248 THE EVOLUTION OF OUR NATIVE FRUITS 



types of native plums and one or two of native cher- 

 ries have entered into this domesticated flora, and 

 hybrids have appeared not only between native plums, 

 but probably between native and foreign species, and 

 between the native plum and the peach ; and hybrids 

 have even arisen between the plum and the cherry. Of 

 late years, too, another and distinct species of plum has 

 been introduced from Japan. It is attracting attention 

 from fruit-growers in every part of the Union, and is 

 slowly adapting itself to the new environments, and 

 it must soon meet and blend with some of the native 

 species. There are already reports that such nuptials 

 have been made. A half dozen native species not 

 yet brought into cultivation are inviting the attention 

 of the experimenter. In the meantime, the interest in 

 commercial plum culture is increasing rapidly, and 

 the enterprise is each year carried into new and 

 untried regions. Of all the books which have been 

 written upon American horticulture, not one of any 

 consequence has been given wholly to the plum. To 

 the student, our native and domestic plum flora will 

 long remain the most inviting, perplexed and virgin 

 field in American pomology. 



