182 SYSTEMATIC POMOLOGY 



polation of only so much explanation as 

 seems necessary to our present purpose. 



It will be seen at once that in this scheme 

 the classification is made to rest almost wholly 

 on a botanical basis. The plums belong to 

 a great many different botanical groups, and 

 when we have given these their proper char- 

 acterization and arrangement we have really 

 made a classification for the cultivated vari- 

 eties derived from those species and botanical 

 varieties. This method was first effectively 

 used in this country for plums by Professor 

 L. H. Bailey.* 



In the book on " Plums and Plum Culture " 

 just mentioned the common European gar- 

 den plums, derived from Prunus domestica, 

 are subdivided considerably further than the 

 purely botanical classification has usually been 

 carried. Several natural types within this 

 species are distinguished and classified, and 

 this arrangement is also adopted in the fol- 

 lowing outline. At the same time the Japa- 

 nese plums are similarly classified into several 

 more or less distinct natural groups This 

 classification runs as follows : 



*See especially Cornell Experiment Station Bulletin No. 

 38. 1892. 



