rilE JAPANESE MUME OR UME 



As a spring-flowering tree, the Japanese apricot {Primus nitime) or Japanese 

 plum, as the mume is incorrectly called, is perhaps the favorite of the Japanese 

 poets even more than the flowering cherry. It often blooms so early that 

 the snows fall on the fragrant I)lossoms. The fruits remind one of the Ameri- 

 can wild goose i)lum in flavor but are much better keepers. They are pre- 

 served and made into jelly and j)ut down in salt while still green. These 

 salted or i)icklcd mumes are among the sourest pickles known and are 

 excellent with meats. They form a part of the Jajjancse soldiers' ration, and 

 are said to quench thirst on long marches. Many varieties of these mumes 

 are recognized in Jaj)an. The illustration is of fruits produced at Chico, 

 Cal. Five-year-old trees have borne in Maryland also. Photographed 

 natural size. (Fig 9.) 



