inch wide
ovate, bulged on one side, plump, with pitted surfaces; ventral
suture very deeply grooved along the edges; dorsal suture
grooved, often winged.
EUREKA
=1.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 115. 1880. =2.= _Gard. Mon._
=24=:211, 212. 1882. =3.= _U. S. D. A. Pom. Rpt._ 42. 1895.
=4.= _Mich Sta. Bul._ =205=:31. 1903.
In the South where Eureka originated, the variety seems to have a very
good reputation as an early, white-fleshed, semi-free peach. In New
York the variety ripens early, when there are many other good peaches
of its type, and it is therefore doubtful if it will ever have a
prominent place in peach-growing in this State. As the variety grows on
the Station grounds, one quality, in particular, marks Eureka as worthy
more attention than it now receives--the peaches are exceptionally
uniform in size. The color-plate, by the way, shows shape and color
very well but does not give a fair idea of the size, as the peaches
grow larger in average years. Though long grown, Eureka is worthy
further trial in New York.
Eureka is a seedling of Chinese Cling found nearly half a century ago
in Bossier Parish, Louisiana. It was introduced by L. T. Sanders and
Son, Plain Dealing, Louisiana.
[Illustration: EUREKA]
Tree above medium in size, upright-spreading, round-topped,
semi-hardy to hardy, very productive; trunk thick; branches
stocky, smooth, reddish-brown overspread with very light
ash-gray; branchlets with long internodes, reddish lightly
intermingled with olive-green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with
numerous conspicuous, large lenticels.
Leaves five inches long, one and seven-sixteenths inches wide,
folded upward, variable in shape, leathery; upper surface dark
green intermingled with olive-green, smooth becoming rugose
near the midrib; lower surface grayish-green, with a prominent
midrib; margin finely or coarsely serrate, glandular; petiole
five-sixteenths inch long, with two to six large, reniform
glands variable in color and position.
Flower-buds somewhat tender, small, short, heavily pubescent,
obtuse or conical, plump, usually appressed; blossoms open
early; flowers one and thirteen-sixteenths inches across,
pink, well distributed; pedicels very short, medium to thick,
glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish-green, greenish-yellow
within, obconic; calyx-lobes usually broad, obtuse, glabrous
within, pubescent without; petals oval or ovate, entire,
broadly and shallowly crenate, tapering to long claws reddish
at the base; filaments one-half inch long, shorter than the
petals; pistil pubescent at the ovary, as long as the stamens.
Fruit matures early; about two and seven-sixteenths inches in
diameter, round or round-oval, bulged on one side, compressed,
with unequal halves; cavity shallow, abrupt; suture shallow,
deepening at the apex; apex flattened or more or less rounded,
with mucronate tip; color greenish-white or creamy-white, often
with a distinct, bright red blush overspreading one-third of
the surface, with faint mottlings; pubescence fine, thick,
short; skin thin, tender, separates from the pulp; flesh white,
tender and melting, very juicy, pleasant flavored, good; stone
free, one and one-half inches long, one inch wide, ovate to
oval, tapering to a long point, with corrugated and deeply
pitted surfaces; ventral suture winged, deeply grooved along
the edges, narrow; dorsal suture a narrow groove.
FAMILY FAVORITE
=1.= _Gard. Mon._ =22=:304. 1880. =2.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ 114. 1880. =3.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._ =39=:807 fig. 7. 1896.
=4.= _Del. Sta. Rpt._ =13=:99. 1901. =5.= Budd-Hansen _Am.
Hort. Man._ =2=:344. 1903. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 33. 1909.
Family Favorite is one of the well-known peaches in the South-Central
States but in most respects falls far short of Champion, with which it
must compete, in New York. The tree is doubtfully hardy and the fruit
scabs badly. The variety has two characters to commend it and to give
it standing among commercial peaches in New York: Compared with that
of Champion, the fruit stands shipment much better and when brown-rot
is rife, does not suffer nearly as much. In selected locations, then,
when a mid-season, white-fleshed peach is wanted, this variety is worth
trying.
Family Favorite is a seedling of Chinese Cling, possibly crossed with
Oldmixon Free. It was raised by the late William H. Locke, Bonham,
Fannin County, Texas. The exact date of its origin is unknown. The
variety was named and introduced by T. V. Munson, Denison, Texas. The
American Pomological Society added Family Favorite to its list of
fruits in 1909.
[Illustration: FAMILY FAVORITE]
Tree of medium size, spreading, inclined to droop, open-topped,
productive; trunk and branches intermediate in thickness;
branches reddish-brown with a tinge of very light ash-gray;
branchlets rather short, with internodes dark red intermingled
with olive-green, glossy, smooth, curving, with numerous medium
to small, conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves folded upward, six inches long, one and one-half inches
wide, ovate-lanceolate; upper surface a dull, mottled, dark
green mingled with olive-green, rugose along the midrib; lower
surface light grayish-green; margin finely serrate, often
in two series, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole
three-eighths inch long, with one to four small, globose,
greenish-yellow glands variable in position.
Flower-buds small, obtuse to pointed, very plump, heavily
pubescent, appressed; season of bloom early; flowers light
pink at the center, darker pink along the edges, one and
one-eighth inches across; pedicels short, glabrous; calyx-tube
reddish-green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes broad,
obtuse, pubescent within, heavily pubescent toward the edges;
petals oval to ovate, usually entire, tapering to narrow claws;
filaments one-half inch long, equal to the petals in length;
pistil pubescent at the base, longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and one-half inches long, two
and three-eighths inches wide, roundish-oval to strongly oval,
bulged near the apex, compressed, with unequal sides; cavity
contracted, narrow, abrupt; suture a line, deepening toward
the apex; apex roundish, with a small, mucronate tip set in
a depression; color creamy-white, with a few splashes of red
showing through a dull and mottled blush; pubescence short,
thin; skin thin, tough; flesh greenish-white, strongly stained
with red at the pit, very juicy, tender and melting, sweet or
subacid, aromatic; good in quality; stone semi-free to free,
tinged with red, one and one-half inches long, one inch wide,
flattened near the base, elliptical, plump, winged on one side,
with roughish and usually pitted surfaces; ventral suture
deeply furrowed along the sides, narrow; dorsal suture grooved,
irregular.
FITZGERALD
=1.= _Can. Hort._ =18=:417. 1895. =2.= _Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta.
Rpt._ =2=:57. 1895. =3.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 235, 236.
1896. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 33. 1899. =5.= Budd-Hansen _Am.
Hort. Man._ =2=:344. 1903. =6.= _Can. Hort._ =27=:195 fig.
1904. =7.= Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 196, 202. 1913.
Compare the color-plates of Fitzgerald and Early Crawford and it is
seen at once that the two peaches are almost identical in fruit and
foliage. There could be no use in growing Fitzgerald in this State,
so similar is it to the better-known Early Crawford, were it not for
the fact that the two differ in season a few days and that possibly
Fitzgerald is the more productive of the two. Fitzgerald ripens a few
days earlier than Early Crawford though in some of the references given
it is said to ripen a few days later. Canadian peach-growers claim that
Fitzgerald, besides being more productive and extending the season of
Early Crawford, is hardier. In the effort to maintain peaches of the
Crawford family in commercial plantations it may be worth while to try
Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald originated a quarter of a century or more ago at Oakville,
Ontario, but who the originator or what the parentage is not known.
The American Pomological Society placed Fitzgerald on its list of
recommended fruits in 1899, a place it still holds.
[Illustration: FITZGERALD]