The Japanese Plums 45 



history, been found as apt to yield disappointment and 

 failure as any other fruit. Still, it is abundantly true, 

 to quote again from Bailey, that "the Japanese plums 

 constitute the most important type of fruit intro- 

 duced into North America during the last quar- 

 ter of a century." 



The Japanese plums are strong growers. In fact, 

 this becomes almost a vice at times. Some of them, 

 particularly Burbank, require the severest heading-in 

 to keep them within reasonable bounds. The rapid- 

 growing wood is also somewhat brash, like peach 

 wood, and apt to break or split at the crotches. The 

 foliage is rich, abundant and comparatively free from 

 disease. The blossoms appear early, — the first in the 

 plum- flowering season. They come so early as to 

 run considerable danger of frost, and this is one of the 

 defects of the species. The blossoms are abundant, 

 large, white, strikingly ornamental and usually very 

 strong sexually. The fruit varies greatly in size, color, 

 quality and season. In general the fruits are firm, 

 excellent shippers and keepers, when not attacked by 

 monilia, to which they are subject. They are mostly 

 tenacious clingstones. The quality runs fair to good 

 and occasionally very good, though in general they 

 are inferior to the Domesticas, and, in the opinion of 

 the writer, to the best of the natives. They are rapidly 

 finding their way into American fruit markets. 



The varieties altogether seem to be a little less 

 hardy against cold than the common Domesticas, or 

 about as hardy as the Wildgoose type. Still, the most 

 popular varieties thrive in Maine, Vermont, Ontario 

 and southern Iowa. 



The Japanese plums are still much misunder- 

 stood. Some persons still claim everything for them, 

 while others curse them by every form of available 

 profanity. They have not been with us long enough 



