384 SYSTEMATIC POMOLOGY 



593. Miner. /*. hortuUimi M uteri. — Miner is particularly 

 adapted to tlic iiorllicrii limits of the cultivation of its species. 

 The tree is robust, hraltliy, better in li;J)it of ^n-owth for orchard 

 manajrement than any other of the native plums, and usually 

 productive. The fruits are good in quality, attractive in appear- 

 ance, comparatively curculio-proof, and are especially suited for 

 culinary uses. In 1813, William Dodd found this plum in a 

 Chicasaw Indian plantation on the Tallapoosa River, Alabama. 



Tree large, vigorous, spreading, hardy, unproductive unless cross-polli- 

 nated. Fruit late; medium in size, round-ovate; cavity shallow, narrow, 

 regular; suture indistinct; apex pointed; color dull dark red, with thin 

 bloom ; dots numerous, minute, yellowish ; stem slender, long, astringent ; 

 flesh pale amber-yellow, juicy, tender, mild, aromatic; good; stone adher- 

 ing, small, rouud-oval, flattened, with nearly smooth surfaces. 



Group 9. Fruits Early or Midseason 



594. Wild Goose. P. Munsoniana. — Wild Goose was the first 

 native plum to be generally grown as a distinct variet3^ Good 

 qualities of the plum are : bright attractive color ; tender and 

 melting flesh with a sprightly and refreshing flavor ; a tough 

 skin which fits it well for shipment and long-keeping ; compara- 

 tive freedom from brown-rot and curculio. The trees are large, 

 hardy, healthy, and, when cross-pollinated, very productive. 

 About 1820 M. E. McCrance, Nashville, Tennessee, shot a wild 

 goose ; his wife, in dressing the goose, found a plum seed in its 

 craw, which, planted, produced the Wild Goose tree. 



Tree very large and vigorous, wide-spreading, flat-topped, hardy. Fruit 

 very early; 1% by 1 3/16 inches in size, oval, halves equal; cavity small, 

 narrow, shallow, abrupt; suture an indistinct line; apex round or pointed; 

 color bright red, with thin bloom; dots few, light russet, conspicuous, 

 clustered about the apex; the stem attached to a stem-like growth from 

 the fruit-spurs gives the appearance on the tree of a jointed stem, very 

 slender, % inch long, glabrous, not adhering to the fruit; skin tough, 

 astringent, separating readily; flesh yelloAvish, juicy and fibrous, tender and 

 melting, sweet next the skin but sour at the center, sprightly; fair to good; 

 stone adhering, long and narrow-oval, flattened, slightly necked at the base, 

 acute at the apex, roughened. 



595. De Soto (Fig. 216). P. americaim. — De Soto is better 

 suited to the orchard than other Americanas, having little of the 



