1196 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 
Variety. 
¢ D. v. 2 dilcis Prince’s Cat. for 1829, Foreman’s Sweet Persimon, is 
characterised as having sweeter fruit than the species. 
Description, Geography, §c. The persimon is readily distinguished from 
the European date plum, by its leaves being nearly of the same shade of 
green on both surfaces ; while those of the latter are of a dark purplish green 
above, and much paler, and furnished with somewhat of a pinkish down, be- 
neath. The leaves of the persimon vary from 4 in. to 6in. in length ; and 
when they drop off in the autumn they are often variegated with black spots. 
The size of the tree varies as much as that of the leaves. In the vicinity of 
New York, it is seldom more than 30 ft. high; but in the southern states 
it attains the height of 60 ft., or more, with a trunk 18 in. or 20 in. in diameter. 
The tree is found in a wild state in North America, from 42° n. lat. to Louis- 
iana. It is common in the state of New Jersey, and still more so in Penn- 
sylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. When it was brought to England is 
uncertain; but it has been in cultivation, though not very common, since the 
time of Parkinson. The fruit of this species is so abundant in the southern 
states of North America, that one tree often yields several bushels. The 
fruit, when ripe, is about the size of a bullace plum, reddish, and furnished 
with 6—8 oval stones, which are slightly swollen at the sides, and of a dark 
purple colour. The fruit is not palatable till it has been softened by frost, 
when it becomes sweet, though still astringent. It adheres to the branches, 
long after the leaves have dropped; and, when it falls, it is eagerly devoured 
by wild and domestic animals. In Virginia, the Carolinas, and the western 
states, the fruit is sometimes gathered up, pounded with bran, and formed 
into cakes, which are dried in an oven, and kept to make beer. For this pur- 
pose, they are disolved in warm water, and hops and yeast are added to the 
mixture. The fruit itself, bruised and fermented, yields an ardent spirit, 
which is said to become excellent when it acquires age. The wood of the tree 
is greenish in the softer parts; but the heart-wood is brown, hard, compact, 
and strong and elastic, but liable to split. At Baltimore, screws and mallets 
have been made of it; at Philadelphia, shoe-lasts ; and, in Carolina, wedges 
for splitting trees. Michaux says that he was assured by the coachmakers 
in Charleston, that they had employed it for the shafts of chaises, and found 
it preferable to the ash, and all other species of wood, except the lance-wood 
of the West Indies. The farmers in Virginia assert that grass grows more 
vigorously beneath the persimon than beneath any other tree; and this fact is 
attributed to the speedy decay of its leaves, which form an excellent manure. 
A greenish gum exudes from the tree, but in very small quantities, and no use 
has yet been made of it. The inner bark, which is extremely bitter, is said 
to have been employed with success in intermittent fevers. In Britain, and 
throughout Europe, it is cultivated solely as an ornamental tree. It is pro- 
pagated by seeds, and seems to prefer a soft black soil, rather moist, and a 
sheltered situation. 
Statistics. The largest tree of this species, in the neighbourhood of London, is in the arboretum at 
Kew, where it is 40 ft. high; at Syon, there is a tree 17 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 10in., and 
that of the head 20 ft. In Bedfordshire, at Ampthill, there is a tree, 85 years planted, which is 25 ft. 
high, the diameter of the trunk 13 ft., and of the head 30ft.; the soil loamy, on a clayey subsoil. 
In Berkshire, at White Knights, a tree, 24 years planted, is 18 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 
8in., and of the head 14 ft. In Staffordshire, in the Handsworth Nursery, a tree, 10 years planted, 
is 12 ft. high. In Worcestershire, at Croome, a tree, 20 years planted, is 20 ft. high. In France, the 
tree attains about the same height as the Diospyros Lotus, in the neighbourhood of Paris, and ripens 
its fruit. In Germany, in the neighbourhood of Vienna, there are old trees of this species, between 
30 ft. and 40 ft. high. In Italy, at Monza, a tree, 24 years planted, is 40 ft. high. In North America, 
in Bartram’s Botanic Garden, there is a specimen 80 ft. high. 
Commercial Statistics. Plants, in the London nurseries, are Is. 6d. each, 
and seeds Is. per packet ; at Bollwyller, 1 franc each ; at New York, plants 
of the species are 50 cents each, and of a variety named Foreman’s sweet per- 
simon, 75 cents each. 
¥ 3. D. (v.) puBE’scens Pursh. The downy-/eaved Virginian Date Plum. 
Identification. Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept., 1. p. 265. ; Don’s Mill., 4 p. 58. 
Synonyme. D. virginiana var. Mich. Arb. For. 
