The Japanese Persimmon in Arkansas. 213 



dicBcious and polygamous, or, in other words, we find individual trees that 

 are strictly staminate, others pistilate, others with perfect flowers, and also 

 others of every grade between. Therefore, I should say that its flowers are 

 not more dioeciously than monceciously polygamous. They are simj^ly and 

 exactly polygamous. This being the fact, as a natural consequence trees of 

 it grown from seed will have many entirely barren individuals amongst 

 them, and many individuals prove barren when isolated from others that 

 would prove productive if not so isolated ; yet, pistillate individuals, seem- 

 ingly strictly so, produce, some of them, very fine, seedless fruit, when so 

 isolated. Two of the finest flavored and largest fruited (as we incorrectly call 

 the edible part, the seeds being the fruit proper) varieties I have ever ob- 

 served were entirely without perfect seeds, and had scarcely observable rudi- 

 ments of seeds. 



The fruiting of the persimmon as a mass is very irregular, with generally 

 only a small poi^tion of the great mass of trees fruiting each year. But oc- 

 casional seasons nearly every tree gives an abundant crop of fruit. When 

 such a season happens, every living thing in a persimmon country is happy, 

 for nearly every animal and bird is very fond of them, and what few liv- 

 ing creatures there are that do not feed on them, feed, as a rule, on such as 

 do. They are a verj- rich, fattening food for all. 



Again, there are varieties that seldom, if ever, fail to produce a heavy crop 

 each year; others that bear every other year; others that give an immense 

 crop one year and a light crop the next. So we see the fruiting is like the 

 flowering — very diverse. This tells us that if we wish to grow persimmons 

 with good fruit, and yearly productive, we must bud or graft, or grow our 

 trees from root-cuttings, from such varieties as suit us in these respects. 



The varieties among our native persimmons are endless, ranging in qual- 

 ity from those inedible at any time of year to those exceedingly large and 

 luscious, rivaling, I think, in size and edible qualities, the finest of the Japan- 

 ese persimmons. 



The commercial value of the fruit of the native persimmon is, as yet, very 

 little, but I think it has great future prospects. It can not be well sent to 

 distant markets, owing to its want of consistency when ripe, for all varieties 

 of it that have come under my notice are very soft when ripe enough to be 

 edible. But I have thought that it could be cured and dried with sugar, and 

 make in this way a very nutritious food or sweetmeat. When properly 

 handled the fruit makes a very palatable, wholesome, exhilarating beer, or 

 drink. It should also, if fermented and distilled, make a very fine fruit 

 •brandy. As a food it is very valuable for man or beast. All kinds of stock 

 fatten on it quickly. The vast amount of overflowed waste lands of the 

 South, if planted with yearly productive varieties of native persimmons, 

 ripening in succession, would make a range for fattening hogs, surpassing by 

 far the cornfields of Illinois and Iowa. 



The tree belongs to the Ebony family (Ebenaeea), and will, in time, as fash- 

 ions roll around, become of great commercial value. It is a most beautiful 



