PLUMS. 149 



Prof. Baily, of New York has made three sepa- 

 rate lists of the Primus chicasa, placing the Miner, 

 Marianna and Wild Goose as types of them. 



We are of opinion that this classification is apt 

 to mislead rather than to guide, and shall consider 

 them as they have always been heretofore classed 

 as above. 



These plums are also indigenous to American 

 soil so far as is absolutely known, though there are 

 those who contend that they are of Spanish origin % 

 and that they were brought here by the Spaniards 

 in their invasion of Mexico, and from there have 

 spread throughout the southern half of the United 

 States, where they were first noticed, and where 

 they are common now, growing wild as the Ameri- 

 cana does in the north. 



The distinctive characteristics of this family are 

 the long narrow leaf, resembling that of the peach, 

 generally ruffled, glossy above and smoother than 

 the Americana beneath; shoots very small and 

 pointed, generally supplied with very thorny, sharp 

 spurs, and a tendency to hold their foliage long 

 after all others have cast their leaves in the fall. 



Some of these varieties are also remarkable for 

 their long life and the great size that they attain. 

 The fruit is generally either glossy red, or yellow, 

 and not mottled with these colors like many of the 

 northern natives. In quality, too, they are quite 

 distinct, being more meaty and the pulp hanging 

 tenaciously to the stone. As a class they are not 

 as hardy as the P. Americana, but some of them 



