246 THE EVOLUTION OF OUR NATIVE FRUITS 



be referred, and it is probable 

 that it is a natural hybrid be- 

 tween the cherries and plums 

 growing in Mr. Johnson's gar- 

 den. It is an almost exact in- 

 termediate between the western 

 dwarf cherry and the sand plum. 

 The fruits are cherry -like in 

 form and in the character of 

 the pit, but they have the 

 "bloom" of the plum. The 

 illustration shows the Utah 

 Hybrid, half natural size, 

 as grown by myself. 

 It is a very hand- 

 some fruit of deep 

 mahogany color, with 

 a light plum -like 

 bloom, ripening about 

 the first of August 

 at Ithaca. The qual- 

 ity is poor. The 

 flesh is soft and 

 juicy, and rather 

 pleasant, but it 

 lacks body ; and the 

 skin, in our speci- 

 mens, is very bitter. 

 The pit is very like 

 that of Prunus Bes- 

 The plant is a 

 tree -like bush three 

 or four feet high, 



Fig. 41. Utah hybrid cherry. S 

 Half natural size. 



