The foregoing are the fruits found wild in our climate; the difference
in their aboriginal and cultivated state has been pointed out; we
shall now give short descriptions of foreign fruits, which have been
partly naturalized, the management of which forms so considerable a
share of the gardener's art and attention.
_The Apricot_.--It is supposed that this fruit is a native of Africa:
from thence it appears to have come through Persia and Greece to us,
with the name "a praecox," significant of its earliness. There are
several varieties which have been obtained by means similar to those
already mentioned; and there is room for further exertion in
endeavouring to improve the size of the fruit, or any other desirable
quality.
_The Peach_--This delicate and excellent fruit is a striking instance
of what judicious cultivation may produce. The common almond has
always been considered the original stock of this monument of skill
and assiduity. The estimation in which it is held, and the care and
expense incurred in its cultivation both in forcing-houses and in the
open air, is proof of its superiority: and no fruit repays the labour
of the attendant, or the expense of the owner, more bountifully than
this. Seedlings of this fruit are, if we can credit what is written
and said of it, less inclined to depart from the properties or
qualities of the parent, than most others of our improved fruits.
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