THE PLUMS 



149 



remarkable results have been obtained by Luther 

 Burbank in California, who has produced many new- 

 plums through hybridizing the Japanese with other 

 kinds. Nearly a hundred Hybrid Plums, largely of 

 Japanese origin, are now known and new ones are fre- 

 quently being introduced. Some of the most promising 

 varieties of plums are found in the hst of hybrids. 

 Among these the varieties called Apple, Climax, Golden, 

 Maynard and Occident or Sultan deserve special 

 mention. 



American Plums 



The third important group of plums are the various 

 American types. These are seedlings or hybrids of the 

 several species of wild 

 plums, native to vari- 

 ous parts of North 

 America. They are 

 specially valuable be- 

 cause of their hardi- 

 ness, which adapts 

 them to climatic condi- 

 tions under which the 

 European and Japan- 

 ese varieties cannot be 

 grown. Botanically 

 these American plums ^^° J^^^ ^^^^' 



are much confused because many of them are natural 

 hybrids. For convenience they are divided into certain 

 groups, of which the most important are the Wild Plum 

 of the Mississippi valley region, known technically as 

 Prunus Americana, and its northern variety the Canada 



