We are informed by the fame great Author, that the Fruits of Rome, in about an hundred Years, came from Countries as far as their Conquefts had reached, and made their great Advances in Italy about the Auguftan Age.

But let us examine now the Climates they feverally came from, that we may the better know how to place them in our Gardens, and begin with the Mala Epirotica or Abricot, which was brought from Epire, or Epirus, a Province in Greece. It was feparated from Macedon by the River Calydnus and Mount Pindus; their chief Cities were Lerta, Beftia, Preveza, &c. there the Abricot grew or was efteem'd natural, about forty Degrees North Latitude, which is four Degrees more South, or nearer the South than the Cherry. A Gentleman told me, about four Years fince, of an Abricot, which had a fmooth Skin, which came from the Coaft of Barbary, where I am informed this kind of Fruit grows wild; but yet the Degree of Latitude is the fame with Part of Greece, fo that its Government in the Garden is the fame.

Next let us confider the Mala Perfica, which we mean when we fpeak of Peaches. They have their Name from Perfia, but that is fo general, that we know not where to fix our Point; for Perfia extends itfelf from about thirty to forty Degrees; but if we take the Medium of that, then we fuppofe them to grow all int the fame Place: It is about thirty five Degrees North Latitude; but it is likely their early forts grow in Places near the Cafpian Sea, five Degrees North from the middle of Perfia, which is my Perfian Latitude; and our latest Peaches might come from those Parts nigh towards the Perfian

B 2

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Gulf, which lie above five Degrees more South than the Point I fix for Perfia: fo that there may be ten Degrees Difference of Latitude even in Perfia, the Peach Country. The Difference however, according to the Point I mention, viz. the middle of Perfia and London, is above fixteen Degrees; or if we add five Degrees more South, and fuppofe Peaches to come from about the Perfian Gulf, then the Difference between London and the Peach Country is more than twenty one Degrees. It is certain, that Peach Trees in Italy will grow to fixteen or eighteen Foot high in two or three Years after Planting, without Walls, which fhews they love Heat; and our best Walls in England will not conftantly ripen all the forts: However, our Catalogue of Peaches furnishes us with fo many various kinds, that we have fome or other from June to November, and I therefore fancy their different Times of ripening happen from the Difference of the Climates they were brought from, as I hinted before: For every Vegetable that I know of will, if poffible, preferve its natural Time of Spring and Growth, whatever Climate it comes from or is in; if it comes from under the Line to us, it will aim at fhooting in its own Seafon, if we can but keep it alive. But I fhall fhew thefe Differences of Latitude more plainly at the End of this Letter, in a Table.

Next the Pomgranate, or Mala Punica, is a Fruit which was brought into Italy from Carthage near Tunis, whofe Latitude is thirty three Degrees North; 'tis to be fuppofed, that this Tree, as it was brought from Africa, might have its original Place more South than Tunis, tho' it would live there; for I find it very difficult to ripen its Fruit with us: Some indeed have been barely ripe in England, and several

have produced Fruit as large as Golden Rennets; but they often fail'd of ripening. In Mr. Molineux's Gardens at Kew in Surrey, and at Sir Gregory Page's at Greenwich in Kent, they are in the beft State; but tho' they have the Help of the best Walls, they are not in the Perfection which would please a Judge of good Fruit; the fort indeed which I fpeak of is the larger kind: But there is fome reafon to believe from what I have obferv'd at Paris, that the Dwarf fort would do much better with us, it is fo generous to bloffom when it is not ten Inches high; and upon one Plant which I had prefented me of that fort, there were three Fruit, tho' it was not quite a Foot in height: Mr. Fairchild of Hoxton has of the fort. They take little Room, and little Care; and I fuppofe will bear Fruit very readily with us, becaufe they bloffom much earlier than the great fort; and that they will live in England without Shelter, there is no doubt, if they are brought no farther Southward than the Coaft of Barbary. It is obfervable in the French King's Garden at Paris, that they bear without Difficulty in little Pots, but are there fheltered in the Winter; but I fuppofe the reason of that is, because in that Country the Winters are much more fevere than they are in England, even fo pinching cold as to deftroy their Vines, their Olives and Pomgranates: tho' their Summers are alfo fo violent hot, that their Fruits ripen much better than ours do. So that, tho' we have not the Severities of their Winters, we want the Heat of their Summers to bring fome Fruits to Perfection.

But to help this Deficiency a little with us, give me leave to offer two or three Conjectures of my own. Let us confider, firft, the ManB 3

ner

ner of the Growth of Fruit; and my Obferva tions tell me, they all follow the fame Methods of growing and ripening. When a Fruit fets, it immediately begins to grow till it comes to a certain Period, where it ftands ftill for a time; and then we may obferve, that it is not half fo large as it fhould be when 'tis ripe. Now at the time when the Fruit is ftop'd in its Growing, I am of opinion, that the whole Tree is at reft in its Vegetation; for we have many Inftances of Trees that have been transplanted at fuch a Time, and even the Fruit upon them has ripen'd, and they have the following Year produc'd Fruit in abundance. I have fo many Proofs of this, that I would as foon take up a Tree for my own use, at that time of the Year as any other; efpecially fince Mr. Johnston of Twittenham has fo judiciously discover'd the Way of planting Trees in Summer.

But in the next Place let us confider, that fome time after this Stop the Fruit begins to enlarge it felf, and then with fome hafte comes to ripen if there is due Heat for it. The fudden Motion may depend upon two things: First, a fresh Fund of Sap gathered from the Earth by new made Roots, has only the Fruit to feed for a time before the Shooters or younger Branches can receive any of it; and the Body of the Fruit being then spongy, is ftill better prepar'd to receive it, and fo occafions the fudden Swelling of the Fruit: Or it may be the raw Juices coming directly from the Earth, and mixing with thofe which have had a longer time to filter thro' the fine Veffels of the Tree, may cause a Fermentation, and from thence caufe the Fruit's Swelling fo fuddenly; for Maturation or Ripening in Fruit is no more than a Tendency to Rottennefs

tennefs or Putrefaction, and all Bodies which ferment, naturally putrify when the Ferment is over. It may be likewife a fermenting of these Liquors in the Body of the Fruit which makes it fwell, because we have Inftances of Liquors which ferment, that take more Room than they did before.

But, however, we find it is neceffary for thefe Juices to be affifted by the Sun, or fome other Heat to ripen the Fruit as it should be, for when there is a Failure of the Sun's Heat, when the Fruit is full grown, the Juices remain raw, and have neither an agreeable Tafte nor Flavour; but when they have a due Share of Heat the Ferment ceafes, their Maturation begins and fugars their Juices, and raises that Richness of Flavour which renders them agreeable to the Palate; and that this Ripening of Fruits is a Degree of Putrefaction feems to be not unreasonable, because they become foft by it, and emit a ftrong Odour, as we find all Bodies do, more or lefs grateful to the Senfes, as they are in different degrees of Putrefaction.

Where our Climate therefore will not afford us Sun enough to ripen, as well as bring our Fruit to full Growth, they are helped by Fire, which heightens their Relish and fugars their Juices, as we find by baking and stewing them, fome of which are by thefe Means rendered more agreeable to the Palate than they would perhaps have been if they had been benefited by the Sun; for this baking and ftewing of them is acting upon them much after the fame Manner by artificial Heat as the Sun would have done by his natural Heat: Some of the moft difagreeable harfh Pears, by Violence of Heat in Baking, are render'd every way pleafing