THE JAPANESE PLUMS IN NORTH AMERICA. 



In 1870, Mr. Hough, of Vacaville, California, secured several 

 plum trees from Japan through Mr. Bridges, a United States Consul 

 in that country, at a cost of ten dollars each. These trees soon 

 passed into the hands of the late John Kelsey, of Berkeley, Cali- 

 fornia, who obtained the first ripe fruit in 1876 or 1877. ^^• 

 Kelsey became convinced of the value of the plum for general 

 cultivation, and its propagation upon an extensive scale was begun 

 in 1883 by W. P. Hammon & Co., of Oakland, who afterwards 

 named it in memory of Mr. Kelsey, and who made large sales in 

 the planting season of 1884. Subsequently, other parties, partic- 

 ularly Luther Burbank, of Santa Rosa, California, made importa- 

 tions of plum trees from Japan, and have disseminated the varieties 

 widely. For the past four or five years, these plums have awakened 

 more interest throughout the country than any other new or recent 

 type of fruits ; and it has been found, contrary to the early opinion, 

 that many of them are adapted to the northern States. While 

 they are often inferior in quality to the best garden or Domestical 

 plums, they possess various desirable characteristics which the 

 others do not, particularly great vigor and productiveness of tree, 

 comparative freedom from disease, great beauty, and long-keeping 

 qualities ; and the best of them compare well in quality with 

 the common plums. 



*The term Domestica plums is used to distinguish the common cultivated 

 plums, all of which have sprung from the European Pninus domestica, from 

 the Native and Japanese types. 



The term Japanese plum is used only for these varieties of Pntnus triflora 

 now under consideration, and does not include the Bungo or Bongoume 

 types, which are apricots and which vtill be treated in a future bulletin. The 

 Apricot or Simon plum {Primus Simonii) has been already discussed in 

 Bulletin 51. The so-called Japan plum of the extreme south is the loquat, 

 and is foreign to the purpose of this bulletin. 



The native plums and cherries are treated in detail in Bulletin 38. 



