VIII 



The Americana Group 



HIS is certainly the dominant 

 group of American plums. 

 Were it not for the danger of 

 getting into an argument with 

 certain worthy persons who have 

 expressed a different view, I 

 think I should have said also 

 that this is the most important 

 group. 

 However that may be, it is botanically and hor- 

 ticulturally the most prominent type of native plums. 

 It spreads over a far wider geographical range than 

 any other species or hybrid family, and it occupies its 

 ground within its range with more persistency. The 

 type is more stable, — harder to break. This is why 

 other native species are just now more prominent in 

 hybridization work; but it is no reason why they 

 should be more useful in the end. There are more 



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