Chapter V: Leading Varieties of Peaches (6)

Stevens is one of the fruits of the generation just past--a large, white and red, white-fleshed, freestone peach. The variety is best known as Stevens Rareripe but the last part of the name is inapt for the true rareripes are earlier ripening peaches while with Stevens lateness is one of its prime assets. In quality the fruits are extra good, the flesh-characters pleasing in every respect. The flavor is a pleasing mingling of sweet and sour not found in many other peaches so late in the season. The appearance of the peach is as alluring as the taste. The color-plate shows the variety almost perfectly in color and shape but the peaches as depicted are rather smaller than the average. These late, white-fleshed peaches now seldom sell well, usually reaching the markets in poor condition, but they are choice fruits for home use and for this purpose Stevens should be planted in every home orchard. The variety has the reputation of being hardy in both wood and buds.

Stevens originated about 1858 on the farm of B. Stevens, Morristown, New Jersey. Its parentage is unknown. It was listed in the American Pomological Society's catalog in 1889 as Stevens Rareripe. Later the name was shortened to Stevens in accordance with the Society's rules of nomenclature.

Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, with the lower branches
inclined to droop, productive; trunk of medium thickness,
rough; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown mingled with
light ash-gray; branchlets thick, dark reddish-brown with but
little green, glossy, smooth, with numerous large and small
lenticels.

Leaves six inches long, one and five-eighths inches
wide, folded upward and slightly recurled, oval to
obovate-lanceolate, leathery; upper surface dark green, glossy,
rugose along the midrib; lower surface light green; margin
finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole
three-eighths inch long, glandless or with one to six small,
reniform glands usually at the base of the leaf; flower-buds
intermediate in size and length, conical to pointed, somewhat
appressed, pubescent; flowers small.

Fruit matures late; about two and eleven-sixteenths inches
in diameter, round to round-oval, with nearly equal sides;
cavity deep, wide, flaring to abrupt; suture medium to deep,
often extending beyond the tip; apex roundish, with a strongly
mucronate and recurved tip; color greenish-white overlaid
with attractive purplish-red, often mottled or splashed with
darker red; pubescence short, fine; skin thick, tough, adherent
to the pulp; flesh white, tinted with red near the pit and
reddish underneath the deepest surface blush, juicy, coarse,
sweet, sprightly; good in quality; stone nearly free, one and
five-eighths inches long, one and one-eighth inches wide,
obovate, flattened at the base, plump, with grooved surfaces;
ventral suture medium to deeply grooved along the edges,
intermediate in width, furrowed; dorsal suture deeply grooved,
winged.

STUMP

=1.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._ =39=:817. 1896. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Cat._ 22. 1897. =3.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:227. 1899. =4.=
Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:357. 1903.

_Stump the World._ =5.= _U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt._ 299. 1854. =6.=
Elliott _Fr. Book_ 304. 1859. =7.= _Horticulturist_ =14=:106,
107, Pl. 1859. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 80. 1862. =9.= _U.
S. D. A. Rpt._ 193. 1865. =10.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 232. 1866.
=11.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 633. 1869. =12.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._
=42=:242. 1898. =13.= Fulton _Peach Cult._ 189, 190. 1908.

_Stump-of-the-World._ =14.= _N. J. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 41, 42.
1878.

_Pêche du New-Jersey._ =15.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =6=:195, 196
fig. 1879.

_Late Stump._ =16.= _Ark. Sta. Bul._ =43=:102. 1896.

Stump has long been a favorite white-fleshed, freestone, late peach of the Oldmixon type. It is not a handsome fruit, the color-plate flattering rather than detracting from its appearance, but makes up in quality what it lacks in looks. The flesh is melting, juicy, sparkling, rich and good though dry and very mediocre if permitted to overripen. The peaches are too tender for distant shipment and the variety is of value only for local markets and home use. The trees are large, vigorous, hardy, healthy and productive, with a shapely, upright-spreading, dense-topped head--about all that could be desired in a peach-tree. In spite of the high quality of the peaches and the splendid tree-characters, Stump is steadily waning in popularity and will, no doubt, soon pass from cultivation.

We can say little of the history of Stump other than that it originated in New Jersey at least three-quarters of a century ago. A Mr. Brant, Madison, New Jersey, in a report on peaches at the meeting of the New Jersey Horticultural Society in 1878 mentions a variety as Stump-of-the-World which originated on the farm of Samuel Whitehead in Middlesex County, New Jersey, about 1825. Mr. Brant, however, considered this sort distinct from Stump although very similar to it. From the description he gives it seems certain that he was describing the true Stump. In 1862 the American Pomological Society listed this sort in its catalog as Stump the World. The name was shortened to Stump in 1897 by the committee on nomenclature in accordance with pomological rules.

Tree of medium size, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped,
productive; trunk medium in diameter, smooth; branches stocky,
smooth, reddish-brown tinged with light ash-gray; branchlets
thick, inclined to rebranch, long, with internodes dark red
mingled with olive-green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with many
conspicuous, small, raised lenticels.

Leaves six and three-fourths inches long, one and three-fourths
inches wide, folded downward, broad-oval to obovate-lanceolate,
leathery; upper surface dull, dark green, rugose along the
midrib; lower surface grayish-green; margin finely serrate,
often in two series, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole
seven-sixteenths inch long, with one to four globose glands
variable in color and position.

Flower-buds semi-hardy, pubescent, conical to pointed, plump,
usually more or less free; blossoms appear in mid-season;
flowers thirteen-sixteenths inch across, white at the center,
becoming pink near the margin; pedicels long, slender;
calyx-tube dull reddish-green, yellow within, campanulate,
glabrous; calyx-lobes acute, obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent
without; petals oval, faintly notched near the base, tapering
to very short claws tinged with red near the base; filaments
five-sixteenths inch long, equal to the petals in length;
pistil pubescent at the ovary, longer than the stamens.

Fruit matures late; about two and one-half inches in diameter,
round-oval to cordate bulged near the apex, compressed, with
markedly unequal halves; cavity shallow, wide, uneven in
outline, flaring or abrupt, with tender skin; suture shallow,
often extending beyond the tip; apex round or pointed, with a
recurved, mucronate tip; color creamy-white, blushed, mottled
and splashed with red; pubescence long, thick, coarse; skin
thin, tough, separates from the pulp; flesh white, strongly
stained with red near the pit, juicy, tender and melting,
sweet, rich, pleasantly flavored, aromatic; very good in
quality; stone nearly free, one and one-half inches long, one
and one-sixteenth inches wide, ovate to oval, plump, flattened
toward the base, tapering to a long point, with grooved
surfaces; ventral suture deeply marked along the edges, narrow,
sometimes winged; dorsal suture grooved.

SUMMER SNOW

=1.= _Okla. Sta. Bul._ =2=:15. 1892. =2.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._
=118=:31. 1895. =3.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 691. 1897. =4.=
_Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:227. 1899. =5.= _Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta.
Rpt._ =7=:55. 1900.

Summer Snow is a curiosity with some value for culinary purposes Its distinctive peculiarities are a skin almost pure white and flesh white as snow from skin to pit. The quality is poor and the flesh clings to the pit so tenaciously that the variety has no value, whatsoever, for dessert but is said to be excellent for pickling and to make a very good and a very distinctive canned product.

There are no records of the origin of this peach but it is doubtful if it dates back more than a quarter of a century. The variety is very similar to the old Snow, which was probably its prototype, differing essentially in having a clinging stone while the stone of Snow is free. In New York the name is a misnomer as the fruit does not ripen until the last of September or early in October. Albino peaches date back to the early records of this fruit and seem to be known wherever peaches are grown. Whenever seedling peaches are grown in large numbers, an occasional albino appears.

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, slightly drooping,
productive; trunk thick and, smooth; branches stocky, smooth,
reddish-brown mingled with very light ash-gray; branchlets very
long, inclined to rebranch, with internodes of medium length,
olive-green intermingled with light brown, smooth, glabrous,
with conspicuous, russet-colored lenticels.

Leaves six and one-fourth inches long, one and five-eighths
inches wide, flattened or curved downward, oval to
obovate-lanceolate, thin; upper surface dull green, smooth;
lower surface grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped
with reddish-brown glands; petiole three-eighths inch long,
glandless or with one to six small, globose and reniform glands
variable in color and position.

Leaf-buds semi-hardy, small, short, variable in shape, plump,
appressed or slightly free; blossoms appear in mid-season;
flowers one and five-eighths inches across, white, sometimes in
twos; pedicels short, thick, glabrous, green; calyx-tube tinged
with green, yellow within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
variable in length, medium to narrow, acute, glabrous
within, pubescent without; petals often pointed at the apex,
round-ovate, broadly notched at the base, tapering to broad,
short claws; filaments seven-sixteenths inch long, shorter than
the petals; pistil pubescent near the base, as long as the
stamens.

Fruit matures late; two and three-eighths inches long, two and
five-sixteenths inches wide, round-cordate, somewhat angular,
bulged at one side, compressed, with unequal sides; cavity
deep, narrow, abrupt, contracted about the sides, twig-marked;
suture shallow, becoming deeper toward the tip; apex roundish
or depressed, with a mucronate or sometimes a small, mamelon
tip; color greenish-white changing to creamy-white, without
blush; pubescence long, thick, coarse; skin thin, tender,
adherent to the pulp; flesh white to the pit, juicy, meaty,
mildly sweet to sprightly; fair in quality; stone firmly
clinging, one and nine-sixteenths inches long, one and
one-eighth inches wide, broad-oval, often bulged near the apex,
winged, with pitted surfaces marked with short grooves; ventral
suture rather narrow, winged, with furrows of medium depth
along the sides; dorsal suture grooved, with winged sides.

SURPASSE

=1.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:227. 1899. =2.= Budd-Hansen _Am.
Hort. Man._ =2=:357. 1903.

_Surpasse Melocoton._ =3.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 33. 1874.
=4.= Barry _Fr. Garden_ 407. 1883. =5.= _R. I. Sta. Bul._
=7=:41. 1890.

As Surpasse grows on the Station grounds, it has most of the qualities of a first-class yellow-fleshed, freestone peach. The fruits are large, handsome and of excellent quality, while the trees are satisfactory in every respect except, possibly, in productiveness. The variety has been grown sufficiently long in New York to have been well tested and has not found favor, so that we must conclude that it does not do as well elsewhere as here and that it is doomed to go into the discard.

Surpasse originated more than forty years ago on the grounds of Ellwanger & Barry, Rochester, New York, and has long been sold by this nursery firm. It has never been widely nor largely grown commercially but is not uncommon in western New York.

Tree above medium size, vigorous, upright-spreading, with a
tendency to droop, rather unproductive; trunk thick and smooth;
branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown mingled with light
ash-gray; branchlets thick, inclined to rebranch, long, dark
pinkish-red with some green, smooth except for the lenticels,
glabrous, with very conspicuous, numerous, large and small,
raised lenticels.

Leaves six inches long, one and five-eighths inches wide,
variable in position, oval to obovate-lanceolate, leathery;
upper surface dark olive-green, rugose along the midrib; apex
acuminate; margin finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown
glands; petiole seven-sixteenths inch long, glandless or
with one to four small, globose glands variable in color and
position.

Flower-buds tender, pubescent, conical to pointed, plump,
usually free; blossoms open in mid-season; flowers
seven-eighths inch across, light pink but darker along the
edges, usually single; pedicels short, glabrous, green;
calyx-tube reddish-green, orange-colored within, campanulate,
glabrous; calyx-lobes long, narrow, acute, glabrous within,
pubescent without; petals ovate, with short, indistinct claws;
filaments three-eighths inch long, equal to the petals in
length; pistil as long as the stamens.

Fruit matures in mid-season; two and one-half inches long,
two and three-eighths inches wide, round-cordate, irregular,
compressed, much bulged near the apex, with unequal halves;
cavity deep, wide, flaring to abrupt, with tender, reddish
skin; suture a line becoming deeper toward the tip; apex
pointed, usually with an erect, mamelon tip; color pale yellow
or orange-yellow, mottled and splashed more or less with red
and overspread with a lively, dark red blush; pubescence
medium in length, thick, fine; skin thin, separates from
the pulp; flesh light yellow, red near the pit, very juicy,
rather coarse, stringy, tender and melting, sprightly, highly
flavored; good to very good in quality; stone free, one and
three-eighths inches long, fifteen-sixteenths inch wide, ovate,
rather plump, tapering to a long point, sometimes slightly
winged along the ventral suture, with pitted surfaces; ventral
suture deeply grooved along the edges, below medium in width,
furrowed; dorsal suture grooved, winged.

THURBER

=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 75. 1873. =2.= _Gard. Mon._ =17=:175.
1875. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 2nd App. 144. 1876. =4.=
_Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 32. 1881. =5.= _Del. Sta. Rpt._ =13=:109
fig. 8, 110. 1901. =6.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:357.
1903.

Thurber is mediocre in all of its characters in New York, though perhaps it is a little better in quality than the average white-fleshed, mid-season freestone. In the South, however, it seems to be considered one of the best of its class not only in quality but in size and appearance. The fruits are small in New York, as the color-plate shows, while all descriptions of them in the South say they are large. The variety is possibly worth planting, because of good quality, in home orchards in this State.

Thurber is a seedling of Chinese Cling grown by L. E. Berckmans, Rome, Georgia, more than forty years ago. The variety was named in honor of Dr. George Thurber, American botanist, naturalist and editor. It is similar to its parent but is a freestone and the trees are more compact and thrifty than those of Chinese Cling. The American Pomological Society added Thurber to its fruit-list in 1881, a place it still holds.

Tree above medium size, vigorous, upright-spreading,
productive; trunk thick and smooth; branches stocky, smooth,
reddish-brown mingled with light ash-gray; branchlets slender,
often very long, olive-green with some red, glossy, smooth,
glabrous, with numerous conspicuous, raised lenticels variable
in size, usually russetted toward the base.

Leaves six inches long, over one and one-half inches wide,
flattened or curled downward, oval to obovate-lanceolate,
leathery; upper surface dull, 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, glandless or with one to four small,
globose glands variable in color and position.

Flower-buds tender, large, medium to short, heavily pubescent,
obtuse, very plump, usually free; blossoms open in mid-season;
flowers one and one-eighth inches across, light pink, darker
along the edges, usually single; pedicels long, slender,
glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube reddish-green, greenish-yellow
within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes acute, glabrous
within, heavily pubescent without, flattened; petals ovate,
tapering to short, narrow claws; filaments seven-sixteenths
inch long, equal to the petals in length; pistil longer than
the stamens.

Fruit matures in mid-season; two and three-eighths inches
long, two and one-eighth inches wide, round-oval, somewhat
compressed, with unequal halves; cavity shallow, narrow,
flaring or abrupt, often tinted with red, compressed about the
sides; suture a line or very shallow, often extending beyond
the tip; apex round, with a recurved, mucronate or mamelon tip;
color green or creamy-white, with few splashes of dull red over
a lively red blush; pubescence long, coarse, thick; skin thin,
tough, variable in adherence to the pulp; flesh white, deeply
stained with red near the pit, juicy, tender and melting,
pleasantly sprightly, aromatic; good in quality; stone free,
one and one-half inches long, more than an inch wide, red,
obovate to oval, flattened toward the base, plump, tapering
to a short point, often winged on the ventral suture, with
surfaces pitted and marked by short grooves; ventral suture
deeply grooved along the edges, narrow; dorsal suture grooved,
slightly winged.

TRIANA

=1.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._ =39=:819. 1896. =2.= _Fla. Sta. Bul._
=73=:152. 1904. =3.= _Glen St. Mary Nur. Cat._ 23. 1906. =4.=
_Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 39. 1909.

Triana is another of the honey-fleshed, beaked peaches supposed to thrive only in the far South. It can be grown, however, with about as much certainty in New York as many of the standard varieties of the North. Its small size and poor shipping qualities debar it from competing with commercial peaches in this region but it is well worth planting in home orchards for the sake of variety and because of its delicious flavor--a sort of scented sweetness wholly unknown in northern varieties. The good health, vigor, size and hardiness of these honey-peaches on the Station grounds is a constant surprise to those who have believed that they could be grown only in the Gulf States.

Triana originated a quarter of a century or more ago at the Glen Saint Mary Nurseries, Glen Saint Mary, Florida. It was introduced in 1892 by the originators. The American Pomological Society added Triana to its fruit-list in 1909.

Tree of medium size, upright-spreading, open-topped,
productive; branches greenish-red; branchlets slender, long,
with a tendency to rebranch, dark red with some olive-green,
rough, glabrous, with numerous conspicuous, large, raised
lenticels.

Leaves five and one-half inches long, one and five-eighths
inches wide, folded upward and recurled, slightly lanceolate,
thin, leathery; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface
grayish-green, with prominent mid-rib; margin finely serrate;
petiole three-eighths inch long, with one to five small,
reniform glands variable in position.

Flower-buds half-hardy, short, pubescent, conical, plump,
usually appressed; blossoms one and one-half inches across,
pale red, in dense clusters, usually single; pedicels long,
slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube reddish-green, dark
greenish-yellow within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
acute, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals oval to
long-ovate, tapering to short claws; filaments seven-sixteenths
inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil pubescent at the
ovary, often longer than the stamens.

Fruit matures in late mid-season; two and one-eighth inches
long, one and thirteen-sixteenths inches wide, oval,
compressed, with unequal halves; cavity shallow, flaring;
suture of medium depth; apex a long, mucronate tip; color
creamy-white, blushed, splashed and mottled with bright red;
pubescence short, fine; skin thin, tender, adhering to the
pulp; flesh white, faintly stained with red near the pit,
tender, sweet, mild; good in quality; stone nearly free, one
and one-fourth inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide,
oval or elliptical, usually with pitted surfaces; ventral
suture deeply grooved along the edges; dorsal suture grooved.

TRIUMPH

=1.= _Gard. & For._ =8=:20. 1895. =2.= _U. S. D. A. Pom. Rpt._
44. 1895. =3.= Kan. Hort. Soc. _Peach, The_ 49. 1899. =4.= _Am.
Pom. Soc. Cat._ 34. 1899. =5.= _Can. Hort._ =24=:401, fig.
2158. 1901. =6.= _Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt._ =9=:38. 1902. =7.=
Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:358. 1903. =8.= _Ohio Sta.
Bul._ =170=:182. 1906. =9.= Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 196, 208.
1913.

_Triomphe._ =10.= _Rev. Hort._ 79. 1895.

Triumph is an extra early, yellow-fleshed peach so inferior in appearance and quality of fruit and so subject to brown-rot that it is not worth growing in any but the most northern peach-regions where, because of great hardiness in wood and bud, it becomes a valuable variety. It is grown more or less, however, both north and south because it is one of the earliest yellow-fleshed sorts and because the trees bear regularly and abundantly. The dark color and the great amount of fuzzy pubescence detract materially from the appearance of the peach. The specimens shown in the color-plate are from unthinned trees; the size can be increased by thinning. Small pits somewhat offset the small size of the fruits. The peaches, if not attacked by brown-rot, stand shipment splendidly, a character which adds to its value for early markets. Though often put down as a clingstone it is, when well grown, a semi-cling and sometimes the stone is free.

Triumph is one of several seedlings grown by J. D. Husted, Vineyard, Georgia. It is supposed to be an offspring of Alexander. The date of origin is unknown but references go back to 1895. Triumph was placed on the fruit-list of the American Pomological Society in 1899.

Tree of medium size, vigorous, upright-spreading, with lower
branches drooping, hardy, very productive; trunk intermediate
in thickness and smoothness; branches stocky, smooth,
reddish-brown intermingled with very light ash-gray; branchlets
slender, long, with internodes of medium length, dark
pinkish-red with some green, glossy, very smooth, glabrous,
with many conspicuous, small, raised lenticels.

Leaves six inches long, one and five-eighths inches wide,
flattened or curled downward, oval to obovate-lanceolate, thin,
leathery; upper surface dull, dark olive-green, rugose near
the midrib; lower surface grayish-green; margin finely and
shallowly serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole
three-eighths inch long, glandless or with one to four very
small, globose glands variable in position.

Flower-buds hardy, small, short, pubescent, obtuse or pointed,
plump, appressed or free; blossoms unfold early; flowers
one and five-eighths inches across, dark pink, sometimes in
twos; pedicels short, slender, glabrous, green; calyx-tube
reddish-green at the base, orange-colored within, campanulate,
glabrous; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, glabrous within, pubescent
without; petals broadly oval to ovate, widely notched near
the base, tapering to claws with reddish base; filaments
seven-sixteenths inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil
pubescent near the base, equal in length to the stamens.

Fruit matures early; two inches long, two and one-eighth inches
wide, roundish-oval, compressed, with unequal sides; cavity
deep, abrupt, with tender skin; suture shallow; apex roundish,
with a mamelon and recurved tip; color pale yellow overlaid
with dark red; pubescence thick and long; skin thin, adherent
to the pulp; flesh yellow, stained with red near the pit,
juicy, firm until fully ripe, sprightly; fair in quality; stone
semi-free to free when fully ripe, one and one-fourth inches
long, seven-eighths inch wide, obovate, flattened wedge-like at
the base, bulged at one side near the apex, plump, with deeply
grooved surfaces; ventral suture deeply grooved along the
edges, furrowed; dorsal suture winged, deeply grooved, rather
wide.

TROTH

=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 35. 1899. =2.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._
=169=:228. 1899. =3.= _Am. Gard._ =24=:413. 1903.

_Troth's Early Rareripe._ =4.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 183. 1841.

_Troth's Early Red._ =5.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 304. 1859. =6.=
Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 634. 1869.

_Troth's Early._ =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 80. 1862. =8.= _Am.
Jour. Hort._ =3=:341. 1868. =9.= Fulton

_Peach Cult._ 183, 184. 1908.

Troth, the standard early peach in the middle of the last century, is now all but out of cultivation. It is still listed in a few nursery catalogs and is still on the fruit-list of the American Pomological Society. Among the multitude of early peaches now grown, Troth cuts but a sorry figure in either tree- or fruit-characters. It is worth discussing here only because it is a milestone in the evolution of cultivated peaches.

Troth, first known as Troth's Early Red, originated in the first years of the Nineteenth Century, probably in New Jersey. Nothing is known of its parentage or of the originator. It ripens with Early York and some pomologists have confused it with this variety and also with Haines but, while similar to both, Troth is distinct. The American Pomological Society placed the variety upon its fruit-list in 1862 under the name Troth's Early Red but dropped it in 1891. In 1899 it was once more recommended by the Pomological Society, being listed as Troth.

Tree above medium in size, vigorous, upright-spreading, the
lower branches drooping, very productive; trunk somewhat
stocky; branches thick, smooth, reddish-brown covered
with light ash-gray; branchlets slender, long, with short
internodes, dark pinkish-red intermingled with green, with
conspicuous, very numerous, large and small lenticels;
leaves six and one-fourth inches long, one and three-fourths
inches wide, flattened and slightly curled downward, oval to
obovate-lanceolate, leathery, dark, dull green, smooth becoming
rugose near the midrib; margin finely and shallowly serrate,
tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole seven-sixteenths
inch long, with one to five very small, globose, reddish-brown
glands; flower-buds half-hardy, of medium size and length, more
or less pubescent, obtuse or conical, plump, usually appressed;
blossoms small, appear in mid-season.

Fruit matures in early mid-season; two inches long, two and
one-eighth inches wide, roundish-oblate, slightly bulged at
one side, somewhat compressed, with halves decidedly unequal;
cavity of medium depth and width, abrupt, somewhat irregular,
contracted about the sides, often dotted and striped with
red; suture rather shallow, extending considerably beyond the
point; apex roundish or depressed, with a mucronate or slightly
pointed tip; color greenish-white or creamy-white, blushed with
dark, dull red and with more or less heavy mottlings extending
over more than half of the surface; pubescence thick, short;
skin thin, tender, adheres somewhat to the pulp; flesh whitish,
tinged with red near the pit, variable in juiciness, tender,
nearly melting, pleasant flavored; fair to good in quality;
stone free, one and one-eighths inches long, seven-eighths inch
wide, oval, flattened toward the base, acute at the apex, with
grooved surfaces; ventral suture medium in width; dorsal suture
grooved.

WADDELL

=1.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =42=:242. 1898. =2.= _Del. Sta. Rpt._
=13=:111 fig. 9. 1901. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 249. 1903.
=4.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:358. 1903. =5.= _Ohio
Sta. Bul._ =170=:182. 1906. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 39. 1909.
=7.= Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 208. 1913.

Waddell is an early mid-season, white-fleshed, semi-cling peach from Georgia, a very evident descendant of Chinese Cling. The variety is now widely grown and is everywhere esteemed as a commercial sort. Its chief competitor is Carman, compared with which the fruit differs in ripening a few days early; is handsomer, in color at least, the two, as the color-plates show, being very similar in size and shape; is of rather finer texture of flesh and is better flavored; and, lastly, according to most reports, Waddell is a better shipper than Carman. The variety has not been nearly as widely nor as generally planted as the better-known Carman but we are of the opinion that it has been a greater factor in the success of a score or more of the big commercial peach-orchards, North and South, of the last few years. It is a particularly pleasing peach in New York and ought to be considered for every commercial plantation where a variety of its season is wanted to precede or to compete with Carman.

Waddell is a chance seedling found by William Waddell, Griffin, Georgia. The variety was introduced by J. H. Hale, South Glastonbury, Connecticut. The American Pomological Society added Waddell to its fruit-list in 1909.

Tree medium in size, vigorous, upright becoming spreading and
with the lower branches inclined to droop, hardy, productive;
trunk thick, smooth; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown
tinged with light ash-gray; branchlets long, inclined to
rebranch, dark pinkish-red overspread with green, glossy,
smooth, glabrous, with numerous conspicuous, raised lenticels
variable in size.

Leaves six inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide,
folded upward and curled downward, oval to obovate-lanceolate,
leathery; upper surface dull, dark green, smooth; lower surface
grayish-green; apex acuminate; margin finely serrate, tipped
with reddish-brown glands; petiole three-eighths inch long,
with one to four small, globose, reddish-brown glands variable
in position.

Flower-buds hardy, conical or pointed, pubescent, usually
appressed; blossoms appear in mid-season; flowers one and
three-fourths inches across, red becoming pale pink, in
clusters of twos; pedicels short, slender, glabrous, green;
calyx-tube reddish-green at the base, greenish-yellow within,
campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, glabrous
within, pubescent without; petals oval, crenate, irregular in
outline near the base, tapering to claws with reddish base;
filaments seven-sixteenths 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 one-fourth inches
long, about two inches wide, oval to roundish-oval, compressed,
bulged on one side, with unequal halves; cavity deep, abrupt,
with tender skin, tinged with pink; suture shallow, deepening
toward the apex and extending beyond; apex roundish, with a
small, mucronate tip; color creamy-white, blushed with red
and with a few dull splashes of darker red; pubescence thick;
skin tough, separates from the pulp; flesh white, stained with
pink near the pit, juicy, stringy firm but tender, sweet but
sprightly, aromatic; very good in quality; stone semi-free to
free, one and three-eighths inches long, one inch wide, ovate;
ventral suture deeply grooved along the sides, faintly winged;
dorsal suture grooved, not winged.

WAGER

=1.= _Cult. & Count. Gent._ =43=:584. 1878. =2.= _W. N. Y.
Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 113, 114. 1880. =3.= _Cult. & Count. Gent._
=48=:823. 1883. =4.= Black _Cult. Peach & Pear_ 111. 1886. =5.=
_Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 22. 1897. =6.= Kan. Hort. Soc. _Peach,
The_ 148. 1899. =7.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:358, 359.
1903.

Hardiness, productiveness and early bearing are the outstanding characters of Wager that give it a high place in the peach-list for New York. It is a yellow-fleshed, freestone peach none too attractive in coloring, always rather small and of only fair quality as a dessert fruit but excellent for canning, drying and all culinary purposes. The variety comes true to seed, or nearly so. The fruits of Wager are not attractive enough and the trees are too small to make the variety of much value in commercial plantations but it is a very good peach for home orchards and one of the best of all where hardiness is a prime requisite. Several quite distinct peaches are sold by nurserymen as Wager.

Wager originated some time previous to 1870 with Benjamin Wager, West Bloomfield, Ontario County, New York. The variety was added to the fruit-list of the American Pomological Society in 1897.

Tree medium in size or small, upright-spreading, hardy,
productive; trunk intermediate in thickness and smoothness;
branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown overlaid with light
ash-gray; branchlets rebranching near the tips, dark red with
some green, roughened by the lenticels, which are medium in
size and number.

Leaves five and one-half inches long, one and one-fourth inches
wide, flattened or curled downward, oval to obovate-lanceolate,
thin, leathery; upper surface dull, dark green, rugose along
the midrib; lower surface grayish-green; apex acuminate; margin
finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole
five-sixteenths inch long, with two to four small, globose or
reniform glands variable in color and position.

Flower-buds medium in size and length, heavily pubescent,
conical, plump, usually free; blossoms appear in mid-season;
flowers one and one-eighth inches across; pedicels very
short, thick, glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish-green,
orange-colored within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
narrow, acute, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals oval,
broadly notched, tapering to claws red at the base; filaments
three-eighths inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil
pubescent at the ovary, longer than the stamens.

Fruit matures in mid-season; two and one-half inches long,
two and one-fourth inches wide, oval, bulged near the apex,
sometimes conical, compressed, with unequal halves; cavity
flaring or abrupt, often mottled with red and with tender skin;
suture a line, becoming deeper toward the tip; apex roundish
or pointed, usually with a mamelon, recurved tip; color
orange-yellow, blushed and mottled with dark red; pubescence
thick, long and fine; skin thin, tough, separates from the
pulp; flesh yellow, faintly stained with red near the pit,
meaty but tender, sweet, mild; good in quality; stone free, one
and three-eighths inches long, one inch wide, ovate, flattened
near the base, with pitted surfaces, marked with few short
grooves; ventral suture deeply grooved along the sides, wide,
furrowed; dorsal suture a wide, deep groove.

WATERLOO

=1.= _Cult. & Count. Gent._ =43=:489. 1878. =2.= _W. N. Y.
Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 51. 1879. =3.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 463. 1884.
=4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 34. 1885. =5.= _Ibid._ 22. 1897. =6.=
_Garden_ =66=:112. 1904. =7.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._
=2=:359. 1903. =8.= Fulton _Peach Cult._ 173. 1908. =9.= Waugh
_Am. Peach Orch._ 209. 1913.

Waterloo is without honor in its own country but is a standard peach in England. In spite of the fact that the variety originated within ten miles of the Station grounds it is all but worthless here as it is in most parts of New York. Waterloo is an extra-early, white-fleshed, semi-cling peach very similar to the better-known Canada. The faults that condemn it are small size, poor quality, susceptibility to brown-rot and a long period of ripening for the fruit and small size and unproductiveness in the tree. It is given prominence in _The Peaches of New York_ only because it is so often noted in the horticultural press as a standard variety, an opinion, no doubt, reflected in America from European publications.

Waterloo was first grown by Henry Lisk, Waterloo, Seneca County, New York, who brought it to notice in 1877. Thomas Rivers introduced it into England where it has long been grown and esteemed for its earliness and good quality. The American Pomological Society placed Waterloo in its fruit-catalog in 1885, where it remained until 1891 when it was dropped, but was replaced in 1897.

Tree small, upright-spreading, sometimes productive; trunk
smooth; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown covered with
light ash-gray; branchlets very long, rebranching, with
internodes of medium length, dark pinkish-red mingled with
green, glossy, smooth, glabrous, with few large lenticels.

Leaves six and one-fourth inches long, one and three-fourths
inches wide, flattened, oval to obovate-lanceolate, leathery;
upper surface dull, dark olive-green, smooth; lower surface
grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown
glands; petiole seven-sixteenths inch long, glandless or with
one to four small, globose and reniform, reddish-brown glands
variable in position.

Flower-buds half-hardy, obtuse or conical, plump, usually free,
pubescent; flowers appear in mid-season; blossoms one and
one-half inches across, light pink, usually single; pedicels
very short, thick, green; calyx-tube lemon-yellow within,
campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes short, obtuse, glabrous
within, pubescent without; petals ovate, tapering to claws with
reddish base; filaments one-half inch long, shorter than the
petals; pistil equal to the stamens in length.

Fruit matures very early; nearly two inches in diameter,
roundish, with equal halves; cavity deep, wide flaring; suture
shallow; apex depressed, with a recurved, mamelon tip; color
creamy-white, blushed and mottled with red; pubescence short,
thick; skin thin, adherent to the pulp; flesh greenish-white,
juicy, stringy, tender and melting, sweet, mild, fair to good
in quality; stone semi-clinging, one and one-sixteenth inches
long, three-fourths inch wide, oval, plump, acutely pointed at
the apex, with pitted surfaces; dorsal suture slightly winging.

WHEATLAND

=1.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 550. 1875-85. =2.= _W. N. Y.
Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 113. 1880. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 3rd
App. 173. 1881. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 34. 1883. =5.= _Tex.
Sta. Bul._ =39=:815. 1896. =6.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._
=2=:359. 1903. =7.= Waugh _Am. Peach Orch._ 209. 1913.

Wheatland is a large, yellow-fleshed, freestone peach of excellent quality which ripens just before Late Crawford. Although the variety originated in this State it is little grown here now, being somewhat more popular westward in Michigan and very much grown in Colorado and Utah. The fruit is about all that could be desired in New York but the trees are so unproductive that the variety is nowhere grown in this region with profit. The beauty and high quality of the fruit might make it desirable for home orchards.

Wheatland is a chance seedling found about 1870 on the grounds of Daniel E. Rogers, Scottsville, New York. The variety was placed on the fruit-list of the American Pomological Society in 1883.

Tree medium to large, vigorous, upright-spreading, with the
lower branches drooping, hardy, rather unproductive; trunk
thick and smooth; branches stocky, smooth, reddish-brown tinged
with light ash-gray; branchlets long, with long internodes,
inclined to rebranch, dark pinkish-red with but little green,
smooth, glabrous, with conspicuous, large and small, raised
lenticels intermediate in number.

Leaves six and one-half inches long, one and three-fourths
inches wide, folded upward and recurved downward, oval to
obovate-lanceolate, leathery; upper surface dark green, rugose;
lower surface grayish-green; margin finely serrate, tipped with
reddish-brown glands; petiole five-sixteenths inch long, with
one to five small, globose and reniform, reddish-brown glands
variable in position.

Flower-buds tender, medium to small, pubescent, conical or
pointed, plump, usually free; blossoms open late; flowers
seven-eighths inch across, light pink becoming darker along
the edges; pedicels very short, glabrous, green; calyx-tube
reddish-green, orange-colored within, campanulate; calyx-lobes
narrow, acuminate, glabrous within, pubescent without; petals
ovate; filaments five-sixteenths inch long, equal to the petals
in length; pistil as long as the stamens, sometimes defective.

Fruit matures in mid-season; large, round; suture shallow;
apex a small, acute point; color yellow, blushed and mottled
with red; skin separates from the pulp; flesh yellow,
stained red around the pit, juicy, firm but tender, sweet,
pleasantly flavored; good in quality; stone free, one and
seven-sixteenths inches long, more than an inch wide, ovate,
broad at the base, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture very
deeply grooved at the edges; dorsal suture deeply grooved.

YELLOW RARERIPE

=1.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 102. 1831. =2.= Kenrick _Am.
Orch._ 229. 1832. 3. Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:14, 15. 1832. =4.=
Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 493. 1845. =5.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 280.
1854. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 80. 1862. =7.= _Mich. Sta.
Bul._ =169=:229. 1899. =8.= Fulton _Peach Cult._ 193, 194. 1908.

_Marie Antoinette._ =9.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 187. 1846.

_Early Orange Peach._ =10.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._
187. 1846.

_Cutter's Yellow._ =11.= Hovey _Fr. Am._ =2=:59, 60, Pl. 1851.

_Rareripe Jaune._ =12.= Mas _Le Verger_ =7=:215, 216, fig. 106.
1866-73.

A century ago Yellow Rareripe was at the head of the list of yellow-fleshed, freestone peaches--largest, handsomest, hardiest and best-flavored of all. Even now in fruit- and tree-characters, with the single exception of productiveness, Yellow Rareripe holds its own very well with the peaches of its type and season. A glance at the color-plate shows the peach to be as attractive as any in color and shape; the size is above the average and in texture and flavor it is not often surpassed. Its fault is unproductiveness, to make up for which the trees usually bear regularly and come in bearing early. The variety is now hardly worth planting commercially in New York, being equalled by several yellow-fleshed peaches in all characters and surpassed in productiveness by many, but, if the trees can be obtained, it might find a welcome place in home orchards. Yellow Rareripe seems still to have all of the vigor and vitality of the first trees, helping thereby to furnish evidence that varieties do not run out.

This is another American peach the origin of which is involved in so much uncertainty that it is impossible to state where, when and by whom produced. Prince claims to have discovered the original Yellow Rareripe tree near Flushing, New York, over a hundred years ago. It was being grown in the vicinity of Boston early in the Nineteenth Century where it seems to have been first introduced by William Kenrick, Newton, Massachusetts, under the name Yellow Red Rareripe. Occasionally another and inferior peach, Yellow Melocoton, was substituted for Yellow Rareripe. Hovey received peach-trees from Kenrick under the name Cutter's Yellow which later proved to be Yellow Rareripe. Hovey retained the name Cutter's Yellow, because it was briefer. The Marie Antoinette, mentioned by Kenrick in 1841, is without question Yellow Rareripe and has been listed as synonymous by several authors. Yellow Rareripe was placed in the American Pomological Society's fruit-catalog in 1862 where it has since remained as a recommended variety.

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, rather unproductive;
trunk stocky; branches thick, smooth, reddish-brown mingled
with light ash-gray; branchlets with internodes of medium
length, dark pinkish-red tinged with pale green, glossy,
smooth, glabrous, with conspicuous, numerous, large, raised
lenticels.

Leaves six and three-fourths inches long, one and three-fourths
inches wide, folded upward and curled downward, oval to
obovate-lanceolate, leathery; upper surface dull, dark
olive-green, smooth becoming rugose near the midrib; lower
surface grayish-green; margin finely serrate and sometimes
in two series, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole
three-eighths inch long, glandless or with one to four small,
globose glands variable in color and position.

Flower-buds conical or pointed, pubescent, plump, usually
appressed; blossoms open in mid-season; flowers seven-eighths
inch across, light pink but darker along the edges, usually
single; pedicels short, green; calyx-tube reddish-green,
orange-colored within, campanulate; calyx-lobes narrow, acute,
glabrous within, pubescent without; petals oval to ovate,
shallowly and widely notched towards the base, tapering to
claws red at the base; filaments three-eighths inch long, equal
to the petals in length; pistil as long as the stamens.

Fruit matures in mid-season; two and one-fourth inches
long, two and three-sixteenths inches wide, round-conic
to round-cordate, compressed, with unequal halves; cavity
contracted and wrinkled about the sides, abrupt or flaring;
suture shallow; apex round or somewhat pointed, with a
mucronate or mamelon tip; color orange-yellow, with a deep
red blush, splashed and mottled with red; pubescence thick,
long, coarse; skin thin, tender, variable in adherence to
the pulp; flesh yellow, tinged with red near the pit, juicy,
fine-grained, tender and melting, sweet, pleasantly flavored;
good to very good in quality; stone free, one and one-fourth
inches long, seven-eighths inch wide, oval to ovate, bulged
near the apex, plump, tapering to a short point, with grooved
and pitted surfaces; ventral suture deeply grooved along the
edges, furrowed; dorsal suture grooved, winging.