150 sysri':M.\Tir roMoLoav 



216. Botanical description of P. nigra. — In fruit and tree, 

 Ni^ra i)lunis arc similar to the Amcricauas l)ut tliere arc several 

 marked ditt'erences, as the de.seription sliows. 



8. Prunus nigra, Ait. Tree small, seldom exceeding 20 feet in height; 

 bark thin, rough, but not shaggy ; branches upright, stout, armed with stout 

 spiny spurs. Leaves large, broad-oval, with a long-acuminate apex and 

 cuneate or subcordate base; margins doubly crenate-serrate, with teeth 

 tipped with glands which disappear as the leaves mature; upper surface 

 glabrous, the under surface pubescent when young; petioles 2/3 inch long, 

 stout, with two large dark red glands near the blade. Flowers IVi inches 

 across; borne in three- or four-flowered umbels on glabrous red pedicels V2 

 inch in length. Fruit early; round-oblong, 1 inch in diameter, red, orange 

 or yellow in color, with little bloom; skin thick, tough, astringent; flesh 

 yellow, firm, acid or astringent; stone clinging, large, oval, thick -walled, 

 with a sharp ridge on the ventral and a groove on the dorsal suture. 



217. Pomological characters of Nigra plums. — The trees not 

 only endure more eold than those oi the last-named group, but 

 their tough wood enables them to stand better the weight of 

 snows and the stress of winds. Earliness in ripening, also, pro- 

 longs the season for this type of fruit; and, in regions where 

 the season is short, the Nigras may be grown with more certainty 

 than other groups. About forty varieties of this species are 

 under cultivation. 



Angii^ti folia plums. 



The Angustifolia plums are native from southern Delaware 

 to Florida and westward to the Panhandle of Texas and southern 

 Oklahoma. They usually grow in rich soils, but are found as 

 well in worn-out fields and pastures, most often in thickets 

 of small trees or thorny shrubs or scraggly bushes, producing 

 under the latter conditions small fruits so like cherries as to 

 give it the name in some localities of "Mountain Cherry" (Mary- 

 land), and in others of "Wild Cherry" (Louisiana). 



218. Botanical characters of P. angustifolia. — The species 

 has long been known, and is near at hand to fruit-growers, with- 

 out many of its offspring coming under cultivation. Neither 

 trees nor fruits are promising for the cultivator, but two sub- 

 species have furnished some six or more sorts each. 



10. Prunus angustifolia, Marsh. Plant usually forming a distinct trunk 

 with a twiggy bushy top ; branches slender, zigzag with long thin thorns 



