THE MARIANNA 213 



vicinity of the French trees, and Mr. De Caradeuc 

 thinks that the variety under consideration is a 

 hybrid, but I am unable to discover any evidence 

 of hybridity. The original tree of the variety "out- 

 grew the parent," Mr. De Caradeuc writes me, "and 

 reached a diameter of head of fifteen feet, was 

 entirely free from thorns and suckers, and bore a 

 remarkably rich and beautiful foliage." The variety 

 was named by P. J. Berckmans, the excellent pomol- 

 ogist of Georgia, and he regards it as pure myro- 

 balan, a conclusion with which I am strongly inclined 

 to concur. Another indication that it may be myro- 

 balan, is the fact that J. W. Kerr, of Maryland, has 

 grown a purple -leaved plum tree from a seed of the 

 De Caradeuc, thus suggesting Prunus Pissardi, which 

 is a purple form of the Old World myrobalan. 



The Marianna is, in several respects, intermediate 

 between Prunus cerasifera, as represented in De Cara- 

 deuc, and the native American plums, particularly in 

 the short-stemmed fruit, small, nearly sessile, and 

 clustered, later flowers, and erect, narrow calyx lobes, 

 and spreading habit. It is, therefore, little surprise 

 to learn that the originator considers it a seedling of 

 Wild Goose. It originated as a seedling in a mixed 

 orchard at Marianna, Polk county, Texas, the property 

 of Charles G. Fitze. So far as I can learn, the seed 

 was not hand -sown, and there is a chance for error 

 in the history. The variety was introduced in 1884, 

 by Charles N. Eley, Smith Point, Texas. 



The Hattie and some others are of this group, but 

 I have not traced the history of them. 



