258 The Journal 
in all—had but a brief existence and 
died while blooming in the spring of 
1919. They died for no other apparent 
reason than that of uncongeniality of 
stock, while all of the Milton plum 
s ions, a’so six 11 number, seems es 
vigorous today as ever. .Even this 
brief comparison would readily in- 
dicate the two samples of fruit are of 
distinctly different varieties. 
THE EFFECT OF STOCK ON SCION 
It will be of general interest to note 
at this time what effect a different 
stock, e. g., Prunus angustifolia, exerts 
on the Herald variety of prune, and 
undoubtedly a similar effect might be 
observed on other varieties of plums 
and prunes when so united. The fruit 
from the top-worked tree measures 
5 mm. less in length and 4 mm. less 
in width than that from the original 
tree. Th: pit also lacks 3 mm. i1 
length, 1 mm. in width and a fractio1 
of a millimeter in thickness. Its sur- 
face is velvety, like that of the pits of 
the Prunus angustifolia species, while 
the surface of the pits from fruits taken 
from the original tree is hard and less 
velvety. Again, the characteristic 
prune-shaped prt is much less pro- 
nounced; in fact, it greatly resembles 
those of the Prunus angustifolia sp cies. 
As the original Herald prune tree 
was purchased for the Milton variety of 
plum from a reliable nursery, and as no 
such prune variety had knowingly been 
propagated by that nursery, one is led 
of Heredity 
to believe that a mutation arising from 
the native Prunus monsoniana species 
has occurred. The tree is supposed to 
be budded stock, but whether this is 
true or whether the bud died in the 
nursery and a root mutation has actu- 
ally occurred—in other words, whether 
the tree is growing on its own roots or 
on those of another variety—cannot be 
determined at this time. The most 
interesting feature of this variety seems 
to be that a true prune, one that will 
dry on the tree and cure perfectly with- 
out removing the pit, although of no 
commercial value as a prune, has 
developed from one of our native 
American species of plums. 
Great as our interest may be in such 
a discovery, it must be remembered, of 
course, that this particular variety, be- 
cause of its soft texture and juicy flesh, 
cannot be expected to compete with 
any of those of the commercial prune, 
v. e., of the Prunus domestica species. 
Not until a great amount of work has 
been done in hybridizing this new 
Herald prune with the better com- 
mercial sorts can we hope to be re- 
warded by virtue of such a discovery. 
In the south, where the Prunus domes- 
tica species cannot easily be grown 
because of climatic conditions and fun- 
gus diseases, this late blooming and 
apparently highly resistant native 
prune might be utilized in hybridization 
work to make possible the growing of a 
new strain of prune for eastern Amer- 
ica. 
A Contribution to Eugenics 
PERSONAL BEAUTY AND RACIAL 
BETTERMENT,4by Knight Dunlap, 
professor of experimental psychology 
in the Johns Hopkins Hospital, 
Baltimore. Pp. 95, price $1. St. 
Louis, C. V. Mosby Co., 1920. 
True personal beauty is the best 
single guide to sound sexual selection, 
according to Professor Dunlap; and he 
develops this point with plausible in- 
genuity, although without any statisti- 
cal basis. The second part of the book 
is an essay on applied eugenics. Dr. 
Dunlap does not favor sterilization, 
does favor segregation, and believes 
much could be accomplished by proper 
propaganda of birth-control. 
The book is filled with interesting 
and penetrating ideas, with most of 
which eugenists will agree. It is written 
simply and readably, and is worth 
reading. It deserves to be very widely 
circulated.—P. P. 
