PLUMS AND CHERRIES. 65 



plums maj^ be grown from the seed of the yellow, and yellow from 

 seed of the red. 



The natvxral habit of reproduction from the roots is a valuable 

 quality of the plum tree; we are thus assured of maintaining- the 

 character of the fruit and hardiness of tree. Of course, the fruit can 

 be multiplied indefinitely by budding and grafting, but the trees 

 will not be as long-lived nor as abundant in bearing, even when 

 worked on their own roots, and the . fruit when grafted onto other 

 stock will be more or less modified by it. 



Some of the Chickasawsof the Mariana group are easily propagat- 

 ed from cuttings, but experiments with the Northern kinds have not 

 been satisfactory. Some very fine results have been obtained by 

 hybridizing the Japan plums with the Chickasaws, but both Japan 

 and Chickasaws are too tender for this climate. Crosses of the 

 Chickasaw and Northern, are in some cases said to be superior to 

 either parent: the Hawkeye and the Miner are the best known types 

 of this cross; but in crossing the Miner with the Northern, the fruit 

 is not equal to either parent. Opinions differ in regard to the quali- 

 ties of the Russian plums; some growers say they are superior to 

 any of our natives, and others say they are all inferior to our best 

 natives, from which it may be inferred that there is a great differ- 

 ence in taste, and, inay be, error in judgment, and that both varieties 

 are desirable for the purposes to which they are adapted. No na- 

 tives have yet been found to correspond with the commercial prune. 

 Leaving this out, no well informed lover of good fruit has been 

 heard to criticise severely the Rollingstone, the Cheney, the Desota 

 or the Gaylord plums, as compared with the Europeans. These 

 varieties have been well tested and are well known, and are in every 

 -way desirable for those who would plant for the enjoyment of fruit 

 of large size, delicious quality, fine appearance and abundant yield. 

 There may be many others, quite as desirable, but they are not gen- 

 erally known and are difficult to obtain. These varieties when 

 transplanted, as suckers, or when grafted into older stock, will 

 usually bear at three years of age; when grafted into the twigs of 

 trees, they will frequently bear the second j^ear. 



There seems to be more difficulty in grafting plums as nursery 

 stock, than with apples. This is generally attributed to the scions, 

 as, if they are kept a little too moist, the}^ become calloused and en- 

 tirely worthless; if kept too dry, they shrivel and are lifeless. The 

 stocks do not appear to be so affected; and if the scions are cut be- 

 fore the buds swell in the spring and immediately used, nearly all 

 will grow; but so much difficulty has been met with that some of the 

 large nurseries have abandoned grafting and have resorted to bud- 

 ding with more satisfaction. 



