1-lJ SYS'JKMA I IC J'()M(fLO(iY 



tlie iianit' Daiiiascnc and says of it "lon^- since introduced into 

 Italy/' The Damson plums of this species were introduced by 

 the earliest Kn«ilish settlers in the New World, and references 

 to i)lum-<j:ro\ving in America before the Revolution were nearly 

 all to the Damsons. The reason for this early ])reference to 

 Damsons by the colonists is that they come fairly true to seed 

 while the Domesticas do not. 



201. Cultural status of the Insititias in America. — The hardi- 

 ness, thriftiness, and productiveness of the varieties of this 

 species connnend them to those who cannot give the care re- 

 quired for the less easily grown Domesticas. In America, as in 

 Europe, these plums are to be found in almost every orchard, 

 and in many communities half-wild, thriving with little or no 

 care. The fact that they are easily propagated, growling readily 

 from suckers and coming true to seed, is an added reason for 

 their general distribution. The Insititia plums do not seem to 

 Hybridize freely with other species, — at least there are no re- 

 corded offspring of such hj^brids, though some think the Reine 

 Claudes to be a hybrid group between this species and the 

 Domesticas, and possibly the French Damson and some of the 

 Mirabelles are part Domestica. 



202. Groups of Insititia plums. — The species may be subdi- 

 vided into four groups rather more distinct than those of 

 Domestica plums because of the lack of variability in the species 

 and the difficulty with which these plums are hybridized. The 

 four groups are the Damsons, Bullaces, Mirabelles and St. 

 Juliens, of which, possibly eighty or more varieties have been 

 described. 



(1) The Damsons. — The description given the species fits this 

 group very closely. The distinguishing characters are the oval, 

 blue, sour, and slightly astringent plums. 



(2) The Bullaces. — The tree characters of Damson and Bul- 

 laces are identical and the fruits of the two groups are so nearly 

 alike that a distinction between them is hardly worth making. 

 Insititias with round fruits are called Bullaces. There are no 

 cultivated varieties of importance in this group. 



(3) The Mirabelles. — The trees in this group differ but little 

 from those of other Insititias, except, possibly, in being more 

 dwarf. The fruits are round or oval, yellow, about half an inch 



