8 Plums and Plum Culture 



adapted from Downing. In the Japanese group, the 

 publications of the Cornell experiment station, em- 

 bodying the work of Professor Bailey and Mr. Hunn, 

 have been freely drawn upon. In the list of hybrid 

 varieties, the descriptive notes published by the author 

 in the reports of the Vermont experiment station have 

 been largely used. Where descriptions are taken from 

 literature their source is indicated. 



In following the outline of description shown at 

 the beginning of this chapter, some allowance has to 

 be made, of course, for personal judgment. This 

 shows itself particularly in defining such characters as 

 quality and flavor. The standard of size, too, must 

 be allowed to vary somewhat. What is large in the 

 Chicasaw group would be small among the Domes- 

 ticas or the hybrids. Similarly, what would be a thick 

 skin on a Chicasaw would be very thin on an 

 Americana. One must keep these points in mind in 

 interpreting the following descriptions. He should 

 remember, too, that all points have not equal value in 

 determining the correctness of a variety. For instance, 

 flavor, quality and size vary greatly with different 

 soils, climates, methods of cultivation, etc. Even 

 color, the one characteristic most emphasized in 

 catalog descriptions, is more apt to vary than is the 

 shape of the stone, or the character of the dots. These 

 two points are probably of greatest importance in 

 determining varieties. After these, the others come 

 about in the following order: Form, color, cavity, 

 bloom and stem. 



