Fig. 1.

Fig. 1. Peaches and Nectarines on the same branch! .

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2. A Fruit partaking of the Character of Peach and Nectarine .

XVII. A short Account of Nectarines and Peaches naturally produced on the same Branch. By RICHARD ANTHONY SALISBURY, Esq. F. R. S. &c.

Read May 3, 1808.

THOUGH it has long been known, that Nectarines and Peaches are sometimes naturally produced, not only upon the same tree, but upon one and the same branch, I do not find the fact recorded by any author; and having last year met with two instances, I presume to offer a short history of this anomaly to the Horticultural Society. Whether the remarks it has suggested are right or wrong, I leave to be determined by more able physiologists.

The first instance, of which I believe any tradition has been handed down, will be found in a letter of the late PETER COLLINSON, Esq. to LINNEUS, which was read at the last meeting of the Linnean Society. He there, after giving an account of a supposed adulterous intercourse between two Apple trees, standing near each other, one of which in consequence bore both smooth and rough fruits, mentions a Peach tree, that produced Peaches and Nectarines.

The second instance occurred in Yorkshire, at Londesborough, then the residence of the Earl of BURLINGTON ; it made so much noise at that time, which was previous to the death of that famous gardener, THOMAS KNOWLTON, as to be visited by the late Dr. RICHARDSON, and many other horticulturists of that extensive county.

The third instance is commemorated in a painting by the celebrated EHRET, now in the possession of Messrs. LEE and KENNEDY: being accompanied with a dissection of the two fruits, which are the Alberge jaune, sometimes called the Orange Peach, it is very satisfactory.

The fourth instance was noticed more lately in the garden of WILLIAM GILPIN, Esq. at East Sheen; of this likewise a painting, but without dissections, has been made by Mr. HOOKER, nor can I from it ascertain the variety.

The fifth instance was discovered early in June last, in the garden of Sir JOHN ARUNDEL, at Huntingdon having never seen one, I went there immediately, and after detaching the branch carefully from the wall, soon satisfied myself, that no bud had been inserted: there was, however, only a single Nectarine upon the tree, which the gardener said was the Belle Chevreuse, and a pretty accurate sketch of the branch is annexed.

The sixth instance was in Mr. WILMOT's garden at Isleworth, which I also saw in August last, and learnt that his tree, which is the Royal George, seldom fails to produce fruits with both smooth and downy coats, or in fact Peaches and Nectarines; two only of the latter then remained, and had been much damaged by snails.

I forbear to recite any others, these being more than sufficient to establish the fact: but my enquiries fortunately terminated with the singular example now exhibited, of both fruits joined in one. I have to thank Dr. BATTY for it, who accidentally observed it among a number of Peaches sent to him by JAMES WYATT, Esq. from the neighbourhood of Hounslow, during our vacation, and as it was already

beginning to decay, this only method of preserving it in spirit of wine, for the inspection of the Society, was not neglected.

Most of the gardeners with whom I have conversed respecting these anomalies, attribute them to the Pollen of neighbouring Nectarine trees brought by Bees: but, as the young fruit is smooth and downy, long before it is impregnated, that cannot be the cause, and in my humble opinion, no change of this sort is produced subsequently. Not that I have a shadow of doubt of the important consequences which ensue, when the Stigma of one plant imbibes Pollen belonging to another; but these are only manifested in the succeeding generation. The great LINNEUS, in the Planta Hybride and Generatio Ambigena of his Amanitates Academica, first promulgated a doctrine which I firmly believe, that varieties, species, and even genera, have been created in this manner; and without the fullest comprehension of it no gardener can hope to be successful in raising new vegetables, free from the faults, or endowed with the perfections he wishes. The pith of LINNEUS's theory is, that the new vegetable will resemble its father, or that from which the Pollen came, in stem and leaves; but its mother, or that upon which the Stigma is situated, in flowers and fruit; this idea, which, somewhat less restricted, has been confirmed by actual experiments, should never be forgotten. Of the necessity of a sexual intercourse, every one who has raised a Cucumber or Melon is well convinced, and as far as the annual production of those or other fruits is concerned, I have nothing to hint in addition to modern practice, except that the Pollen of all vegetables might probably be preserved from one year to another; in early forcing, it would be found very useful, and should be

kept in papers as dry as possible, not applying it till the Stigma is moistened with its own natural exsudation. In those countries where Dates are the principal food of the inhabitants, a famine would sometimes be the consequence of neglecting this precaution; for the male trees do not flower every year, and it is well authenticated, that Pollen of the Palm performed its office successfully, after being sent many miles by the post, to Berlin.

Other plants sport in their pubescence as remarkably as the Peach, but being of less importance, are not attended to. Two years ago I observed a Wall-flower-leaved Stock with both smooth and downy leaves, in Messrs. WHITLEY and BRAME's nursery. The common Ling, of which our besoms are made, varies in the same way; and the Teucrium Heterophyllum takes its name from this very circumstance. I conclude therefore, that all these variations proceed from laws in vegetation, of which we are yet ignorant, but which are immediately connected with the transudation of the sap through the cuticle, and it is possible, that this may even affect the flavour of two fruits upon the same branch.