WILD FRUITS OF NEBRASKA. 97 



CHAPTER IX, 



THE WILD FRUITS OF NEBRASKA. 



PLUMS. Prunus Americana. Its appearance, habits, abundance, and 

 qualities. P. Chicasa. Hybrids. A late variety. Cultivation. Stock for 

 grafting peaches, plums, and apricots. Hardiness. The Curculio. P.Pumila, 

 or sand-hill cherry. P. Pennsylvanic. P. Virginica. STRAWBERRIES. Fra- 

 garia vesca. Delicious and abundant. F. Virginiana RASPBERRIES. Ru- 

 bus Occidentalis. R. Triflorus. R. Strigosus. R. Villosus. HAWTHORNS. 

 Crataegus tomentosa. C. Malis. JUNE BERRIES. Araalanchier Canadensis. 

 A. Alinifolia. WILD CURRANTS AND GOOSEBERRIES. Ribes Hirtellum. 

 R. Rotundifolium. R. Lacustre. R. Cynosbati. R. Floridum. GRAPES. 

 Vitis sestivalis. V. Cordifolia. Re-classification and hybrids. Wine. THE 

 MULBERRY. THE BUFFALO BERRY. Shepherdia Argentia. THE EL- 

 DERBERRY. THE PAP AW. Asimina triloba. NUTS. Juglans nigra. 

 Carya Alba. Corylus Americanus. 



WILD fruits are a prominent feature of Nebraska. They lux- 

 uriate in its rich soil and almost semi-tropical summers. 

 Among the wild fruits of this State the plum family is a remarka- 

 ble example of how nature herself sometimes ameliorates and im- 

 proves her original productions. 



There are three type species of plums in the State, namely, Pru- 

 nus Americana, P. chicasa, and P.pumila. Of these there is an al- 

 most endless number of varieties. In a plum thicket in Dakota 

 County, covering only a few acres, I counted, while in fruit, nine- 

 teen varieties of Prunus Americana and P. chtcasa, varying in size 

 from a fourth to an inch and a quarter in diameter, and in color 

 from almost white and salmon, to many shades of yellow, tinged 

 with green and red, and from a light, dark, and scarlet red, to pur- 

 ple tinged with different shades of yellow. Such instances are fre- 

 quent over most portions of the State, the plums being common in 

 almost every county, especially along the water courses, and border- 

 ing the belts of timber. These plum groves in spring time present 

 a vast sea of flowers, whose fragrance is wafted for miles, and 

 whose beauty attracts every eye. The varieties of the Prunus 

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