themselves truly by seed. Gallesio[643] says he has
verified this with respect to eight races of the peach. Mr. Rivers[644]
has given some striking instances from his own experience, and it is
notorious that good peaches are constantly raised in North America from
seed. Many of the American sub-varieties come true or nearly true to
their kind, such as the white-blossom, several of the yellow-fruited
freestone peaches, the blood clingstone, the heath, and the
lemon-clingstone. On the other hand, a clingstone peach has been known
to give rise to a freestone.[645] In England it has been noticed that
seedlings inherit from their parents flowers of the same size and
colour. Some characters, however, contrary to what might have been
expected, often are not inherited; such as the presence and form of the
glands on the leaves.[646] With respect to nectarines, both cling and
{340} freestones are known in North America to reproduce themselves by
seed.[647] In England the new white nectarine was a seedling of the old
white, and Mr. Rivers[648] has recorded several similar cases. From
this strong tendency to inheritance, which both peach and nectarine
trees exhibit,--from certain slight constitutional differences[649] in
their nature,--and from the great difference in their fruit both in
appearance and flavour, it is not surprising, notwithstanding that the
trees differ in no other respects and cannot even be distinguished, as
I am informed by Mr. Rivers, whilst young, that they have been ranked
by some authors as specifically distinct. Gallesio does not doubt that
they are distinct; even Alph. De Candolle does not appear perfectly
assured of their specific identity; and an eminent botanist has quite
recently[650] maintained that the nectarine "probably constitutes a
distinct species."

Hence it may be worth while to give all the evidence on the origin of
the nectarine. The facts in themselves are curious, and will hereafter
have to be referred to when the important subject of bud-variation is
discussed. It is asserted[651] that the Boston nectarine was produced
from a peach-stone, and this nectarine reproduced itself by seed.[652]
Mr. Rivers states[653] that from stones of three distinct varieties of
the peach he raised three varieties of nectarine; and in one of these
cases no nectarine grew near