Online Encyclopedia

line called the suture. The nectarine is a variation from the peach, mainly characterized by the circumstance that, while the skin of the ripe fruit is downy in the peach, it is shining and destitute of hairs in the nectarine. That there is no essential difference between the two is, however, shown by the facts that the seeds of the peach will produce nectarines, and See also:

VICE

vice versa, and that it is not very uncommon, though still exceptional, to see peaches and nectarines on the same See also:

BRANCH (from the Fr. branche, late Lat. branca, an animal's paw)

branch, and fruits which combine in them-selves the characteristics of both nectarines and peaches. The blossoms of the peach are formed the autumn previous to their expansion, and this fact, together with the peculiarities of their form and position, requires to be borne in mind by the gardener in his pruning and training operations.

The only point of See also:

PRACTICAL

practical See also:

INTEREST

interest requiring mention here is the very singular fact attested by all peach-growers, that, while certain peaches are liable to the attacks of See also:

MILDEW (0. Eng. meledeaw or mildeaw, explained as " meal-dew," cf. Ger. Me/zit/tau, with more probability, as " honey-dew," Goth. melith, honey, cf. Lat. mel, Gr. µEX)

mildew, others are not. In the See also:

case of the peach this peculiarity is in some way connected with the presence of small glandular outgrowths on the stalk, or at the base of the See also:

LEAF (O. Eng. leaf, cf. Dutch loof, Ger. Laub, Swed. lof, &c.; possibly to be referred to the root seen in Gr. Ma-eta, to peel, strip)

leaf. Some peaches have globular, others reniform glands, others none at all, and these latter trees are much more subject to mildew than are those provided with glands. The See also:

HISTORY

history of the peach, almond and nectarine is interesting and important as regards the question of the origin of See also:

SPECIES

species andthe See also:

PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production and perpetuation of varieties. As to the origin of the peach two views are held, that of See also:

ALPHONSE, COUNT OF TOULOUSE AND OF POITIERS (I220-1271)

Alphonse de See also:

CANDOLLE, AUGUSTIN PYRAME DE (1778—1841)

Candolle, who attributes all cultivated varieties to a distinct species, probably of See also:

CHINESE, JAPANESE AND

Chinese origin, and that adopted by many naturalists, but more especially by See also:

Darwin, who looks upon the peach as a modification of the almond. In the first See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place, the peach as we now know it has been nowhere recognized in the See also:

WILD, JONATHAN (c. 1682-1725)

wild See also:

state. In the few instances where it is said to have been found wild the probabilities are that the tree was an See also:

ESCAPE (in mid. Eng. eschape or escape, from the O. Fr. eschapper, modern echapper, and escaper, low Lat. escapium, from ex, out of, and cappa, cape, cloak; cf. for the sense development the Gr. iichueoOat, literally to put off one's clothes, hence to sli

escape from cultivation. Aitchison, however, gathered in the Hazardarakht See also:

RAVINE

ravine in See also:

AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan a form with different-shaped fruit from that of the almond, being larger and flatter. " The See also:

SURFACE

surface of the fruit," he observes, " resembles that of the peach in texture and See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour; and the See also:

nut is quite distinct from that of the wild almond. The whole See also:

SHRUB

shrub resembles more what one might consider a wild form of the peach than that of the almond." It is admitted, however, by all competent botanists that the almond is wild in the hotter and drier parts of the Mediterranean and Levan-tine regions. Aitchison also mentions the alrnond as wild in some parts of Afghanistan, where it is known to the natives as " bedam," the same word that they apply to the cultivated almond. The branches of the tree are carried by the priests in religious ceremonies.

It is not known as a wild plant in See also:

CHINA

China or See also:

JAPAN

Japan. As to the nectarine, of its origin as a variation from the peach there is abundant See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence, as has already been mentioned ; it is only requisite to add the very important fact that the seeds of the nectarine, even when that nectarine has been produced by bud-variation from a peach, will generally produce nectarines, or, as gardeners say, " come true." Darwin brings together the records of several cases, not only of gradations between peaches and nectarines, but also of inter-mediate forms between the peach and the almond. So far as we know, however, no case has yet been recorded of a peach or a nectarine producing an almond, or vice versa, although if all have had a See also:

COMMON

common origin such an event might be expected. Thus the botanical evidence seems to indicate that the wild almond is the source of cultivated almonds, peaches and nectarines, and consequently that the peach was introduced from See also:

ASIA

Asia See also:

Minor or See also:

PERSIA

Persia, whence the name Persica given to the peach; and Aitchison's See also:

DISCOVERY

discovery in Afghanistan of a form which reminded him of a wild peach lends additional force to this view. On the other See also:

hand, Alphonse de Candolle, from philological and other considerations, considers the peach to be of Chinese origin. The peach has not, it is true, been found wild in China, but it has been cultivated there from See also:

time immemorial; it has entered into the literature and folk-See also:

lore of the See also:

PEOPLE

people; and it is designated by a distinct name, " to " or " tan," a word found in the writings of See also:

CONFUCIUS [K'ung tsze] (550 or 551-478 B.C.)

Confucius five centuries before See also:

Christ, and even in other writings dating from the loth See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century before the See also:

Christian era. Though now cultivated in See also:

India, and almost wild in some parts of the See also:

north-See also:

west, and, as we have seen, probably also in Afghanistan, it has no See also:

SANSKRIT

Sanskrit name; it is not mentioned in the See also:

HEBREW

Hebrew See also:

TEXT (Lat. textum, woven fabric, from texere, to weave)

text of the Scriptures, nor in the earliest See also:

Greek times. See also:

XENOPHON

Xenophon makes no mention of the peach, though the Ten Thousand must have traversed the See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country where, according to some, the peach is native; but See also:

THEOPHRASTUS

Theophrastus, a See also:

HUNDRED

hundred years later, does speak of it as a See also:

Persian fruit, and De Candolle suggests that it might have been introduced into See also:

GREECE

Greece by See also:

Alexander. According to his view, the seeds of the peach, cultivated for ages in China, might have been carried by the Chinese into See also:

KASHMIR, or CASHMERE

Kashmir, See also:

Bokhara, and Persia between the See also:

period of the Sanskrit See also:

EMIGRATION (from Lat. emigrare; e, ex, out of, and migrare, to depart)

emigration and the Graeco-Persian period. Once established, its cultivation would readily extend westward, or, on the other hand, by Cabul to north-western India, where its cultivation is not See also:

ancient. While the peach has been cultivated in China for thousands of years, the almond does not grow wild in that country and its introduction is supposed not to go back farther than the Christian era. On the whole, greater See also:

WEIGHT

weight is due to the evidence from botanical See also:

SOURCES

sources than to that derived from See also:

PHILOLOGY

philology, particularly since the discovery both of the wild almond and of a form like a wild peach in Afghanistan.

It may, however, well be that both peach and almond are derived from some pre-existing and now See also:

EXTINCT

extinct form whose descendants have spread over the whole geographic See also:

AREA

area mentioned; but this is a See also:

mere See also:

SPECULATION

speculation, though indirect evidence in its support might be obtained from the nectarine, of which no mention is made in ancient literature, and which, as we have seen, originates from the peach and reproduces itself by seed, thus offering the characteristics of a species in the See also:

ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act of developing itself. The treatment in See also:

horticulture of the peach and nectarine is the same in every respect. To perpetuate and multiply the choicer varieties, peaches and nectarines are budded upon plum or almond See also:

STOCKS

stocks. For dry situations almond stocks are preferable, but they are not long-lived, while for See also:

DAMP

damp or clayey barns it is better to use certain kinds of plums. See also:

Double-working is some-times beneficial; thus an almond budded on a plum stock may be rebudded with a See also:

TENDER

tender peach, greatly to the See also:

ADVANTAGE

advantage of the latter. The peach border should be composed of turfy mellow m s, Stone or endocarp, within which is the seed or Kernel. See also:

LOAM (O.E. lam; the word appears in Dut. leem and Ger. Lehm; the ultimate origin is the root lai-, meaning " to be sticky," which is seen in the cognate " lime," Lat. limus, mud, clay)

loam, such as is suitable for the See also:

VINE

vine and the fig; this should be used in as rough a state as possible, or not broken small and See also:

FINE

fine. The bottom should slope towards the outer edge, where a drain should be cut, with an outlet, and on this sloping bottom should be laid a thickness of from 9 in. to 12 in. of rough materials, such as broken bricks or See also:

MORTAR

mortar rubbish, over which should be placed a layer of rough See also:

TURF

turf with the grassy See also:

side downwards, and then the See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good loamy See also:

SOIL

soil to form the border, which should have a See also:

DEPTH

depth of about 2 ft. 6 in. The peach-tree is most productive when the roots are kept near the surface, and the See also:

BORDERS, THE

borders, which should be from 8 ft. to See also:

R2(rt-s2)

r2 ft. wide, should not be cropped heavily with culinary vegetables, as deep trenching is very injurious. Sickly and unfruitful trees may often be revived by bringing up their roots within 5 or 6 in. of the surface. It is questionable whether it is not better, in See also:

COLD (in O. Eng. cald and ceald, a word coming ultimately from a root cognate with the Lat. gelu, gelidus, and common in the Teutonic languages, which usually have two distinct forms for the substantive and the adjective, cf. Ger. Kolte, kalt, Dutch koude

cold soils and See also:

BLEAK, or BLICK (Alburnus lucidus)

bleak situations, to abandon outdoor peach culture, and to See also:

COVER (from the Fr. convert, from couvrir, to cover, Lat. cooperire)

cover the walls with a casing of See also:

glass, so that the trees may be under shelter during the uncongenial See also:

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring See also:

WEATHER (O. Eng. weder; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Du. weder, Dan. veir, Icel. ve8r, and Ger. Wetter and Gewitter, storm; the root is wa- to blow, from which is derived " wind ")

weather.

The fruit of the peach is produced on the ripened shoots of the preceding year. If these be too luxuriant, they yield nothing but Leaves; and if too weak, they are incapable of developing See also:

flower buds. To furnish See also:

young shoots in sufficient abundance, and of requisite strength, is the great See also:

OBJECT

object of peach training and pruning. Trees of slender-growing, twiggy See also:

HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit naturally fall most readily into the See also:

FAN (Lat. vannus; Fr. eventail)

fan form of training, and accordingly this has generally been adopted in the culture of peaches and nectarines (fig. 2). The young tree is, in many cases, procured when it has been trained for two or three years in the nursery; but it is generally better to begin with a See also:

MAIDEN, or MAID

maiden plant—that is, a plant of the first year after it has been budded. It is then in See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary practice headed down to five or six buds, and in the following summer from two to four shoots, according to the vigour of the plant, are trained in, the laterals from which, if any, are thinned out and nailed to the See also:

wall. If there are four branches, the two central ones are shortened back at the subsequent See also:

winter pruning so as to produce others, the two See also:

LOWER

lower ones being laid in nearly at full length. In the following See also:

SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season additional shoots are sent forth; and the See also:

PROCESS

process is repeated till eight or ten See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal limbs or See also:

MOTHER

mother branches are obtained, forming, as it were, the See also:

FRAME

frame-See also:

WORK

work of the future tree. The branches may be depressed or elevated, so as to check or encourage them, as occasion may arise; and it is highly advantageous to keep them thin, without their becoming in any part deficient of young shoots. Sometimes a more rapid mode of formation is now adopted, the See also:

main shoots being from the first laid in nearly at full length, instead of being shortened. The pruning for fruit consists in shortening back the laterals which had been nailed in at the disbudding, or summer pruning, their length depending on their individual vigour and the luxuriance of the tree.

In well-See also:

DEVELOPED

developed shoots the buds are generally double, or rather triple, a See also:

wood bud growing between two fruit buds; the shoot must be cut back to one of these, or else to a wood bud alone, so that a young shoot may be produced to draw up the See also:

sap beyond the fruit, this being generally desirable to secure its proper swelling. The point of this leading shoot is subsequently pinched off, that it may not draw away too much of the sap. If the fruit sets too abundantly, it must be thinned, first when as large as peas, reducing the clusters, and then when as large as nuts to distribute the See also:

CROP (a word common. in various forms, such as Germ. Kropf, to many Teutonic languages for a swelling, excrescence, round head or top of anything; it appears also in Romanic languages derived from Teutonic, in Fr. as troupe, whence the English " crupper "

crop equally; the ex-See also:

TENT

tent of the thinning must depend on the vigour of the tree, but one or two fruits ultimately See also:

LEFT

left to each square See also:

FOOT

foot of wall is a full See also:

AVERAGE

average crop. The final thinning should take place after stoning. The best-placed healthy young shoot produced from the wood buds at the base of the bearing branch is to be carefully preserved and in due time nailed to the wall. In the following winter this will take the place of the branch which has just borne, and which is to be cut out. If there be no young shoot below, and the bearing branch is See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short, the shoot at the point of the latter may sometimes be preserved as a fruit See also:

BEARER

bearer, though if the bearing branch be long it is better to cut it back for young wood. It is the neglect of this which constitutes the principal See also:

FAULT (Mid. Eng. faute, through the French, from the popular Latin use of fallere, to fail; the originallof the Latin being replaced in English in the 15th century)

fault in carrying out the See also:

ENGLISH

English fan See also:

SYSTEM

system, as it is usually practised. Several times during summer the trees ought to be regularly examined, and the young shoots respectively topped or thinned out; those that remain are to be nailed to the wall, or braced in with pieces of slender twigs, and the trees ought occasionally to be washed with the See also:

GARDEN (from O. Fr. garden, mod. Fr. jardin; this, like our words " garth," a paddock attached to a building, and " yard," comes from a Teutonic word for an enclosure which appears in Gothic as gards and O. H. Ger. gart, cf. Dutch gaarde and Ger. .garten)

garden See also:

engine or thoroughly syringed, especially during very hot summers. After gathering the fruit all the wood not needed for extending the treeor for fruit bearing next season should be cut out so as to give the shoots left full exposure to See also:

air and See also:

LIGHT

light. The See also:

MONTREUIL, GERBERT DE (fl. 13th century)

Montreuil form of training is represented by fig. 2.

The principal feature is the suppression of the See also:

DIRECT

direct channel of the sap, and the substitution of four, or more commonly two, mother branches, so laid to the wall than the central See also:

ANGLE (from the Lat. angulus, a corner, a diminutive, of which the primitive form, angus, does not occur in Latin; cognate are the Lat. angere, to compress into a bend or to strangle, and the Gr. ayKOS, a bend; both connected with the Aryan root ank-, to

angle contains about 9o°. The other branches are all treated as subordinate members. This form is open to the objection that, if the under branch should See also:

die, the upper one cannot be brought down into its place. The form a la Dumoutier (fig. 3), so called from its inventor, is merely a refinement on the Montreuil method. The formation of the tree begins with the inferior limbs and proceeds towards the centre, the branches being lowered from time to time as the tree acquires strength. What is most worthy of See also:

NOTICE

notice in this method is the management of the subordinates in the pruning for fruit. When a shoot promises blossom, it is generally at some distance from the point of insertion into the old wood, and the inter-mediate space is covered with wood buds. All the latter, therefore, which are between the old wood a and the blossoms c in fig. 4, except the lowest b, are carefully removed by rubbing them off with the FIG. 4.—Pruning a la See also:

FINGER

finger. This never fails to produce of the sap is not suppressed, and this results in the production of branches of unequal vigour, which is very undesirable.

For cold and See also:

LATE

late situations, See also:

Thomas See also:

Andrew See also:

Knight recommended the encouragement of spurs on the young wood, as such spurs, when See also:

close to the wall, generate the best organized and most vigorous blossoms, and generally ensure a crop of fruit. They may be produced, by taking care, during the summer pruning or disbudding, to preserve a number of the little shoots emitted by the yearly wood, only pinching off the See also:

minute succulent points. On the spurs thus formed blossom buds will be developed See also:

early in the following season. This practice is well adapted to cold situations. Peach-trees require See also:

PROTECTION

protection, especially at the period of blossoming, particularly in the north of See also:

England and in See also:

Scotland. See also:

CANVAS

Canvas or See also:

bunting screens are most effectual. By applying these early in the season, great benefit may be derived from retarding the blossom till the frosty nights of spring have passed. Wooden and glass copings are also very useful in warding off frosts. Care must be taken that the roots always have a sufficient See also:

SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply of moisture and that the soil is moist wherever the roots run. Forcing.—The pruning and training of the trees in the peach See also:

house do not differ materially from the methods practised out of doors. It may also be stated here that when occasion arises peach-trees well furnished with buds may be transplanted and forced immediately without risking the crop of fruit, a See also:

MATTER

matter of some importance when, as sometimes happens, a tree may accidentally fail. In the forcing of peaches See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire See also:

HEAT (0. E. haktu, which like " hot," Old Eng. hat, is from the Teutonic type haita, hit, to be hot; cf. Ger. hitze, heiss; Dutch, hitte, heet, &c.)

heat is commonly applied about See also:

DECEMBER (Lat. decent, ten)

December or See also:

JANUARY

January; but it may, where there is a demand, begin a See also:

month sooner.

The trees must be got to start growth very a shoot d, the growth of which is Dumoutier. favoured by destroying the useless spray e above the blossoms, and pinching off the points of those which are necessary to perfect the fruit. A replacing shoot is thus obtained, to which the whole is invariably shortened at the end of the year. See also:

Seymour's form (fig. 5) approaches more nearly to the See also:

French method than any other practised in England; but the direct channel gradually, and at first the house should be merely kept closed at a temperature of about 45° but the heat should gradually increase to 50° at See also:

NIGHT

night by the time the trees are in flower, and to 6o° when the fruit is set, after which the house should be kept moist by sprinkling the walls and paths, or by placing See also:

WATER

water troughs on the return pipes, and the temperature should range from 65° by See also:

day to 70° or more with See also:

sun heat. After the fruit has set, the foliage should be refreshed and cleansed by the daily use of the See also:

SYRINGE (Gr. ovpryE, reed, pipe)

syringe or garden engine. When the fruit has stoned—that is, as soon as the kernels have been formed—the temperature should be raised to about 65° as a minimum, and to 70°, with 75° by sun heat, as a maximum. Water must now be copiously supplied to the border, and air admitted in abundance, but cold See also:

DRAUGHTS (from AS. dragan, to draw)

draughts which favour the attack of mildew must be avoided. After the end of See also:

APRIL

April little fire heat is required. When the fruit begins to ripen, syringing must be discontinued till the crop is gathered, after which the syringe must be again occasionally used. If the leaves should happen to shade the fruit, not only during the ripening process but at any time after the stoning period, they should be gently turned aside, for, in See also:

order that the fruit may acquire good colour and flavour, it should be freely exposed to light and air when ripening; it will See also:

bear the direct rays of the sun, even if they should rise to too°, but nectarines are much more liable to damage than peaches. The trees often suffer from mildew, which is best prevented by keeping the borders of the peach house clear and sufficiently moist and the house well ventilated, and if it should appear the trees should be sprayed with t oz. See also:

POTASSIUM [symbol K (from kalium), atomic weight 39.114 0=16)]

potassium sulphide dissolved in 3 gallons of water. Care must be taken in using this fungicide not to wet the painted wood, as it is sure to become discoloured.

Peaches and nectarines are frequently cultivated in well-drained pots, and are then usually trained as pyramids, and in some cases as See also:

HALF

half-See also:

STANDARDS

standards. The potting must be done very firmly, using turfy loam with which a little mortar See also:

RUBBLE

rubble has been mixed. The trees are to be See also:

TOP (cf. Dan. top, Ger. Topf, also meaning pot)

top-dressed from time to time with well-decayed manure and turfy loam, and considerable space must be left in the pots for this and the watering. The following are some of the best peaches and nectarines, arranged in the order of the times of their ripening: Peaches. Early See also:

BEATRICE

Beatrice See also:

JULY

July e. Aug. m. Royal See also:

George Early See also:

LOUISE [AUGUSTE WILHELMINE AMALIE LUISE] (1776-1810)

Louise e. July b. See also:

SEPT

Sept. See also:

Hales's Early b. Aug.

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.

» Add information or comments to this article.

Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.

Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
PEACE, BREACH OF THE

[next]
PEACH, CHARLES WILLIAM (1800-1886)