hardy, not very productive; trunk smooth; branches smooth,
reddish-brown covered with light ash-gray; branchlets long,
with inclination to develop short, spur-like branchlets,
pinkish-red or dark red intermingled with green, smooth,
glabrous, with numerous conspicuous, rather small lenticels.
Leaves six inches long, one and one-half inches wide, folded
upward but recurved, oval to obovate-lanceolate; upper surface
dark green tinged with olive-green, rugose; lower surface light
grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown
glands; petiole one-half inch long, glandless or with one
to five small, globose, greenish-yellow glands variable in
position.
Flower-buds hardy, conical, pubescent, plump, free; blossoms
appear in mid-season; flowers pale pink varying to a deeper
red along the edges, seven-eighths inch across; pedicels very
short, slender, glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish-green,
orange-colored within, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow,
acute, glabrous within, heavily pubescent without; petals
roundish-oval to ovate, white at the center, tapering to narrow
claws often red at the base; filaments one-fourth inch long,
equal to the petals in length; pistil pubescent at the ovary,
equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and one-half inches long, more
than two and one-half inches wide, roundish-oval to cordate,
somewhat compressed, with unequal halves, bulged at one side;
cavity medium to deep, wide, abrupt or often flaring, marked
with radiating streaks; suture shallow, deepening toward the
apex; apex roundish, ending in a recurved, mamelon point;
color golden-yellow more or less overspread with a dull red
blush, with splashes and mottlings of deeper red; pubescence
long, thick; skin thin, tough; flesh yellow, rayed with red at
the pit, juicy, rather firm, tender, sweet or mildly subacid,
pleasant flavored; very good in quality; stone free, one and
one-half inches long, one inch wide, ovate, plump, flattened
near the base, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture very deeply
furrowed along the sides; dorsal suture slightly winged.
FOSTER
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 32. 1869. =2.= _Am. Hort. Ann._ 82
fig. 39. 1870. =3.= _Gard. Mon._ =12=:371. 1870. =4.= Downing
_Fr. Trees Am._ 1st App. 121. 1872. =5.= _Mich. Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ 32, 260. 1874. =6.= _Cult. & Count. Gent._ =44=:678.
1879. =7.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:345. 1903. =8.=
Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 202. 1913.
_Foster's Seedling._ =9.= _Am. Jour. Hort._ =2=:277 fig. 1867.
Foster is another very good peach of the Crawford type and at one
time was widely grown in all northern peach-regions. It is so similar
to Late Crawford that even experienced growers can hardly tell them
apart. Those who grow the two in the same orchard find the essential
differences to be: Foster is the larger peach, is more rotund, somewhat
more flattened at the base, is a little earlier, possibly handsomer
and is even of better quality than Late Crawford; the trees of Foster,
however, are hardly as productive as those of either of the two
unproductive Crawfords. This unproductiveness is the fault that keeps
the variety in the background as a commercial peach. The variety is
well worth planting in any home orchard.
Foster originated about 1857 with J. T. Foster, Medford, Massachusetts,
from the stone of a peach purchased by him in a Boston market. It
was awarded a place on the American Pomological Society's list of
recommended fruits in 1869.
[Illustration: FOSTER]
Tree very large, vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, variable
in productiveness; trunk thick; branches stocky, smooth,
reddish-brown intermingled with light ash-gray; branchlets
spur-like, long, dark pinkish-red mingled with olive-green,
glossy, smooth, glabrous, with numerous large and small
lenticels raised at the base.
Leaves six inches long, one and three-eighths inches wide,
folded upward, oval to obovate-lanceolate, intermediate
in thickness, leathery; upper surface dark green, smooth
becoming rugose near the midrib; lower surface grayish-green;
margin finely serrate, tipped with small glands; petiole
seven-sixteenths inch long, with one to four small globose
glands variable in color and position; flower-buds somewhat
tender, conical or pointed, pubescent, free; blossoms appear in
mid-season.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and seven-sixteenths inches
long, more than two and one-half inches wide, round-cordate,
often bulged at one side, compressed, with unequal sides;
cavity deep, wide, flaring or somewhat abrupt, often splashed
with red; suture shallow, becoming deeper at both apex and
cavity and extending slightly beyond the point; apex roundish
or pointed, with a recurved, mamelon or occasionally mucronate
tip; color deep yellow overspread with dark red, with a few
splashes or stripes of red; pubescence long, thick; skin thick,
tough, separates from the pulp when fully ripe; flesh deep
yellow, faintly stained with red near the pit, juicy, coarse
and stringy, firm but tender, sweet, mild, spicy; very good in
quality; stone free.
GENERAL LEE
=1.= _Gard. Mon._ =29=:271. 1887. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 30.
1889. =3.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:346. 1903.
_R. E. Lee._ =4.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 21. 1877. =5.= _Gard.
Mon._ =27=:275. 1885. =6.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =42=:240. 1898.
_Lee._ =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 22. 1897. =8.= _Del. Sta.
Rpt._ =13=:104. 1901. =9.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._
=2=:349. 1903.
General Lee is a white-fleshed clingstone, the fruit none too
attractive and surpassed by that of other varieties of its season in
quality. It is without value in the North. Southern growers say General
Lee is an improved Chinese Cling and as such well worth growing under
some conditions. It has the reputation of being quite susceptible to
brown-rot. The variety is offered by a good many nurserymen and we
discuss it only to condemn it for planting in New York. The variety,
as its history shows, really belongs to eastern Asia and thus arouses
interest.
General Lee originated with Judge Campbell, Pensacola, Florida, from
pits brought from Japan in 1860. In 1864 P. J. Berckmans received buds
from R. R. Hunley of Alabama and in 1867 introduced the sort under the
name General Lee. The American Pomological Society listed this peach
in 1889 as General Lee but in 1897 shortened the name to Lee and so it
appears in the Society's catalog at the present time. We prefer the old
name since when shortened it loses all significance as a commemorative
appellation.
[Illustration: GENERAL LEE]
Tree very large, vigorous, spreading, unproductive; trunk
thick, rough; branches reddish-brown tinged with light
ash-gray; branchlets slender, with internodes dark red mingled
with considerable green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with
numerous inconspicuous, raised lenticels variable in size.
Leaves six and one-fourth inches long, one and one-half inches
wide, flat or folded downward, oval to obovate-lanceolate,
thick, leathery; upper surface dark, dull green, smooth; lower
surface grayish-green; apex acuminate; margin coarsely serrate,
tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole nearly one-half inch
long, with one to four large, reniform, reddish-brown glands
variable in position.
Flower-buds somewhat tender, large, conspicuous, very
plump, conical to obtuse, strongly pubescent, appressed or
slightly free; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers one and
thirteen-sixteenths inches across, pink, well distributed;
pedicels short, glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish-green
at the base, greenish-yellow within, obconic, glabrous;
calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent without;
petals narrow-oval, tapering to short, broad claws occasionally
with reddish base; filaments seven-sixteenths inch long,
shorter than the petals; pistil pubescent near the base, longer
than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and five-eighths inches
long, two and one-half inches wide, round or roundish-oval,
compressed, with halves equal; cavity deep, medium to wide,
contracted around the sides, abrupt or flaring, often mottled
with red; suture medium to deep, extending beyond the tip;
apex mucronate, mamelon; color greenish-white changing to
creamy-white, with a dull or lively red blush in which are
intermingled a few splashes of duller red; pubescence coarse,
long, thick; skin thick, tough, clings to the pulp; flesh
white, stained with red near the pit, juicy, stringy, tender,
sweet but sprightly, pleasantly flavored; good in quality;
stone clinging, one and five-sixteenths inches long, one inch
wide, bulged on one side, broadly oval to ovate, flattened,
short-pointed at the apex, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture
winged, narrow, deeply grooved along the edges; dorsal suture
grooved.
GEORGE IV
=1.= _Mas Le Verger_ =7=:49, 50, fig. 23. 1866-73. =2.= Leroy
_Dict. Pom._ =6=:129 fig. 1879. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 37.
1909. =4.= Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 202. 1913.
_George the Fourth._ =5.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ =6=:413.
1826. =6.= _Pom. Mag._ =3=:105. Pl. 1830. =7.= Prince _Pom.
Man._ =1=:192, 193. 1831. =8.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 478.
1845. =9.= _Mag. Hort._ =13=:120, 121, 122. 1847. =10.= _Proc.
Nat. Con. Fr. Gr._ 38, 51. 1848. =11.= Carrière _Var. Pêchers_
70. 1867. =12.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 447. 1884. =13.= Budd-Hansen
_Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:346. 1903.
Once one of the mainstays of American peach-growing, George IV is
now of but historical interest. This variety was one of the first
named American peaches and had the honor of being placed on the
recommended list of fruits at the first meeting of the National
Convention of Fruit-Growers, an organization which became the American
Pomological Society, in 1848. George IV is not worth planting now and
is illustrated and described in _The Peaches of New York_ only that
fruit-growers may note progress in the development of peaches. It is
interesting to note that this old American peach is still widely grown
in Europe.
George IV has been confused with several other sorts, particularly
Morris Red. Prince, in the _Magazine of Horticulture_, writes that
Morris Red is an old Red Rareripe brought to America from Europe by
Huguenot emigrants and that George IV came from buds of the original
tree of this variety. The consensus of opinion, however, among those
who early knew both peaches, is that Morris Red and George IV are
distinct and that both are of American origin. George IV, the best
authorities say, sprang up as a chance seedling, about 1821, in the
garden of a Mr. Gill, Broad Street, New York City. After fruiting, the
variety rapidly grew in favor and within a few years was everywhere
grown in eastern America. Taken to Europe, it soon became one of the
standard European peaches. From the first it was on the list in the
American Pomological Society's fruit-catalog but was dropped in 1897 to
be replaced in 1909. We doubt if it now deserves to be recommended on
any list of fruits.
[Illustration: GEORGE IV]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, unproductive;
trunk thick; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown covered
with light ash-gray; branchlets dark red, with faint traces of
green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with numerous conspicuous,
small lenticels.
Leaves seven inches long, one and five-eighths inches wide,
folded upward and recurved, oval to obovate-lanceolate, rather
thick, leathery; upper surface dark green, smooth except
near the midrib; lower surface grayish-green; margin sharply
serrate, red; petiole three-eighths inch long, glandless or
with one to three small, globose, reddish-brown glands usually
at the base of the blade.
Flower-buds short, obtuse, plump, heavily pubescent, appressed;
blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers pale pink, with white
centers and edged with darker pink, nearly one inch across;
pedicels nearly sessile; calyx-tube reddish-green, light yellow
within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes medium in length and
width, obtuse or acute, glabrous within, pubescent without;
petals roundish-oval, tapering to claws red at the base;
filaments one-fourth inch long, equal to the petals in length;
pistil longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and five-sixteenths inches
long, two and seven-sixteenths inches wide, roundish-oblate,
bulged near the apex, oblique, with unequal sides; cavity
slightly contracted, deep, wide, abrupt, with tender skin;
suture shallow, becoming deeper at both apex and cavity and
faintly showing beyond the tip; apex roundish, with a mucronate
tip; color greenish-white changing to creamy-white, with a pink
blush and sometimes with faint mottlings of red; pubescence
short, thick, fine; skin thin, tough, variable in adherence
to the pulp; flesh whitish, deeply tinged with red near the
pit, juicy, stringy, tender, mild, pleasantly flavored; good
in quality; stone semi-free to free, one and one-eighth inches
long, three-fourths inch thick, roundish-oval, very plump,
flattened at the base, tapering to a short, rounded point, with
grooved surfaces; ventral suture winged, rather narrow; dorsal
suture grooved.
GOLD DROP
=1.= Kan. Hort. Soc. _Peach, The_ 142. 1899. =2.= _Mich. Sta.
Bul._ =169=:214. 1899. =3.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._
=2=:347. 1903. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 37. 1909.
_Golden Drop._ =5.= _U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt._ 298. 1855. =6.=
_Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 243. 1886. =7.= _Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta.
Rpt._ =2=:58 fig. 1895. =8.= _Mich. Sta. Sp. Bul._ =44=:42, 43
fig., 44, 45. 1910.
Gold Drop, long a familiar variety in Michigan peach-orchards, is not
much grown elsewhere. It is doubtfully worth planting in New York as
a peach of commerce but should find a place in every home orchard.
The variety has several distinctive peculiarities which make it a
pleasing variation in the peach-orchard and add to its merits as a home
fruit. Thus, its transparent, golden skin and flesh make it one of
the handsomest of all peaches; add to handsome appearance a somewhat
distinctive flavor--vinous, rich, refreshing--and the peach becomes
one that all agree is very good and one that, were the size larger,
would sell in any market. Gold Drop is further characterized by great
hardiness in tree and bud and by remarkable productiveness. Indeed,
it loads itself so heavily that the peaches invariably run small
unless the trees are heavily pruned and the crop thinned--small size
of fruit is the greatest defect of the variety. Besides being one of
the hardiest of all peaches it is also about the least susceptible
to brown-rot and leaf-curl, the two worst scourges of the peach when
yellows permits the trees to live. Earliness in coming in bearing
is another admirable character. The trees are of but medium size,
are dainty in habits with clean, fresh foliage so that the variety
is an attractive ornamental. All in all, Gold Drop is ideal for
the home garden and has many good characters which can be used as
stepping-stones in breeding peaches.
The origin of Gold Drop is unknown. It is evidently an old sort and
some horticulturists believe it to be an old variety renamed. The
variety has been cultivated in Michigan orchards for many years under
the name Golden Drop given it by George W. Griffin, Casco, Allegan
County, Michigan, who introduced it. The variety was at one time
supposed to be the peach which is grown in Michigan as Yellow Rareripe
but it is not the Yellow Rareripe cultivated today. The American
Pomological Society listed it in its fruit-catalog in 1909 under the
name Gold Drop.
[Illustration: GOLD DROP]
Tree of medium size and vigor, spreading, rather open-topped,
hardy, very productive; trunk thick and smooth; branches
stocky, smooth, reddish-brown with a covering of light
ash-gray; branchlets slender, with internodes dull pinkish-red
intermingled with green, smooth, glabrous, with conspicuous,
raised lenticels.
Leaves five and one-half inches long, one and one-fourth inches
wide, folded upward and recurved, oval to obovate-lanceolate,
leathery; upper surface dark green, mottled; lower surface
grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped with red along the
edge; petiole three-eighths inch long, with two to nine large,
reddish-brown or grayish, mixed glands usually on the leaf.
Flower-buds long, conical or obtuse, plump, somewhat appressed,
pubescent; season of bloom early; flowers pale pink, one and
three-fourths inches across, well distributed; pedicels short,
medium to slender, glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish-green,
orange-colored within, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes broad,
usually acute, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals
ovate, notched near the base, tapering to long, narrow claws
variable in color at the base; filaments one-half inch long,
shorter than the petals; pistil pubescent at the ovary, equal
to or longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures late; two and seven-sixteenths inches long,
nearly two and one-half inches wide, roundish-oval, bulged
at one side, with unequal halves; cavity deep, abrupt,
twig-marked; suture very shallow, extending beyond the apex;
apex roundish, with a slightly mamelon or mucronate tip; color
greenish or golden-yellow, with a dull blush on one side;
pubescence thick, coarse; skin adhering to the pulp; flesh pale
yellow to the pit, variable in juiciness, pleasantly sprightly;
good in quality; stone free, one and nine-sixteenths inches
long, one and one-sixteenth inches wide, broadly ovate, bulged
at one side, with a pointed apex and deeply grooved surfaces;
ventral suture deeply grooved at the sides, rather narrow;
dorsal suture with a deep groove, wing-like.
GOVERNOR HOGG
=1.= Brown Bros. _Cat._ 27. 1906. =2.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._
65, 66. 1907. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 37. 1909. =4.= _N. J.
Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 37. 1912. =5.= Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 202.
1913.
_Governor._ =6.= _Del. Sta. Rpt._ =13=:101. 1901.
Were it not that Governor Hogg must compete with the well-established
Greensboro and Carman, we should say at once that it was well worth
trying in commercial planting in New York as an early, white-fleshed
peach. In the Station orchard, Governor Hogg ripens a few days after
Carman, is larger, handsomer and as good in quality. In both appearance
and quality, Governor Hogg excels Greensboro, the size, shape and color
of the two, as the illustrations show, being much the same though the
color of this variety runs more to reds and soft tints of red. The
flesh is firm, though tender and delicate, and the peaches ought to
stand shipment well. As with all of these early, white-fleshed peaches,
Governor Hogg is quite susceptible to both leaf-curl and brown-rot.
The parentage of this peach is unknown. It seems to have originated
with a Mr. McClung, Tyler, Texas, about 1892, and was disseminated by
Messrs. Sneed and Whitaker of the same place. The American Pomological
Society placed Governor Hogg on its fruit-list in 1909.
[Illustration: GOVERNOR HOGG]
Tree large, upright-spreading, open-topped, hardy, variable
in productiveness; trunk thick, reddish-brown intermingled
with light ash-gray; branches slender, with short internodes,
brownish mingled with red and ash-gray, glossy, smooth,
glabrous, with many conspicuous, large and small lenticels.
Leaves five and one-half inches long, one and one-half
inches wide, folded upward and slightly recurved, usually
oval-lanceolate, medium in thickness, leathery; upper surface
dark olive-green, smooth; lower surface grayish-green; margin
finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole
three-eighths inch long, glandless or with one to five
reniform, reddish-brown glands of medium size, variable in
position; flower-buds conical, plump, pubescent, appressed;
blossoms open in mid-season.
Fruit matures early; two and one-fourth inches long, more than
two inches wide, oblong-oval, compressed, oblique; cavity deep,
narrow, abrupt; suture shallow, becoming deeper at the cavity;
apex depressed, with a mucronate tip; color creamy-white,
blushed with red; pubescence short; skin thin, separates from
the pulp; flesh white, juicy, stringy, meaty, rather tough;
good in quality; stone clinging, one and three-eighths inches
long, seven-eighths inch wide, obovate, plump, strongly bulged
on one side, conspicuously winged, pointed at the base, with
the surfaces grooved and pitted; ventral suture winged, narrow,
with furrows of medium depth along the sides.
GREENSBORO
=1.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 238. 1896. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Cat._ 33. 1899. =3.= Kan. Hort. Soc. _Peach, The_ 49, 143.
1899. =4.= _Del. Sta. Rpt._ =13=:101 fig. 6, 102. 1901. =5.=
_Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt._ =9=:37, 38. 1902. =6.= _W. N. Y.
Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 11. 1907. =7.= Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 202.
1913. =8.= _N. Y. State Fr. Gr. Assoc. Rpt._ 16. 1915.
_Balsey._ =9.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 289. 1893.
Greensboro is one of the leading early, white-fleshed peaches. It
takes high place because of its showy fruits and its large, vigorous,
healthy, early-bearing and prolific trees. In the last character,
in particular, Greensboro is almost supreme--year in and year out,
barring accidents, its trees are fruitful. Possibly, too, no other
white-fleshed peach is adapted to a greater variety of soils than
Greensboro which, with fair capacity to stand heat and cold, makes
it suitable for wide variations in peach-regions. The peaches, while
handsome, as the color-plate shows, are in no way remarkable, the
quality, if anything, being rather inferior, so that it is the tree
that gives Greensboro its standing. The variety is well thought of by
fruit-dealers not only on account of the attractive product but because
the fruits carry well and keep long. Possibly the peaches are less
susceptible to brown-rot than most other varieties of Greensboro's
season but to offset this advantage there are many cracked pits
and accompanying mal-formed fruits. Picked green the stone clings;
picked at maturity the variety may be called a freestone. All in all,
Greensboro is one of the best early, market peaches for New York.
Greensboro is a seedling of Connett grown by W. G. Balsey, Greensboro,
North Carolina, about 1891. It was introduced by John A. Young of
Greensboro as Balsey, this name being changed to Greensboro in 1894.
Greensboro was added to the list of fruits recommended by the American
Pomological Society in 1899.
[Illustration: GREENSBORO]
Tree very large, spreading, open-topped, hardy, very
productive; trunk thick, shaggy; branches stocky, smooth,
reddish-brown covered with light ash-gray; branchlets
slender, long, with short internodes, dark red intermingled
with olive-green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with very small,
conspicuous lenticels.
Leaves six and one-half inches long, one and one-half inches
wide, folded upward, recurved, oval to obovate-lanceolate,
thick, leathery; upper surface dark green, smooth, rugose along
the midrib; lower surface grayish-green; margin finely serrate,
tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole one-half inch long,
with one to five reniform, reddish-brown glands usually at the
base of the blade.
Flower-buds hardy, large, medium to long, conical or obtuse,
very plump, strongly pubescent, usually free; season of bloom
early; flowers pale pink, one and three-fourths inches across,
usually in twos; pedicels very short, glabrous; calyx-tube dull
reddish-green, lemon-yellow within, campanulate, glabrous;
calyx-lobes very broad, obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent
without; petals round-ovate, tapering to short, narrow claws
red at the base; filaments one-half inch long, shorter than the
petals; pistil pubescent at the base, equal to the stamens in
length.
Fruit matures early; two and one-half inches long, two and
three-eighths inches wide, oblong-oval, often oblique,
bulged at one side, compressed, with unequal sides; cavity
deep, narrow, abrupt; suture shallow, deepening toward the
cavity; apex roundish, with a small, mucronate tip; color
creamy-white, blushed red, with a few stripes of darker red
intermingling; pubescence heavy, nearly tomentose; skin rather
tough, separates from the pulp; flesh white, very juicy,
tender and melting, mild, sweet, sprightly; fair in quality;
stone semi-clinging, one and seven-sixteenths inches long, one
inch wide, winged on both sides, ovate, strongly bulged along
one side, with short grooves on the surfaces; ventral suture
narrow, deeply grooved along the sides; dorsal suture grooved,
winged.
HALE EARLY
=1.= _Mag. Hort._ =27=:65, 66. 1861. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Cat._ 78. 1862. =3.= _Gard. Mon._ =5=:68, 69, 198, 277, 278.
1863. =4.= _Horticulturist_ =18=:63, 64, 197, 198, 242, 243
fig., 244. 1863. =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 615. 1869. =6.=
_Horticulturist_ =27=:23, 304. 1872. =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._
37. 1909.
_Précoce de Hale._ =8.= Mas _Le Verger_ =7=:193, 194, fig. 95.
1866-73.
_Hale._ =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 44. 1891. =10.= _Mich. Sta.
Bul._ =169=:215. 1899.
In the middle of the last century, Hale Early was considered the best
peach of its season for home and market. Even now it has several
characters to recommend it; as, large, vigorous, hardy, healthy,
productive trees, fruits handsome in color, uniform in size and shape,
with flesh more than ordinarily free from the stone for an early peach,
fair quality for the season and extreme earliness. The chief fault is
that the peaches run small in size, scarcely exceeding large marbles,
which they resemble in roundness. The variety must be grown in the
best of peach-lands, heavily thinned, and the trees severely pruned.
The peaches, besides being small, are very susceptible to brown-rot.
Nowhere very commonly planted, the variety is still widely distributed,
a fact, in view of the competition with many early peaches, which
speaks well for a peach introduced more than fifty years ago. It is
interesting to note that Hale Early was introduced into Europe many
years ago and that European pomologists still speak highly of it.
Hale Early grew from a seed planted in 1850 by a German named Moas at
Randolph, Portage County, Ohio. A few years later the attention of a
Mr. Hale, Summit County, Ohio, was called to the seedling and he,
impressed with its earliness, began to propagate it. About 1859 the
variety was introduced by Hale and Jewett, nurserymen in Summit County,
as Hale's Early German. In some localities it became known as Early
German but finally the name Hale's Early was adopted. It was so listed
in the American Pomological Society's fruit-catalog in 1862 but in 1891
the name was changed to Hale so to remain until 1909 when it appeared
in the Society's catalog as Hale Early. The adoption of the last name
is warranted, possibly, from the fact that another peach named Hale
existed several years before the origin of the present sort.
[Illustration: HALE EARLY]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, variable
in productiveness; trunk thick; branches stocky, smooth,
reddish-brown mingled with ash-gray; branchlets long, dark
pinkish-red with a trace of olive-green, glossy, smooth,
glabrous, with rather few large, conspicuous lenticels.
Leaves flat or curled downward, six and one-fourth inches
long, one and one-fourth inches wide, long-oval to
obovate-lanceolate, thin, leathery; upper surface dark green,
smooth; lower surface grayish-green; margin finely serrate,
often in two series, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole
three-eighths inch long, glandless or with one to four small,
globose, reddish-brown glands usually at the base of the blade.
Flower-buds conical or pointed, plump, pubescent, usually free;
blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers dark pink at the center,
with lighter pink toward the margin and with streaks of light
pink along the veins, one and one-half inches across, usually
single; pedicels short, glabrous, green, with a few reddish
dots; calyx-tube dull green mottled with red, with varying
shades of orange within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
broad, usually obtuse, pubescent within and without, with
longer hairs along the edges, erect; petals round or inclined
to oval, entire, notched on both sides near the claws which
are short, broad and tinged with red near the base; filaments
one-half inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil finely
pubescent at the ovary, longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures early; one and three-fourths inches long, one
and seven-eighths inches wide, round, slightly compressed,
with unequal halves; cavity regular, medium to deep, wide,
flaring; suture shallow, with a slight bulge near the apex;
apex roundish or flattened, ending abruptly in a short, sharp,
recurved point; color creamy-white, with an attractive blush
extending over one-half of the surface; pubescence short,
thick; skin tough, free; flesh white, juicy, tender, sweet,
with some astringency; good in quality; stone semi-free, one
and five-sixteenths inches long, fifteen-sixteenths inch wide,
ovate or oval, plump, with a short-pointed apex, surfaces
marked by short grooves; ventral suture deep along the sides,
narrow; dorsal suture deeply grooved, winged.
HEATH CLING
=1.= Prince _Treat. Fr. Trees_ 17. 1820. =2.= Kenrick _Am.
Orch._ 234. 1832. =3.= _Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Gr._ 51. 1848. =4.=
_Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 78. 1862. =5.= Fulton _Peach Cult._ 197,
198. 1908.
_Heath._ =6.= Coxe _Cult. Fr. Trees_ 228. 1817. =7.= _Lond.
Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 97. 1831. =8.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:29,
30. 1832. =9.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 494, 495. 1845. =10.=
Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 187, 188. 1846. =11.=
Elliott _Fr. Book_ 274, 275. 1854. =12.= Mas _Le Verger_
=7=:207, 208, fig. 102. 1866-73. =13.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 37.
1909.
_White English._ =14.= _Horticulturist_ N. S. =7=:178, 179.
1857.
Heath Cling is unquestionably the oldest named American peach now
under cultivation. Its antiquity constitutes about its only claim
to recognition though for its tree-characters and for at least one
fruit-character it ought to be retained for breeding. Few varieties
have larger, healthier, hardier trees than Heath Cling, the fact that
the oldest of our peaches has from the first retained these characters
in pristine vigor confuting the notion that varieties degenerate. In
the descriptions of Chinese peaches in Chapter 1, we read of winter
peaches--sorts that could be kept for three or four months after
picking. Of all American peaches, Heath Cling, possibly, most nearly
approaches these Chinese winter peaches. It has been known to keep
in good condition from October to December. Its quality, at best, is
good but often it runs poor. Well grown, the peach has a sweet, rich,
vinous taste but the flesh adheres so tightly to the stone that it is
not pleasant eating out of hand though splendid cooked, preserved or
pickled, the stone in culinary operations imparting a pleasant flavor
of peach-pit bitterness. It is the best of all peaches to preserve or
pickle whole. The color-plate shows the blushed sides of Heath Cling
and therefore too much red for typical specimens of this variety.
Just how old Heath Cling is no one knows but it probably was grown
in the colonies before the Revolution. Two accounts are given of its
origin. According to one it originated with Daniel Heath of Maryland
from a pit brought from the Mediterranean. Another is that the honor of
originating this peach belongs in the Prince family and that the first
William Prince discovered the variety growing wild on the farm of Judge
Willet, Flushing, New York. The Princes, according to this account,
gave it the name Heath because it was found on a barren heath. It seems
fairly well established that the variety was in the Prince orchards
before the Revolutionary War whether or not it was found and named by
them.
[Illustration: HEATH CLING]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, unproductive;
trunk shaggy; branches stocky, reddish-brown covered with
light ash-gray; branchlets long, dark red intermingled
with olive-green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with numerous
conspicuous, large, raised lenticels.
Leaves six and one-fourth inches long, one and one-half inches
wide, folded upward, recurving, oval to obovate-lanceolate,
leathery; upper surface dark green, rugose; lower surface
grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown
glands; petiole one-half inch long, with two to seven small,
mostly reniform, reddish-brown glands usually at the base of
the leaf.
Flower-buds tender, medium to small, short, conical or pointed,
plump, pubescent, free; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers
a faded pink, white at the center of the petals, about
three-fourths inch across; pedicels short, medium to thick,
glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish-green; calyx-lobes short,
broad, obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals
roundish-oval, tapering to short, broad claws occasionally with
a red base; filaments one-fourth inch long, shorter than the
petals; pistil pubescent near the base, longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures very late; two and one-eighth inches long,
two and one-fourth inches wide, round-oval, compressed and
somewhat angular, with unequal sides; cavity variable in
depth and width, abrupt or flaring; suture shallow, extending
beyond the apex; apex ending in a swollen, pointed tip; color
creamy-white, blushed with red, splashed and mottled with
darker red; pubescence short, thick, fine; skin thin, adhering
to the pulp; flesh white, juicy, firm and meaty but tender,
sweet or somewhat sprightly; good in quality; stone clinging,
one and one-fourth inches long, seven-eighths inch wide, oval,
plump, flattened and pointed toward the base, tapering to a
short point at the apex, with dark brown, grooved surfaces;
ventral suture deep along the sides, thick, furrowed; dorsal
suture grooved.
HEATH FREE
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 37. 1909. =2.= Waugh _Am. Peach
Orch._ 203. 1913.
_Kenrick Heath._ =3.= Prince _Treat. Hort._ 17. 1828. =4.=
Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:30, 31. 1832. =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees
Am._ 479. 1845. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 78. 1862. =7.=
Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:348. 1903.
_Heath._ =8.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 226, 227. 1832.
Heath Free is now rarely planted, being replaced by better sorts--in
fact it was out of date a quarter-century ago when the American
Pomological Society dropped it from its fruit-list. We can see no
justification of the Society's action in restoring the variety to its
list ten years later. The tree-characters of Heath Free seem to be,
in the main, very good but the peaches are not at all attractive in
appearance and none too good in quality--at best it is but a culinary
sort. Possibly it is worth growing under some conditions as a late,
white-fleshed peach.
Heath Free is another old variety, a native of New England. Kenrick,
one of the first American pomologists, received the variety from
General Heath, Roxbury, Massachusetts, early in the Nineteenth Century.
Later, Kenrick sent it to Prince at Flushing, New York, who is credited
with having distributed it. The variety should not be confused with
Heath Cling. Ripening at the latter end of the peach-season, the term
"Late" is often attached to the name. In 1862 the American Pomological
Society put this peach on its fruit-list under the name Kenrick
Heath but dropped it from the list in 1899. Ten years later, 1909, the
variety was replaced in the Society's catalog as Heath Free.
[Illustration: HEATH FREE]
Tree very large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped,
unproductive; trunk thick, somewhat shaggy; branches stocky,
smooth, reddish-brown covered with very light ash-gray;
branchlets long, with many short, spur-like branches near the
tips, with internodes dark red intermingled with olive-green,
glossy, smooth, glabrous, with numerous conspicuous lenticels,
raised near the base and tip.
Leaves seven and one-eighth inches long, one and three-fourths
inches wide, folded upward, recurved slightly, long-oval
to obovate-lanceolate, rather thin; upper surface dark
green, smooth becoming rugose near the midrib; lower surface
grayish-green; margin finely serrate, with reddish-brown
glands; petiole one-half inch long, with two to five reniform,
reddish-brown glands usually on the petiole.
Flower-buds half-hardy, conical or pointed, very pubescent,
free; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers dark pink along
the margins of the petals changing to white toward their
centers, well distributed; pedicels short, glabrous, green;
calyx-tube reddish-green, yellow within, campanulate, glabrous;
calyx-lobes short, narrow, acute to obtuse, glabrous within,
pubescent without; petals small, narrow-oval, often broadly
notched near the base, tapering to short, broad claws red at
the base; filaments one-fourth inch long, equal to the petals
in length; pistil pubescent at the base, longer than the
stamens.
Fruit matures in late mid-season; two and one-eighth inches
long, two and one-fourth inches thick, roundish-oval to
oblong-oval, often strongly compressed, with halves nearly
equal; cavity medium to shallow, wide, flaring, contracted
along the sides, with tender skin; suture shallow; apex
roundish, with a depressed, mucronate tip; color creamy-white,
blushed or mottled with red, with splashes of deeper red;
pubescence rather coarse, thick; skin thick, tough, adherent
to the pulp; flesh white, bronzed at the pit, juicy, coarse,
firm but tender, mild subacid with some astringency; good in
quality; stone free, one and three-eighths inches long, one
inch wide, flattened near the base, oval, with long grooves
deeply sunken in the surfaces; ventral suture deeply furrowed
along the edges, wide; dorsal suture grooved, faintly winged.
HILEY
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 170. 1899. =2.= _Del. Sta. Rpt._
=13=:102 fig. 7, 103. 1901. =3.= _U. S. D. A. Yearbook_ 271,
272, Pl. 34. 1903. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 37. 1909.
_Early Belle._ =5.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:342. 1903.
=6.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 12. 1907.
In spite of keen competition with many other early, white-fleshed
peaches, there seems to be a place for Hiley. Two characters make
it notable in its class. It is the earliest commercial freestone,
white-fleshed peach and it is rather better in quality than most of its
competitors. Well grown, the peaches are large in size and handsomely
colored but the fruits are not quite as uniform in either size or
color as could be desired for a commercial variety. The trees, while
productive, are neither large nor sufficiently hardy and vigorous to
make an ideal commercial sort. Still, we must end as we began, with the
statement that there is a place for Hiley because of earliness and high
quality. The fruits, unfortunately, are easy prey to brown-rot.
Hiley originated with Eugene Hiley, Marshallville, Georgia, about
1886. Seeds of several varieties, including Belle and Elberta, were
planted and from these sprang one tree which bore the fruit under
discussion. R. A. Hiley, who seems to have first discovered its value,
is of the opinion that this variety is a seedling of Belle crossed
with Alexander. The new peach was first named Early Belle and the
first crops were shipped under this name. Later the name was changed
to Hiley. The American Pomological Society placed the variety on its
fruit-list in 1909.
[Illustration: HILEY]
Tree medium in size, lacking in vigor, upright-spreading,
open-topped, very productive; trunk thick; branches stocky,
smooth, reddish-brown covered with light ash-gray; branchlets
with short internodes, brownish-red heavily overlaid with
olive-green, smooth, glabrous, with conspicuous lenticels
variable in number and size.
Leaves six and one-fourth inches long, one and one-half inches
wide, folded upwards to nearly flattened, narrow-oval to
obovate-lanceolate, leathery; upper surface dull, dark green,
mottled, nearly smooth; lower surface grayish-green; margin
finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole
three-eighths inch long, glandless or with one to eight small,
globose and reniform, greenish-yellow glands variable in
position.
Flower-buds tender, obtuse, plump, heavily pubescent, appressed
or nearly so; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers pink,
one and seven-eighths inches across, often in twos; pedicels
glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube dull, dark reddish-green,
greenish-yellow within, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes broad,
obtuse, glabrous within, heavily pubescent without; petals
roundish-ovate, tapering to long, broad claws red at the base;
filaments one-half inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil
pubescent at the ovary, equal to or often longer than the
stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and three-eighths inches
long, two and one-fourth inches thick, roundish-conic to
oblong-conic, bulged near the apex, with unequal halves; cavity
abrupt, the skin tender and tearing easily; suture shallow,
deepening toward the apex; apex pointed; color greenish-yellow
with a dull blush often extending over one-half the surface,
more or less mottled; pubescence thick, fine, short; skin
thin, tough, separates from the pulp when fully ripe; flesh
creamy-white, stained red at the pit, stringy, firm but tender,
with a distinct, pleasant flavor, sprightly; good in quality;
stone semi-free to free, one and three-eighths inches long,
seven-eighths inch wide, elliptical to ovate, pointed at both
ends, with nearly smooth surfaces; ventral suture rather wide
and with deep furrows along the sides; dorsal suture a small
groove.
HYNES
=1.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._ =39=:812. 1896. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._
33. 1899. =3.= _Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt._ =8=:14 fig. 1901. =4.=
Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:348. 1903.
_Hynes Surprise._ =5.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 50. 1879.
=6.= _Ibid._ 111. 1880. =7.= _U. S. D. A. Pom. Rpt._ 42. 1895.
Coming at a season when there are several very good, white-fleshed
peaches, we doubt whether Hynes can establish itself in the peach-list
for New York. The peaches are not quite large enough and the stone
clings a little too tenaciously for a first-class early peach. The
flavor is good for an early peach and when large enough the fruits are
attractive, shape and coloring being particularly pleasing. Hynes was
at one time highly recommended, widely advertised and largely sold in
New York by nurserymen and fruit-growers in this State. We doubt if
many are now planting it. The color-plate is an excellent reproduction
of the variety.
Hynes was grown about 1877 by E. F. Hynes, West Plains, Missouri.
Its parentage is unknown. The variety soon became disseminated as
a valuable early, commercial peach. At first it was known as Hynes
Surprise but gradually the name has been shortened to Hynes. The late
S. D. Willard, Geneva, New York, grew and recommended this variety
for a number of years and by some has been given the credit of having
originated and introduced it. The American Pomological Society put
Hynes on its fruit-list in 1899.
[Illustration: HYNES]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, hardy,
medium in productiveness; trunk thick; branches stocky, smooth,
reddish-brown with a small amount of ash-gray; branchlets long,
with internodes of medium length, dark red intermingled with
olive-green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with conspicuous, large
lenticels.
Leaves six and one-half inches long, about one and one-half
inches wide, oval to obovate-lanceolate, leathery, dull, dark
green, smooth; lower surface grayish-green; apex tapering
to a long, narrow point; margin finely serrate, tipped with
reddish-brown glands; petiole three-eighths inch long, with
one to five small, globose, brownish-yellow glands variable in
position.
Flower-buds hardy, small, short, obtuse, plump, slightly
pubescent, usually appressed; blossoms appear in mid-season;
flowers dark pink at the center, light pink near the edges,
often in twos; pedicels short, medium to thick, glabrous,
greenish; calyx-tube reddish-green, greenish-yellow within,
campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes short, medium to broad,
obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals broadly
oval, irregular in outline, tapering to claws often red at the
base; filaments one-half inch long, shorter than the petals;
pistil pubescent near the base, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures early; two and one-half inches long, two and
one-fourth inches wide, round-oblate, with halves usually
equal; cavity wide, flaring; suture shallow, becoming deeper
near the tip; apex flattened or roundish, ending abruptly in
a short, sharp point; color greenish or creamy-white, with
a dull, dark red blush, splashed and mottled with carmine;
pubescence thin, short, fine; skin thin, tender, variable in
adherence to the pulp; flesh greenish-white, with a red stain
under the skin and often rayed with red about the pit, juicy,
stringy, tender and melting, sweet, mild; fair to good in
quality; stone nearly free, one and one-fourth inches long,
seven-eighths inch wide, bulged on one side, ovate, very plump,
with surfaces pitted and with short, narrow grooves; ventral
suture furrowed, very deeply grooved at the edges; dorsal
suture wide, deeply grooved.
ILLINOIS
=1.= _N. J. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 36. 1912. =2.= Stark Bros. _Cat._
37 fig. 1913. =3.= Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 203. 1913. =4.=
Stark Bros. _Cat._ 43. 1914.
Illinois is a mid-season, white-fleshed, freestone peach, still on
probation with what result as to commercial possibilities we should not
like to predict. It has been little tried in New York and growers in
other peach-regions are not in accord as to its value. In size, color
and shape of fruit, as the color-plate shows, Illinois is one of the
beauties of the orchard. Yet, all things considered, the new variety is
not as good as Champion with which it would have to compete. Neither
tree- nor fruit-characters are quite satisfactory as the variety grows
on the Station grounds. It must be apparent, too, to all peach-growers
that the industry is overloaded with white-fleshed peaches which at
best must be sold in nearby markets or grown for home use.
Illinois originated about 1910 on the grounds of E. H. Riehl near North
Alton, Illinois. It is supposed to be a cross between Stark Heath and
Washington.
[Illustration: ILLINOIS]
Tree medium in size and vigor, upright to spreading, hardy,
very productive; trunk thick; branches stocky, smooth, dark
reddish-brown overlaid by ash-gray; branchlets slender, short,
with internodes dark red and olive-green, smooth, glabrous,
with a few inconspicuous, raised lenticels variable in size.
Leaves five and one-half inches long, one and one-half inches
wide, curled under at the tips, ovate-lanceolate, thin,
leathery; upper surface dull, dark green, rugose along the
midrib; lower surface olive-green; margin deeply and sharply
serrate, the serrations often in two series, tipped with small
glands; petiole three-eighths inch long, glandless.
Flower-buds medium to large, obtuse or conical, plump,
pubescent, appressed; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers
variable in color, over one inch across, often in twos;
pedicels short, greenish, glabrous; calyx-tube reddish-green,
greenish-yellow within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
medium to broad, obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent without;
petals oval, crenate, often broadly notched near the base,
tapering to narrow claws with a tinge of red at the base;
filaments one-half inch long, equal to the petals in length;
pistil pubescent at the base, as long as the stamens.
Fruit matures in early mid-season; two and one-fourth inches
long, two and one-half inches wide, round-oblate, compressed,
the halves usually unequal; cavity deep, abrupt, often tinged
with red; suture shallow, deepening toward the apex; apex
roundish, with a mucronate tip; color creamy-white, blushed
with dull, dark red and mottled with splashes of brighter red;
pubescence heavy; skin tough; flesh white, stained red near
the pit, juicy, tender and melting, sweet; good in quality;
stone semi-free to free, one and one-fourth inches long,
fifteen-sixteenths inch wide, oval or obovate, not bulged,
slightly elongated toward the base, plump, short-pointed at the
apex, with grooved and pitted surfaces; ventral suture winged,
of medium width, deeply grooved along the edges; dorsal suture
deeply grooved.
IMPERIAL
=1.= _La. Sta. Bul._ =27=:943. 1894. =2.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._
=39=:819. 1896. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 22. 1897. =4.= _Ala.
Sta. Bul._ =117=:305. 1901. =5.= _Fla. Sta. Bul._ =73=:148,
Pls. 3 & 4. 1904. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 37. 1909. =7.=
_Ala. Sta. Bul._ =156=:133. 1911.
Of the several honey-flavored peaches fruiting on the Station grounds,
Imperial is probably the best. The fruit is not easily distinguished
in appearance from that of Climax, at least by those unfamiliar with
southern peaches, and is also rather closely allied to Honey in outward
character but has a somewhat distinct flavor in which it surpasses
Climax and Honey. It differs from both, too, in time of ripening. The
peaches of this, as of other honey-flavored sorts, drop badly as they
mature. It is doubtful if we shall ever grow pure-bred peaches of the
Honey type in New York for the markets, but Imperial, at least, is
worth a place in every home orchard where it does not have to brave too
great a degree of cold; and peach-breeders should seize the opportunity
to cross it with our less richly flavored northern varieties.
Imperial is a seedling of Honey grown in 1890 by G. L. Taber, Glen
Saint Mary, Florida. This variety has been much confused with White
Imperial, a sort grown in New York many years ago but long since out of
cultivation. Pomologists frequently list White Imperial as a synonym
of Imperial, giving the origin as New York, when the variety in mind
is the true Imperial of southern origin. Imperial was listed in the
American Pomological Society's catalog in 1897 but was dropped in 1899.
It appears again, however, in the Society's catalog in 1909 under the
name Imperial with White Imperial incorrectly given as a synonym.
[Illustration: IMPERIAL]
Tree medium in size or small, upright-spreading, round-topped,
productive; trunk thick, rough; branches stocky, roughened,
reddish-brown intermingled more or less with ash-gray;
branchlets slender, often rebranching, long, with internodes
dark pinkish-red mingled with varying shades of olive-green,
and with conspicuous, numerous, raised lenticels.
Leaves six and one-fourth inches long, one and one-half inches
wide, flattened, lanceolate, leathery; upper surface dull, dark
green; lower surface olive-green; margin finely and shallowly
serrate, tipped with glands; petiole three-eighths inch long,
with one to four small, reniform glands usually at the base of
the blade.
Flower-buds small, medium to short, conical or obtuse,
pubescent, plump, usually appressed; blossoms appear in
mid-season; flowers medium in size, showy, light pink, usually
single; pedicels medium in length and thickness, green;
calyx-tube reddish-green, orange-green within, obconic;
calyx-lobes acute or obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent
without; petals roundish, tapering to claws tinged with red at
the base; filaments equal to or shorter than the petals; pistil
pubescent.
Fruit matures late; two and one-half inches long, two and
three-sixteenths inches wide, oval, with unequal halves; cavity
shallow, medium in width, flaring; suture very shallow, often
indistinct toward the cavity; apex distinctly elongated; color
pale green becoming whitish, with faint mottlings and with a
distinct or faint blush; pubescence short, thick; skin tough,
adhering to the pulp; flesh white, stained with red near the
pit, juicy, fine-grained, tender and melting, very sweet and
of a delightful flavor; very good to best; stone free, one and
three-eighths inches long, thirteen-sixteenths inch wide, oval
or ovate, not very plump, bulged at one side, long and pointed
at the apex, with roughish and pitted surfaces, dark brown
mingled with purplish-red; ventral suture rather narrow, often
winged, deeply grooved along the edges; dorsal suture grooved.
IRON MOUNTAIN
=1.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =152=:197, 200. 1898. =2.= _Ibid._
=169=:217. 1899. =3.= _Rural N. Y._ =58=:738 fig. 271. 1899.
=4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 37. 1909. =5.= Waugh _Am. Peach
Orch._ 203. 1913.
Hardiness is the outstanding character which has brought Iron Mountain
into prominence. The introducer and many growers claim extreme
hardiness of wood and bud for the variety--others say that it is
surpassed by Crosby, Wager and other varieties of their type. The
trees on the Station grounds turned out not to be true to name so
that we can offer no data as to hardiness. Iron Mountain is a very
late, white-fleshed, freestone peach well adapted for extending the
commercial limits for this fruit in regions where fall frosts hold
off sufficiently long for the fruit to ripen. The tree-characters are
reported by most growers as very satisfactory and the peaches serve
very well for culinary purposes but are not sufficiently attractive
for a dessert fruit though the quality is excellent. There seem to be
two varieties, much alike in fruit, passing under this name; one is
large-flowered, the other small-flowered. This variety might well be
planted in New York for some markets; as, for example, near towns and
cities where it is desirable to extend the local market as late as
possible.
Iron Mountain seems to have originated in New Jersey about a
quarter-century ago but nothing is known of its parentage or by whom
grown. The variety was introduced by J. H. Lindley, Whitehouse, New
Jersey. It was put on the fruit-list of the American Pomological
Society in 1909.
[Illustration: IRON MOUNTAIN]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, not
always productive; trunk thick; branches smooth, dark ash-gray
mingled with reddish-brown; branchlets medium to slender, with
internodes of medium length, greenish-brown, smooth, glabrous,
with numerous small, raised lenticels.
Leaves six inches long, one and one-half inches wide, folded
upward and recurved, oval to obovate-lanceolate, medium in
thickness, leathery; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower
surface light green, with a prominent midrib; margin glandular,
finely serrate; petiole three-eighths inch long, with one to
six reniform glands of medium size, usually on the petiole;
flower-buds medium to small, conical, free; season of bloom
late; flowers small.
Fruit matures very late; two and three-fourths inches long,
two and five-eighths inches thick, oblong-oval, often bulged
on one side, compressed; cavity contracted, below medium in
depth, flaring; suture shallow, extending only to the tip;
apex distinctly mucronate or roundish, sometimes tapering;
color pale greenish or creamy-white, occasionally with a
light blush; pubescence heavy; skin medium to thin, tender,
adherent to the pulp; flesh white, stained brown next to the
pit, juicy, tender, sweet, mild; quality good; stone semi-free
one and five-eighths inches long, more than one inch wide,
somewhat wedge-like at the base, obovate, plump, long-pointed
at the apex, winged, with large, wide and deep grooves in the
surfaces; ventral suture with wide, deep furrows; dorsal suture
grooved deeply, winged.
J. H. HALE
=1.= W. P. Stark _Cat._ 45-55. 1913. =2.= Waugh _Am. Peach
Orch._ 203. 1913.
Of many new peaches, J. H. Hale is now the leading aspirant for
pomological honors. Indeed, it is one of the sensations of the
pomological world, the variety having many merits to commend it and the
name and fame of the originator and of the introducers, together with
extensive advertising, helping much to bring the peach to the attention
of fruit-growers. Elberta is now the standard commercial peach and,
since J. H. Hale must make its way in competition with the variety in
command of the markets, we can best set forth the characters of the
new sort by comparing it with Elberta with which all are familiar. The
comparison is easy to make, for the two peaches are of the same general
type, Elberta, probably, being one of the parents of J. H. Hale.
In size of fruit, J. H. Hale averages larger--all things considered a
trifle too large when the trees are at their best. The flesh of J. H.
Hale is firmer and heavier and the peaches will ship and keep longer
than those of Elberta. In shape, the fruit is almost a perfect sphere,
its symmetry being scarcely marred by the suture so that it is more
shapely than the oblong Elberta and can, of course, be packed to better
advantage. The color-plates of the two peaches show the differences in
shape very well. In color of fruit there is no choice--both peaches
are voluptuously handsome. The skin of J. H. Hale is less pubescent
and possibly a little firmer and tighter, characters adding to the
appearance and shipping qualities of the fruit. It is but an invitation
to argument to say which is the better in the characters that go to
please the palate--flavor, aroma, texture and juiciness. Neither, in
comparison with many other peaches, can be rated as extra good.
Unfortunately we cannot be as certain of the merits of the trees of the
two varieties as we are of the fruits. This much we know, J. H. Hale
is a few days earlier than Elberta and its trees and buds are hardier
than those of Elberta. Which is the more productive is not certain and
this can be ascertained only when data can be had from a large number
of growers since productiveness in both is bound to vary with the
soil. The greatest asset of Elberta is its ability to adapt itself to
diverse soils; whether J. H. Hale is equally elastic in constitution
remains to be seen. The variety is still on probation in New York with
the chances growing stronger each year that it will take high place
among commercial peaches. We do not expect it to drive Elberta from
the markets but the markets will be shared between the two, J. H. Hale
reaching the fruit-stands several days in advance of Elberta. Would
that there were as good a commercial variety to follow Elberta.
This remarkable variety is a chance seedling found by J. H. Hale, South
Glastonbury, Connecticut. From its characters, one sees at once that it
is either an offspring or is very closely related to Elberta--at first
many thought the two were identical. After having thoroughly tested the
new variety in commercial orchards in both Connecticut and Georgia, Mr.
Hale decided that it was worth introducing and sold the new peach to
the William P. Stark Nurseries, Stark City, Missouri. The distribution
of the variety was begun in 1912 and possibly no other tree-fruit has
ever been so rapidly propagated and so widely distributed as has the J.
H. Hale in the past four years.
[Illustration: J. H. HALE]
Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, productive;
trunk of medium thickness, smooth; branches smooth, ash-gray
overspread with dark reddish-brown; branchlets medium in
thickness and length, with long internodes, olive-green
overspread with red, smooth, glabrous.
Leaves six and three-fourths inches long, one and three-fourths
inches wide, folded upward, recurving at the tip, lanceolate,
thin, leathery; upper surface dark green, smooth becoming
rugose along the midrib; lower surface olive-green, with
prominent midrib; margin singly or doubly serrate; petiole
five-sixteenths inch long, thick, with one to five reniform,
dark brown glands of medium size; flowers appear in mid-season.
Fruit matures in mid-season; three inches long, three and
one-fourth inches wide, regular, round, with equal halves;
cavity deep, wide, regular; suture a mere line, very shallow or
with almost no depression; apex roundish, with a small tip set
in a depression; color lemon-yellow overspread with attractive
dark red and with mottlings and splashes of carmine; pubescence
light; skin thick, tough, separates but poorly from the pulp;
flesh yellow, red around the pit, juicy, fine-grained, sweet
or somewhat sprightly; good in quality; stone free, one and
three-fourths inches long, one and one-fourth inches wide,
oval, plump, flattened at the base, pointed at the apex, with
grooved and pitted surfaces; ventral suture furrowed, deeply
grooved along the sides; dorsal suture winged, deeply grooved.
JENNIE WORTHEN
=1.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =31=:58. 1887. =2.= Munson _Cat._ 8.
1890-91. =3.= _Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 183. 1898.
_Worthen._ =4.= _U. S. D. A. Pom. Rpt._ 44. 1895. =5.= _Mich.
Sta. Bul._ =169=:229. 1899.
_Jennie._ =6.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._ =39=:812. 1896.
Jennie Worthen is given a place among the major varieties in _The
Peaches of New York_ with the hope that New York growers may be induced
to try it as a high-grade, yellow-fleshed, freestone variety to
precede Elberta. It is enough to say that it is very similar to Early
Crawford--best of all early peaches--and on the Station grounds is more
productive, unproductiveness being the fault that keeps Early Crawford
from being a money-making variety. Whether or not Jennie Worthen can be
grown commercially, it is well worth planting in the home orchard.
But little is known of the history of this variety. According to a
letter from the late T. V. Munson, Denison, Texas, it originated in
Illinois with a Mr. Worthen and was named for his daughter. The Munson
Nursery grew the variety for a few years after its introduction but has
since discontinued its propagation.
[Illustration: JENNIE WORTHEN]
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, hardy, productive; trunk
thick, smooth; branches thick, nearly smooth, reddish-brown
mingled with light ash-gray; branchlets of medium thickness,
tending to rebranch near the tips, with internodes of medium
length, dark pinkish-red intermingled with green, glossy,
smooth, glabrous, with numerous conspicuous, small, raised
lenticels.
Leaves six and one-half inches long, one and three-eighths
inches wide, curled both upward and downward, oval to
obovate-lanceolate, thin, leathery; upper surface dark
green, rugose near the base of the midrib; lower surface
grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped with
reddish-brown glands; petiole one-half inch long, glandless or
with one to six reniform, reddish-brown glands of medium size,
variable in position.
Flower-buds hardy, usually obtuse, sometimes conical, plump,
very pubescent, free; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers
pale pinkish, darker pink near the margins, well distributed;
pedicels short, medium to thick, glabrous, green; calyx-tube
dull, dark reddish-green, orange-red within, campanulate,
glabrous; calyx-lobes short, narrow, usually acute, glabrous
within and without; petals oval, often broadly notched near the
base, tapering to long, narrow claws occasionally tinged with
red at the base; filaments three-eighths inch long, equal to
the petals in length; pistil pubescent at the ovary, equal to
or longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and seven-eighths inches long,
two and five-sixteenths inches wide, irregular, roundish-oval,
bulged at one side, considerably compressed, with unequal
sides; cavity medium to deep, abrupt, with tender skin; suture
shallow, deepening toward the tip; apex elongated; color
greenish-yellow changing to orange-yellow, with stripes and
splashes and mottlings of deeper red; pubescence thick, long;
skin thin, tough, separates from the pulp; flesh deep yellow,
stained with red near the pit, juicy, slightly stringy, tender,
sweet, very pleasantly flavored, sprightly; good to very good
in quality; stone free, one and three-eighths inches long,
one inch wide, ovate, plump, bulged at one side, the surfaces
grooved; ventral suture narrow, winged, deeply grooved near the
edges; dorsal suture grooved.
KALAMAZOO
=1.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 27, 28, 192. 1893. =2.= _Ibid._
143. 1894. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 33. 1899. =4.= _Mich.
Sta. Bul._ =169=:217. 1899. =5.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._
=2=:348. 1903. =6.= _Mich. Sta. Sp. Bul._ =44=:49 fig., 50.
1910. =7.= Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 203. 1913.
Before peach-growers had Elberta, Kalamazoo was a promising
yellow-fleshed, freestone variety. The fruit is better in quality than
Elberta but not as showy in appearance and the trees are not quite as
productive. Kalamazoo ripens with Late Crawford and could well compete
with that variety for the trees are hardier in wood and bud and are
much more productive. The variety falls short, however, in the size
of the peaches, these running no larger than a medium Late Crawford,
though possibly this defect could be remedied by thinning. The fruits
are of highest quality either for dessert or culinary purposes. The
trees are susceptible to leaf-curl and must be thoroughly sprayed for
this fungus. The variety is grown rather extensively in Michigan and is
well known in parts of New York.
Kalamazoo originated with J. N. Stearns, Kalamazoo, Michigan, about
1869, as a sprout from below the bud on a Yellow Alberge tree. It first
fruited in 1871 and was exhibited that year at the Michigan State Fair
where it received a premium as the best seedling peach. The American
Pomological Society placed Kalamazoo in its fruit-list in 1899 where it
still remains.
[Illustration: KALAMAZOO]
Tree large, spreading, vigorous, open-topped, very productive;
trunk medium in thickness and smoothness; branches stocky,
nearly smooth, reddish-brown mingled with light ash-gray;
branchlets long, with internodes of medium length, dark
pinkish-red with a small amount of olive-green, smooth,
glabrous, with lenticels of medium number and size.
Leaves six and one-half inches long, one and three-eighths
inches wide, nearly flat or curled downward, oval to
obovate-lanceolate, leathery; upper surface dark olive-green,
smooth; lower surface grayish-green; apex narrow-acuminate;
margin finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands;
petiole three-eighths inch long, with one to six small,
reniform, reddish-brown glands variable in position.
Flower-buds hardy, conical, somewhat pointed, pubescent, partly
appressed; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers pale pink,
white at the center of the petals, one and one-eighth inches
across; pedicels short, medium to slender, glabrous, green;
calyx-tube reddish-green, orange-colored within, campanulate,
glabrous; calyx-lobes medium to narrow, acute, glabrous within,
pubescent without; petals oval to somewhat ovate, irregular in
outline near the base, tapering to narrow claws occasionally
reddish at the base; filaments one-half inch long; pistil
pubescent at the base, equal to or shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures late; two and three-eighths inches long, two and
seven-sixteenths inches wide, roundish-oval, often compressed,
with unequal sides; cavity rather wide, flaring to abrupt;
suture indistinct becoming more pronounced toward the tip;
apex ending in a small, elongated point; color greenish-yellow
becoming yellow, with a faint or distinct blush usually
extending over one-fourth of the surface, mottled; pubescence
thick, fine; skin thin, tough, separates from the pulp; flesh
light yellow, stained with red near the pit, juicy, tender,
sweet, mild; good in quality; stone free or nearly so, one
and one-half inches long, one and one-sixteenths inches wide,
oval to ovate, bulged on one side, winged near the base, the
surfaces pitted and grooved near the apex; ventral suture very
deeply grooved at the sides, medium in width; dorsal suture
winged, grooved deeply.
LAMONT
=1.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =74=:372. 1894. =2.= _N. Y. State Fr.
Gr. Assoc. Rpt._ 144. 1910. =3.= _Ibid._ 21. 1912. =4.= _Van
Dusen Nur. Cat._ 21. 1913.
Though long grown in parts of western New York, Lamont has not been
sufficiently well tested by the peach-growers of the State. It is a
yellow-fleshed, freestone peach, much like Early Crawford in appearance
and quality, which ripens from one to two weeks after Elberta. It is
more productive than either of the Crawfords and if it does as well
elsewhere as about Geneva, the place of its origin, it ought to take
high place in the list of commercial peaches for this State. Several
large growers in this region speak well of it as a market fruit. As a
garden variety for its season, it can hardly be surpassed.
The original Lamont tree grew as a chance seedling on the grounds
of Charles Lamont, Geneva, New York, first fruiting about 1884. It
was introduced by E. Smith and Sons, Geneva, New York, soon after its
discovery. The variety is offered by several Geneva nurserymen.
[Illustration: LAMONT]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, productive; trunk
thick, nearly smooth; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown
with light ash-gray; branchlets with internodes of medium
length, dark pinkish-red intermingled with green, glossy,
smooth, glabrous, with inconspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves seven inches long, one and five-eighths inches
wide, folded upward and curled downward slightly, oval to
obovate-lanceolate, thick, leathery; upper surface dark
olive-green, smooth; lower surface grayish-green; apex
acuminate; margin finely and sharply serrate, tipped with
reddish-brown glands; petiole one-half inch long, with one to
six reniform, dark brown glands variable in position.
Flower-buds tender, large, long, conical or pointed,
pubescent, free; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers
thirteen-sixteenths inch across, white at the center of the
petals becoming dark pink near the edges; pedicels short,
green; calyx-tube reddish-green at the base, obconic, glabrous;
calyx-lobes short, medium to broad, obtuse, glabrous within,
heavily pubescent without; petals roundish-oval, somewhat
irregular in outline near the base, tapering to long, narrow
claws occasionally with a red base; filaments three-eighths
inch long, equal to the petals in length; pistil pubescent near
the base, as long as the stamens.
Fruit matures late; about two and seven-eighths inches in
diameter, roundish-cordate, compressed, with unequal sides;
cavity deep, usually abrupt; suture indistinct, becoming
deeper near the tip; apex roundish or pointed, usually with
a noticeable mamelon or sometimes mucronate tip; color
golden-yellow, blushed and faintly striped and splashed with
carmine; pubescence heavy, long, coarse; skin thick, tough,
adherent to the pulp; flesh light yellow, stained with red near
the pit, juicy, coarse, tender, pleasantly sprightly; good in
quality; stone free, one and five-eighths inches long, one and
one-eighth inches wide, oval to obovate, flattened near the
base, often bulged at the apex, winged, with grooved surfaces;
ventral suture deeply marked along the edges, narrow, winged;
dorsal suture grooved, the sides wing-like.
LARGE YORK
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 22. 1897. =2.= _Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt._
26. 1899.
_New York Rareripe._ =3.= Coxe _Cult. Fr. Trees_ 220. 1817.
=4.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 277. 1854.
_Large Early York._ =5.= Prince _Treat. Fr. Trees_ 16. 1820.
=6.= _Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Gr._ 39, 51. 1848. =7.= Cole _Am.
Fr. Book_ 192. 1849. =8.= _Cultivator_ =6=:308 fig. 1849. =9.=
_Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 44. 1856. =10.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 288.
1859. =11.= _Horticulturist_ =16=:245. 1861. =12.= _Gard. Mon._
=5=:13. 1863. =13.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 619. 1869. =14.=
Fulton _Peach Cult._ 185, 186. 1908.
_Large Early Rareripe._ =15.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:25. 1832.
Large York long ago lost all value for either home or commercial
plantings but it is still listed in a few nursery catalogs and is still
in the fruit-list of the American Pomological Society. It is one of
the old American sorts and has been much confounded with several other
peaches. We place it among the major varieties in _The Peaches of New
York_ chiefly to straighten out the nomenclatorial tangle involving
it and the several varieties with which it is commonly confounded.
Large York has been more often confused with Early York than any other
sort. George IV, Haines and Honest John have also been listed time
and again as identical with Large York. While the sorts mentioned
have many resemblances, there are distinguishing characters for all
of them. Large York, known also as Large Early York and Large Early
Rareripe, originated with William Prince,[261] Flushing, New York, some
time in the Eighteenth Century, probably from a pit of Red Rareripe.
The variety was at first called Early York but to distinguish it from
another Early York the term Large was added. Prince sent the variety
to William Forsyth of England about 1790. Forsyth grew it in the Royal
Kensington Gardens and later renamed it Royal Kensington under which
name it is frequently sold in England. While Large York and Early York
are closely related, the leaves of the latter are glandless while
those of the former have globose glands. At the National Convention
of Fruit-Growers held in 1848, Large York was put on the list of
recommended varieties under the name Large Early York. The peach has
remained on the American Pomological Society's fruit-catalog since the
date given, the name being shortened in 1897 to Large York.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped,
rather unproductive; trunk thick; branches thick, smooth,
reddish-brown intermingled with light ash-gray; branchlets with
long internodes, dark red with some green, somewhat russetted,
glossy, smooth, glabrous, with conspicuous, numerous, large,
raised lenticels; leaves six and one-half inches long, one
and one-half inches wide, variable in position, oval to
obovate-lanceolate, thick, leathery, dark green tinged with
olive-green; margin finely serrate; petiole three-eighths
inch long, glandless or with one to six small, globose,
reddish-brown glands; flower-buds small, short, pointed, not
very plump, pubescent, appressed; flowers small, appearing in
mid-season.
Fruit ripens in mid-season; one and seven-eighths inches long,
two and one-sixteenth inches wide, round-oblate, bulged at
one side, compressed, with unequal halves; cavity narrow,
abrupt, faintly splashed with red; suture shallow, becoming
deeper toward the apex and extending considerably beyond;
apex roundish or depressed, with a mucronate tip; color
greenish-white or creamy-white, blushed and mottled with red;
pubescence short, thick, fine; skin thin, tender, adheres to
the pulp; flesh white, rayed with red near the pit, juicy,
stringy, tender, sweet, mild, pleasant flavored, aromatic; good
in quality; stone nearly free, one and one-eighth inches long,
seven-eighths inch wide, oval, plump, short-pointed at the
apex; ventral suture medium in width; dorsal suture grooved.
LATE CRAWFORD
=1.= Mas _Le Verger_ =7=:231, 232, fig. 114. 1866-73. =2.=
Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 204. 1913.
_Crawford's Superb Malacatune._ =3.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 191,
192. 1841.
_Crawford's Late Melocoton._ =4.= _Horticulturist_ =1=:12.
1846-47. =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 491. 1845. =6.= Cole _Am.
Fr. Book_ 197. 1849.
_Crawford's Late._ =7.= _Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Gr._ 51. 1848.
=8.= Hovey _Fr. Am._ =2=:9, 10, Pl. 1851. =9.= Elliott _Fr.
Book_ 273. 1854. =10.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 43. 1856. =11.=
Fulton _Peach Cult._ 194. 1908.
Late Crawford is at the head of the Crawford family, long dominant
among the several groups of American peaches and not yet equalled
by any other yellow-fleshed peaches in quality. Late Crawford, a
quarter-century ago, began to give way to Elberta because of the
greater productiveness of the Elberta tree and the showier Elberta
fruits and now, though widely distributed, is nowhere largely planted
and seems destined to pass out of cultivation as a peach of commerce.
Unproductiveness and tardiness in coming in bearing are the faults
on account of which Late Crawford is failing. Itself adapted to a
wide range of soil and climatic condition, Late Crawford, through the
recurring variations from seed, has made the Crawford family the most
cosmopolitan of the several distinct races of American peaches. Of all
the family it is most virile, more than a score of its offspring being
described in _The Peaches of New York_.
Compared with other Crawford-like peaches, Late Crawford is possibly
the best in fruit-characters, the peaches being unsurpassed in
appearance and scarcely equalled in texture of flesh and richness of
flavor. The peaches, too, are more shapely and more uniform in shape
than fruits of other Crawford varieties, being rounder, trimmer in
contour and having a suture that scarcely mars the symmetry of the
peach. In color, Late Crawford runs the whole gamut of soft tints of
red and yellow that make Melocotons and Crawfords the most beautiful of
all peaches. The trees are as vigorous, hardy, healthy and as little
susceptible to disease as any of the varieties near of kin, failing
only, as has been said, in productiveness and in coming in bearing
rather tardily. Evidently destined to pass from commercial cultivation,
Late Crawford ought long to remain one of the treasures of the home
orchard.
Late Crawford was raised by William Crawford, Middletown, New Jersey,
at least a hundred years ago, the exact date of origin, as well as
its parentage, being unknown. The variety was first brought to notice
by William Kenrick, Newton, Massachusetts, who described it in the
_American Orchardist_ under the name Crawford's Superb Malacatune.
No doubt it has a worthy line of ancestors in the old seedling
orchards of the early colonists, the fact that it is the founder of
a race indicating long-continued reproduction from seeds with little
interposition of budding. At the National Convention of Fruit-Growers
held in 1848, Late Crawford was placed in the list of recommended
fruits and since that time has held a place on the fruit-list of the
American Pomological Society. It was first listed as Crawford's Late;
later as Crawford's Late Melocoton and now appears as Late Crawford in
accordance with the Society's rules of nomenclature.
[Illustration: LATE CRAWFORD]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, not very
productive; trunk stocky, smooth; branches thick, smooth,
reddish-brown mingled with light ash-gray; branchlets long,
somewhat twiggy, dark reddish-brown overlaid with olive-green,
smooth, glabrous, with conspicuous, numerous, small, raised
lenticels.
Leaves six and seven-eighths inches long, one and three-fourths
inches wide, folded upward and curled downward, oval to
obovate-lanceolate, thick, leathery; upper surface dark
olive-green, smooth becoming rugose along the midrib; lower
surface grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped with
reddish-brown glands; petiole one-half inch long, with one to
six small, globose, reddish-brown glands variable in position.
Flower-buds tender, large, above medium in length, obtuse or
conical, plump, very pubescent, appressed or free; blossoms
open in mid-season; flowers one and one-eighth inches across,
pink, well distributed; pedicels short, medium to slender,
glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish-green, orange-colored
within, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes medium to broad,
obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent without, becoming heavily
pubescent near the edges; petals oval to ovate, notched at the
base, tapering to narrow claws which are reddish at the base;
filaments seven-sixteenths inch long, shorter than the petals;
pistil pubescent near the base, longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures late; two and three-fourths inches long, two
and eleven-sixteenths inches wide, roundish-oval, compressed,
with unequal halves; cavity deep, medium to narrow, abrupt
or flaring; suture shallow, deepening toward the apex; apex
roundish, with a slightly pointed and swollen beak-like tip;
color deep yellow, dully or brightly blushed, with the red
cheek splashed with darker red; pubescence short, fine; skin
thick, tough, separates readily from the pulp; flesh yellow,
strongly stained with red at the pit, juicy, firm but tender,
sweet but sprightly, richly flavored; very good in quality;
stone free, one and three-fourths inches long, one and
one-eighth inches wide, ovate, flattened, bulged on one side,
blunt-pointed, flattened near the base, with surfaces deeply
pitted and grooved; ventral suture deeply grooved along the
edges; dorsal suture a deep, wide groove, winged.
LATE RARERIPE
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 22. 1897. =2.= Waugh _Am. Peach
Orch._ 204. 1913. _Prince Red Rareripe._ =3.= Prince _Pom.
Man._ =2=:16. 1832. =4.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 278. 1854. _Late
Red Rareripe._ =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 486. 1845. =6.=
_Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 78. 1862.
_Rareripe Rouge Tardive._ =7.= Mas _Le Verger_ =7=:217, 218,
fig. 107. 1866-73. =8.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =6=:255 fig., 256.
1879.
_Prince._ =9.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:223. 1899.
Late Rareripe is a white-fleshed, late freestone. It is of value now
only because of its historical interest though its high quality makes
it well worth growing in gardens. Its position as a milestone in the
progress of peaches is better marked if we quote A. J. Downing[262]
who wrote in 1845 when Late Rareripe was in its prime and one of
the leading varieties: "Unquestionably one of the very finest of
all peaches. Its large size, great excellence, late maturity,
productiveness, vigor, all unite to recommend it to universal favor. We
cannot praise it too highly."
This old variety is certainly of American origin but the originator,
the time and place of origin are all unknown. It has been cultivated
more than a hundred years. Prince believed it to be a seedling of Red
Rareripe but there is nothing to be found now to verify this belief.
Late Rareripe was sent to France in 1855 where it has since been grown
as a satisfactory commercial sort. The American Pomological Society
listed this variety in its catalog in 1862 under the name Late Red
Rareripe. In 1897, the name was shortened to Late Rareripe as it now
appears.
[Illustration: LATE RARERIPE]
Tree often very large, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, of
medium productiveness; trunk stocky, nearly smooth; branches
thick, smooth, reddish-brown tinged with light ash-gray;
branchlets long, with internodes of medium length, dark
pinkish-red intermingled with dull green, glabrous, with
numerous conspicuous, large lenticels raised at the base.
Leaves six and one-half inches long, one and one-half
inches wide, folded upward and curled downward, oval to
obovate-lanceolate, thick, leathery; upper surface smooth
becoming rugose at the midrib; lower surface pale green; apex
acuminate; margin finely and often doubly serrate, tipped
with reddish-brown glands; petiole three-eighths inch long,
glandless or with one to four small, globose, reddish-brown
glands variable in position.
Flower-buds half-hardy, conical to pointed, plump, pubescent,
free; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers one and
three-sixteenths inches across, white at the center of the
petals changing to pink toward the margins, well distributed;
pedicels short, glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish-green
at the base, greenish-yellow within, obconic, glabrous;
calyx-lobes acute, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals
oval, faintly notched near the base, tapering to narrow claws
of medium length tinged with red at the base; filaments
three-eighths inch long, equal to the petals in length; pistil
pubescent near the base, usually as long as the stamens.
Fruit matures late; two and five-eighths inches long, two
and eleven-sixteenths inches wide, roundish-cordate, with
unequal surfaces; cavity variable in depth and width, abrupt
or flaring, often with twig-mark across the cavity; suture
variable in depth, extending beyond the tip; apex roundish,
mamelon or mucronate, recurved; color greenish or creamy-white,
sometimes with a lively red blush, mottled and splashed with
darker and duller red; pubescence thick, coarse; skin tough,
adherent to the pulp; flesh white, stained with red near the
pit, juicy, stringy, tender, pleasantly flavored, sweet or
somewhat sprightly; good to very good in quality; stone free or
nearly so, one and one-half inches long, one and one-sixteenth
inches wide, oval to ovate, plump, with deeply grooved
surfaces; ventral suture deeply grooved along the edges,
strongly furrowed; dorsal suture deeply grooved.
LEMON FREE
=1.= Wickson _Cal. Fruits_ 313. 1889. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Cat._ 33. 1899. =3.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:218. 1899. =4.=
Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:349. 1903. =5.= Waugh _Am.
Peach Orch._ 204. 1913.
_Lemon._ =6.= _Rural N. Y._ =47=:131. 1888. =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Cat._ 32. 1889. =8.= _Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt._ =2=:59. 1895.
Lemon Free is a yellow-fleshed, freestone, lemon-shaped, lemon-colored
peach ripening in late mid-season. The fruit is not sufficiently
attractive in appearance to sell well in the markets and, besides, is
too thin-skinned to ship or keep well. The quality is very good, the
flavor being sweet, rich and delicious, though possibly the flesh is a
little too dry to permit the variety being ranked as "very good." It
is an excellent peach for culinary purposes having the reputation of
making a handsomer canned product than any other peach. Lemon Free is
little grown in the eastern states but it is one of the leading sorts
of its season in parts of California. The color-plate shows the shape
very well but the color is not quite that of the real peach.
This variety seems to have originated in Ohio about 1885 but nothing
is known of its parentage, originator or introducer. Wickson, in
_California Fruits_, claims California as its birthplace but this, we
think, is an error. In 1889 the American Pomological Society placed
Lemon Free in its fruit-catalog as Lemon but in 1899 changed the name
to Lemon Free.
Tree very large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped,
hardy, rather unproductive; trunk thick, smooth to medium;
branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown tinged with light
ash-gray; branchlets often very long, with a tendency to
rebranch, with medium to long internodes, pinkish-red with but
a trace of green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with large, raised,
russetty lenticels medium in number.
Leaves seven inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide,
folded upward and curled downward, oval to obovate-lanceolate,
thick, leathery; upper surface dark olive-green, smooth
becoming rugose along the midrib; lower surface grayish-green;
margin finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands;
petiole three-eighths inch long, with two to six rather
large, reniform, reddish-brown glands variable in position;
flower-buds intermediate in size and length, conical to
pointed, slightly pubescent, usually free; flowers appear in
mid-season.
Fruit matures in late mid-season; two and one-half inches long,
two and five-sixteenths inches wide, roundish-oval; cavity
medium to deep, wide, flaring, often mottled with red; suture
shallow, becoming deeper at the apex and extending beyond;
apex mucronate to roundish-mamelon, recurved; color green
or golden-yellow, with a faint blush and mottled with red;
pubescence fine, long, thick; skin thin, tender, variable in
adhesion to the pulp; flesh yellow, juicy, stringy, tender and
melting, sweet to sprightly, pleasantly flavored; very good in
quality; stone semi-free to free, one and one-fourth inches
long, nearly one inch wide, oval, plump, flattened near the
base, short-pointed, the surfaces usually grooved and with few
pits; ventral suture winged, deeply marked along the edges,
narrow; dorsal suture winged, grooved.
LEVY
=1.= _Gard. Mon._ =23=:82. 1881. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 37.
1909. =3.= Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 204. 1913.
_Henrietta._ =4.= _U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt._ 380. 1858. =5.= _Cult.
& Count. Gent._ _45_:649. 1880. =6.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._ =39=:807.
1896. =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 33. 1899. =8.= Waugh _Am. Peach
Orch._ 203. 1913.
_Levy Late._ =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 92, 93. 1881. =10.=
Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 3rd App. 171. 1881. =11.= Budd-Hansen
_Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:349. 1903.
This variety ripens quite too late for any but the most favorable
peach-sections in New York. It is a round, yellow-fleshed clingstone
of very good quality and might be planted in the parts of New York,
where the season permits it to mature, for a very late culinary peach.
It is one of the favorite peaches to close the season in Southern
fruit-growing sections.
The history of Levy is badly confused. More than half a century ago
a peach called Henrietta was cultivated. Where or when the variety
originated no one can tell. In 1881, Downing mentioned a peach under
the name Levy Late as being a new, late clingstone originating in the
garden of W. W. Levy, Washington, District of Columbia. Downing gave
Henrietta as a synonym of Levy Late, as have several pomologists since.
From these facts, it seems safe to say that the variety is old, that
it was first introduced as Henrietta and that the peach which Mr. Levy
claimed to have originated was Henrietta. The American Pomological
Society, in 1899, added this peach to its fruit-list as Henrietta but
in 1909 changed the name to Levy, giving Henrietta as a synonym.
Tree large, vigorous, upright to quite spreading, hardy,
productive; trunk thick, rough; branches stocky, smooth,
reddish-brown intermingled with very light ash-gray; branchlets
slender, with internodes dark red or purplish-red mingled
with light green, smooth, glabrous, with small, numerous,
conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves six and one-half inches long, one and one-half inches
wide, oval to obovate-lanceolate, of medium thickness,
leathery; upper surface dark green, smooth becoming rugose
along the midrib; lower surface grayish-green; apex acuminate;
margin finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands;
petiole five-sixteenths inch long, with one to six small,
globose, reddish-brown glands variable in position.
[Illustration: LEMON FREE]
Flower-buds hardy, conical to pointed, plump, pubescent,
free; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers seven-eighths
inch across, with varying shades of pink, sometimes in twos;
pedicels short, medium to thick, glabrous, green; calyx-tube
reddish-green at the base, orange-colored within, somewhat
campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes short, medium to narrow,
acute, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals oval, notched
near the base, tapering to long, narrow claws often tinged with
red at the base; filaments five-sixteenths inch long, equal to
the petals in length; pistil pubescent near the base, as long
as or longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures very late; about two and one-half inches in
diameter, roundish-cordate, compressed, with very unequal
halves; cavity medium to deep, wide, abrupt to slightly
flaring, with tender skin and often twig-marked; suture deep,
extending beyond the tip; apex mamelon, recurved, a few
fruits with very large, mucronate tips; color greenish or
golden-yellow, with splashes of dull red and a lively blush
covering one cheek; pubescence short, thick, fine; skin thick,
adherent to the pulp; flesh yellow, juicy, stringy, meaty, mild
or somewhat astringent, pleasantly flavored; fair to good in
quality; stone clinging, one and one-half inches long, one inch
wide, bulged on one side, ovate to oval, plump, winged, with
surfaces marked by short, red grooves; ventral suture deeply
furrowed along the edges, wide; dorsal suture a deep groove.
LOLA
=1.= _Del. Sta. Rpt._ =13=:104. 1901. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._
37. 1909.
_Lolo._ =3.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =74=:373. 1894. =4.= _Am. Pom.
Soc. Cat._ 33. 1899. =5.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:349,
350. 1903.
_Miss Lola._ =6.= _U. S. D. A. Pom. Rpt._ 43, Pl. IV. 1895.
=7.= _Rural N. Y._ =60=:678. 1901. =8.= _N. Y. Sta. Bul._
=364=:184. 1913.
_Miss Lolo._ =9.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._ =39=:808. 1896.
Lola is a popular peach in parts of the South but is hardly known in
New York. On the Station grounds it is the best of its season and one
of the best of all white-fleshed peaches. Moreover, it fills a gap in
the peach procession that ought to make it valuable in this State.
It follows Mamie Ross and Greensboro, both of which it surpasses in
appearance and quality. It precedes Champion and is even better than
that handsome and delicious peach. Since it ripens with the well-known
Carman, fruit-growers will want to know how it compares with that
variety. It is hardier in bud than Carman, that sort not having a
single fruit after the cold winter of 1911-12 while Lola bore a fair
crop; the fruit is of better quality, larger, hardly as well colored
and on the Station grounds the tree is more productive. Attention of
New York peach-growers was called to Lola, in words almost identical
with those here used, in Bulletin 364 from this Station, published in
1913, with the result that it is now being tried in several parts of
the State and we shall soon know what its commercial value is this far
north.
The parentage of Lola is unknown. The variety originated from seed
planted in 1876 by J. W. Stubenrauch, Mexia, Texas, who named it Miss
Lola in honor of his daughter. The American Pomological Society listed
Lola in its catalog in 1899 as "Lolo." In 1909, however, the spelling
was changed to Lola as it is correctly written.
[Illustration: LOLA]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, hardy,
productive; trunk thick, smooth; branches stocky, smooth,
reddish-brown with a light tinge of ash-gray; branchlets very
long, with internodes of medium length, dark pinkish-red
intermingled with pale green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with
conspicuous, numerous, small, raised lenticels.
Leaves six inches long, one and one-half inches wide, variable
in position, oval to obovate-lanceolate, thin; upper surface
dull, dark green; lower surface silvery-green; apex acuminate;
margin finely serrate to nearly crenate, glandular; petiole
three-eighths inch long, with one to five reniform glands
usually on the petiole.
Flower-buds hardy, obtuse, very plump, heavily pubescent,
appressed or free; blossoms open early; flowers nearly two
inches across, light to dark pink, usually in twos; pedicels
short, slender, glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish-green
at the base, greenish-yellow within, somewhat campanulate,
glabrous; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent
without; petals ovate, deeply indented near the base, faintly
crenate, tapering to narrow claws; filaments one-half inch
long, shorter than the petals; pistil, pubescent near the base,
equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures in early mid-season; two and three-eighths
inches long, two and one-half inches wide, round-oval, usually
somewhat oblique, compressed, with nearly equal halves; cavity
deep, wide, abrupt, with tender skin; suture shallow, deepening
toward the tip; apex small, mucronate, roundish or somewhat
depressed; color creamy-white blushed with carmine deepened by
a few dark splashes; pubescence short, thin; skin thin, tough,
separating from the pulp; flesh white, rayed with red near the
pit, very juicy, tender and melting, sweet, with a pleasant
sprightliness; good in quality; stone semi-free to free, one
and three-eighths inches long, fifteen-sixteenths inch wide,
obovate, plump, abruptly pointed, with corrugated and pitted
surfaces; ventral suture wide, winged, deeply furrowed along
the edges; dorsal suture a deep, narrow groove.
MAMIE ROSS
=1.= _Can. Hort._ =17=:346. 1894. =2.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._
=39=:807, 808 fig. =8.= 1896. =3.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =42=:238.
1898. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 33. 1899. =5.= _Del. Sta. Rpt._
=13=:104, 105. 1901. =6.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:351.
1903. =7.= Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 205. 1913.
Mamie Ross seems to have a very good reputation as a table and market
peach in Texas and other parts of the South but is hardly worth
growing in New York. The fruit has two bad faults: The quality is not
high--the flesh being coarse, juicy and insipid in flavor; and the
peaches bruise with the least possible handling so that they cannot be
shipped to advantage. On the Station grounds the pubescence, too, is
so abundant as to be objectionable. Mamie Ross comes at a season when
there are many other good mid-season, white-fleshed peaches and may,
therefore, be thrown out of the list for this region. It is, as the
color-plate shows, a very handsome peach.
Mamie Ross is probably a seedling of Chinese Cling. It originated about
1881 with Captain A. J. Ross, Dallas, Texas. The variety soon attracted
attention and neighbors began propagating it. Later, Mr. Ross' brother
named the peach after the originator's youngest daughter. In 1899, the
American Pomological Society added the variety to its fruit-list.
[Illustration: MAMIE ROSS]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading to somewhat drooping,
open-topped, hardy, productive; trunk thick, smooth; branches
stocky, smooth, reddish-brown with light ash-gray; branchlets
very long, with long internodes, dark red with considerable
olive-green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with numerous
conspicuous, raised lenticels variable in size.
Leaves six and three-fourths inches long, one and three-fourths
inches wide, variable in position, oval to obovate-lanceolate,
thick, leathery; upper surface dark green, smooth becoming
rugose along the midrib; lower surface grayish-green; margin
finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole
three-eighths inch long, with none to five small, globose and
reniform, reddish-brown glands variable in position.
Flower-buds semi-hardy, obtuse to pointed, plump, heavily
pubescent, free or appressed; blossoms open early; flowers
one and three-fourths inches across, pink, single; pedicels
very short, medium to thick, glabrous, green; calyx-tube
reddish-green at the base, greenish-yellow within, obconic,
glabrous; calyx-lobes acute or obtuse, glabrous within, heavily
pubescent without; petals oval to obovate, entire except near
the base, tapering to narrow claws often red at the base;
filaments one-half inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil
pubescent at the base, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures in early mid-season; two and one-half inches
long, two and seven-eighths inches wide, roundish-oval to
oblong, often bulged on one side, compressed, usually with
sides equal; cavity deep, abrupt, often marked with streaks of
red; suture variable in depth; apex small, mucronate, set in
a slight depression; color pale yellowish-cream, with more or
less dull or bright red in which are splashes of darker red;
pubescence short, fine, thick; skin thin, tough, separates from
the pulp; flesh white, streaked with red near the pit, very
juicy, stringy, tender, melting, sweet or somewhat sprightly,
pleasantly flavored; good in quality; stone semi-cling or
cling, one and five-eighths inches long, one inch wide, ovate
to long-elliptical, plump, long-pointed, bulged on one side,
with pitted and grooved surfaces; ventral suture deeply grooved
along the edges, narrow, winged; dorsal suture grooved.
MAY LEE
=1.= _Del. Sta. Rpt._ =13=:105. 1901. =2.= Stark Bros. _Cat._
fig. 1904. =3.= _Ibid._ 62 fig. 4, 63. 1910.
May Lee is a very early white-fleshed, clingstone, pink-cheeked peach
introduced to rival Alexander, Triumph and other extra early sorts. It
fails, on the Station grounds at least, because the peaches run small,
the flesh clings too tenaciously and the stones crack. Neither is the
fruit attractive in color nor high in quality. It may be as good in
quality as Alexander or Triumph but is no better. The variety is but
doubtfully worth planting in New York.
May Lee originated with E. W. Kirkpatrick, McKinney, Texas, from a seed
of Mamie Ross planted in 1896.
[Illustration: MAY LEE]
Tree large, spreading, low-growing, very productive; trunk
thick, smooth; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown with
light ash-gray; branchlets slender, often inclined to rebranch,
medium to long, with internodes dark pinkish-red intermingled
with olive-green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with numerous
conspicuous, raised lenticels medium in size.
Leaves six and one-half inches long, one and three-fourths
inches wide, flattened or curled downward, oval to
obovate-lanceolate, rather thick, leathery; upper surface dark
green, smooth becoming rugose along the midrib; margin crenate,
tipped with small, reddish glands; petiole three-eighths inch
long, glandless or with one to five large, reniform glands
variable in color and position.
Flower-buds hardy, small, short, conical, plump, very
pubescent, appressed or free; blossoms open in mid-season;
flowers nearly two inches across, light pink; pedicels very
short, of medium thickness, glabrous; calyx-tube greenish-red,
campanulate; calyx-lobes obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent
without; petals round or broadly ovate, notched near the base,
tapering to 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 early; about two and three-fourths inches in
diameter, round, compressed, bulged along one size, with
unequal halves; cavity deep, narrow, abrupt; suture variable
in depth, extending beyond the tip; apex small, mucronate,
depressed; color creamy-white, usually with a blush toward the
apex; tomentose; skin thick, tough, semi-free to free; flesh
white, very juicy, tender and melting, sweet, mild, pleasantly
flavored; good in quality; stone semi-clinging to clinging,
one and nine-sixteenths inches long, one and one-eighth inches
wide, oval, conspicuously winged, flattened near the base, with
deeply grooved surfaces; ventral suture thin, winged, very
deeply grooved along the edges; dorsal suture grooved.
MORRIS WHITE
=1.= _Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Gr._ 39, 51. 1848. =2.= Elliott _Fr.
Book_ 276. 1854. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 22. 1897. =4.=
_Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:220. 1899. =5.= Fulton _Peach Cult._
190, 191. 1908.
_White Rareripe._ =6.= Coxe _Cult. Fr. Trees_ 222. 1817. =7.=
Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:26. 1832.
_Morris White Freestone._ =8.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ =6=:410.
1826. =9.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 189. 1846.
_Morris White Rareripe._ =10.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 481.
1845.
_Blanche de Morris._ =11.= Mas _Le Verger_ =7=:171, 172, fig.
84. 1866-73.
_Morris Blanche._ =12.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =6=:171 fig., 172.
1879.
Morris White is one of the ancients of American peach-orchards worth
noticing now only because of its worthy past. It is distinguished among
peach varieties by its white flesh--white clear to the pit with no
trace of red even on the surface or next to the stone. It is further
distinguished by its sweet, rich flavor--giving it high rank among the
best of peaches--and by the great productiveness of the trees. Though
undoubtedly the day of Morris White is passed for either commercial or
home orchards, it might still be used advantageously in breeding late,
white-fleshed, freestone peaches.
William Robert Prince,[263] in his _Pomological Manual_, describes
a White Rareripe which he claims originated in the nursery of his
grandfather and which can be no other than the Morris White under
discussion. The origin of the variety will always be in doubt but
probably the elder Prince originated it in the latter part of the
Eighteenth Century. Leroy has confused the history of Morris White
with that of Red Rareripe, commonly called Morris Red Rareripe, which
probably originated with Robert Morris, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Leroy questions the identity of the White Rareripe mentioned by Coxe
but, although the season of Coxe's sort is a trifle earlier than
Leroy's, the two are probably the same. There was a White Rareripe
grown for a short time in America many years ago which proved to be
the old French Nivette renamed. Nivette was not widely disseminated
and probably has long since passed from cultivation in America. Morris
White was reported upon at the National Convention of Fruit-Growers
in 1848 and received a place in the list of recommended fruits.
It continued to be listed in the American Pomological Society's
fruit-catalog until 1891 when it was dropped but was replaced in 1897
and still remains there.
[Illustration: MORRIS WHITE]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading to drooping,
dense-topped, productive; trunk intermediate in thickness and
smoothness; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown with very
light tinge of ash-gray; branchlets long, with long internodes,
dark red mingled with green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with
many conspicuous, small, raised lenticels at the base.
Leaves six and three-fourths inches long, one and
three-fourths inches wide, flat or curled downward, oval to
obovate-lanceolate, leathery; upper surface dull, dark green,
smooth; lower surface grayish-green; apex long, acuminate;
margin finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands;
petiole three-eighths inch long, with one to five small,
globose and reniform glands variable in color and position.
Flower-buds tender, obtuse to conical, plump, very pubescent,
usually free; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers less
than an inch across, pale pink, deepening in color along the
edges; pedicels short, thick, glabrous, green; calyx-tube
greenish-red, greenish-yellow within, campanulate, glabrous;
calyx-lobes narrow, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals
oval, narrow; filaments three-eighths inch long, equal to the
petals in length; pistil longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures late; two and one-sixteenth inches long, two and
one-eighth inches wide, cordate-oval or oblate, compressed,
with halves nearly equal; cavity abrupt or flaring; suture a
line, becoming deeper toward the tip; apex roundish, depressed
in the suture, with mucronate tip; color pale white, usually
without blush or with a faint bronze blush; pubescence heavy,
long and coarse; skin thin, tough, somewhat adherent; flesh
white, juicy, tender and melting, sweet, pleasantly flavored;
good in quality; stone semi-free to nearly free, one and
one-fourth inches long, seven-eighths inch wide, oval to
slightly obovate, flattened near the base, with deeply grooved
surfaces; ventral suture with deep grooves along the edges,
furrowed; dorsal suture grooved.
MOUNTAIN ROSE
=1.= Tilton _Jour. Hort._ =7=:339 fig. 1870. =2.= _Am. Pom.
Soc. Cat._ 18. 1871. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 1st App. 121.
1872. =4.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 33, 261. 1874. =5.= _N. J.
Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 41. 1878. =6.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =42=:239. 1898.
=7.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:220. 1899. =8.= Budd-Hansen _Am.
Hort. Man._ =2=:352. 1903. =9.= Fulton _Peach Cult._ 174. 1908.
For many years Mountain Rose was preeminent among white-fleshed,
freestone peaches by virtue of high quality and handsome appearance.
It has a distinct and curious but delicious flavor--a sort of scented
sweetness that appeals to all who appreciate choicely good fruit.
Unfortunately, it fails in the chief requirement for popularity in
these days of commercial fruit-growing--the trees are unproductive, a
fault so marked that the variety is rapidly passing from cultivation.
Mountain Rose sells well in all markets where it is known, usually
bringing a fancy price because of its extra good quality and because it
follows closely after the dozen or more white-fleshed, clingstones of
poorer quality.
The variety originated about 1851 on the farm of a Dr. Marvin,
Morristown, New Jersey. Of its parentage nothing is known. Mountain
Rose has always been considered a good market variety and has been
widely disseminated. The American Pomological Society added this peach
to its fruit-list in 1871, a place it has since held.
[Illustration: MOUNTAIN ROSE]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, low-growing and
dense-topped, rather unproductive; trunk thick, medium in
smoothness; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown covered with
light ash-gray; branchlets thick, long, with internodes of
medium length, dark red intermingled with olive-green, glossy,
smooth, glabrous, with numerous conspicuous, large and small
lenticels raised near the base.
Leaves six and three-fourths inches long, one and five-eighths
inches wide, flattened or curled downward, oval to
obovate-lanceolate, thick, leathery; upper surface dull, dark
green; lower surface grayish-green; apex long-acuminate; margin
finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole
seven-sixteenths inch long, with two to four small, globose,
reddish-brown glands variable in position; flower-buds conical
to pointed, plump, very pubescent, usually appressed; blossoms
appear in mid-season; flowers small.
Fruit matures in early mid-season; two and one-eighth inches
long, two and one-fourth inches wide, roundish-oblate to
slightly cordate; cavity intermediate in depth and width,
flaring to abrupt, often twig-marked; suture shallow, becoming
deeper toward the tip; apex roundish, depressed in the suture,
with mucronate or sometimes mamelon tip; color creamy-white
blushed with deep red, with a few splashes of darker red;
pubescence long, thick; skin thin, tough, variable in adhesion;
flesh white, stained red near the pit, juicy, tender and
melting, sweet, mild, pleasantly flavored; good to very good
in quality; stone free, one and one-fourth inches long,
seven-eighths inch wide, oval to ovate, plump, bulged on one
side, contracted toward the base, tapering to a short point,
usually with small pits in the surfaces; ventral suture deeply
grooved along the sides, furrowed; dorsal suture grooved,
faintly winged.
Muir
=1.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 314. 1889. =2.= Wickson _Cal.
Fruits_ 312, fig. 1889. =3.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =42=:239. 1898.
=4.=_ Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 34. 1899. =5.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._
=169=:221. 1899. =6.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:352.
1903.
As a rule, peaches originating in California find small favor in New
York. California peaches are selected for canning, evaporating and
shipping, whereas New York varieties are dessert fruits. Muir is a
California sort suitable only for culinary purposes--attractive enough
inside but so unattractive externally that it could tempt no one who
did not know the fruit to be sweet and delicious in flavor. It is a
late mid-season, yellow-fleshed, freestone peach much used by canners
on the Pacific slope. It ought to be more generally grown for the same
purpose in the East; for, as a canned product, it is hardly surpassed
in appearance or quality. The trees are vigorous, productive and little
subject to leaf-curl but the fruits in New York are often marred by
peach-scab. The variety seems perfectly at home in this State as,
seemingly, it is in most peach-regions. In fruit-characters, Muir is
very similar to Wager.
The variety was found more than twenty-five years ago on the farm
of John Muir, near Silveyville, California. G. W. Thissell, Winters,
California, named and introduced Muir. The American Pomological Society
added this peach to its fruit-list in 1899.
[Illustration: MUIR]
Tree vigorous, upright or somewhat spreading, hardy,
productive; trunk rough; branches smooth, ash-gray over
reddish-brown; branchlets slender, long, with short internodes,
dark pinkish-red with but a trace of green, smooth, glabrous,
with inconspicuous, small, raised lenticels.
Leaves fall early in the season, six and three-fourths inches
long, one and three-eighths inches wide, flat or somewhat
curled downward, oval-lanceolate, leathery; upper surface dull,
dark green, nearly smooth; lower surface olive-green; apex
acuminate; margin bluntly serrate, tipped with reddish-brown
glands; petiole seven-sixteenths inch long, with one to five
large, reniform glands variable in position.
Flower-buds small, short, obtuse, very plump, heavily
pubescent, appressed; blossoms open late; flowers seven-eighths
inch across; pale pink, darker about the edges, usually
singly; pedicels short, green; calyx-tube reddish-green,
orange-red within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes short,
obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals narrow-oval
or ovate, tapering to claws of medium width; filaments
three-eighths inch long, equal to the petals in length; pistil
as long as the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; two and three-fourths inches
long, two and three-eighths inches wide, roundish-cordate
or oval, slightly angular, compressed, with unequal halves;
cavity shallow, contracted about the sides, abrupt or flaring;
suture medium in depth; apex pointed, with a large, recurved,
mamelon tip; color greenish or lemon-yellow, with little if
any blush; pubescence heavy, long; skin thin, tough, separates
from the pulp when fully ripe; flesh yellow, faintly tinged
with red near the pit, dry, coarse, tender, sweet, mild; good
in quality; stone free, one and seven-sixteenths inches long,
fifteen-sixteenths inch wide, ovate, flattened, wedge-shape
toward the base, tapering to a long apex, with large pits and
a few small grooves in the surfaces; ventral suture deeply
grooved along the sides, very wide, deeply furrowed; dorsal
suture widely and deeply grooved.
NIAGARA
=1.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 115. 1900. =2.= Budd-Hansen
_Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:352, 353. 1903. =3.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ 24. 1904. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 38. 1909. =5.= _N. Y.
Sta. Bul._ =403=:213, 214, Pl. 1915.
_Newark Seedling_. =6.= _Del. Sta. Rpt._ =5=:99. 1892.