176 THE EVOLUTION OF OUR NATIVE FRUITS 



Gillett, Townsend and Robinson as synonyms of it. 

 The Robinson now known is a very different fruit. 

 The Miner is one of the best and most popular of the 

 native plums. The fruit is large, round or roundish- 

 oblong, dull red, skin rather thick; stone cling, short 

 and broad, smooth or very nearly so, very short- 

 pointed, rather sharp on the front edge ; leaves large 

 and heavy, usually inclined to be obovate, rather long- 

 pointed, the stalks glandular. It is one of the latest 

 ripening of all ihe plums of its class. 



The second important event in the evolution of 

 the native plums is the origination of the Wild 

 Goose. On account of its productiveness, earliness, 

 beauty, good shipping qualities, and its early intro- 

 duction, this is the most popular of the native plums. 

 It was first brought to notice by James Harvey, of 

 Columbia, Tennessee. Some time before 1850, a man 

 shot a wild goose near Columbia, and on the spot 

 where the carcass was thrown this plum came up the 

 following spring. It was introduced about 1850 by 

 the late J. S. Downer, Fairview, Kentucky. The 

 fruit is large, round-oblong, light red, skin thin, the 

 flesh thin and juicy ; cling, stone long and narrow, 

 prolonged above into a sharp point and below into a 

 narrow base, finely pitted; leaves oblong -lanceolate, 

 peach -like, not prominently pointed, the margins finely 

 and evenly serrate. Early, of poor quality, but because 

 of its many striking features it is widely grown. 



Another important event was the introduction of 

 the Robinson. This is a seedling grown by a Mr. 

 Pickett, of Putnam county, Indiana, from a seedling 

 brought with him from North Carolina about fifty 

 years ago, and almost every season (since large 



