MARVELOUS POSSIBILITIES 263 



the apricot's ability to stand handling without 

 injury. 



When this blend of bloom and velvet was 

 noted, experiments were made to determine how 

 much handling it would withstand. A dozen 

 plumcots were passed around from hand to hand 

 many times, and then left to fully ripen and de- 

 cay, the condition of the velvet bloom being 

 noted from time to time. While there was a 

 slight decrease in the brilliancy of the bloom, yet 

 it persisted to a surprising degree, even after the 

 flesh of the plumcot had decayed. 



The value of this characteristic is greater than 

 might at first be supposed. Plums lose their 

 bloom to a great extent, even on the tree, by 

 brushing of leaves or chafing together. Wher- 

 ever foliage or other fruit touches it, the bloom 

 is injured or destroyed. It is of course impos- 

 sible to market the plum without destroying the 

 greater part of the bloom, thus giving the fruit 

 a shiny appearance. In making the photographs 

 in these books, in fact, it has been found difficult, 

 first to find a plum fruit of any variety which 

 has a perfect bloom on the tree; and second, to 

 get the plum in front of the camera without de- 

 facing it. Wherever a finger touches the plum, 

 a mark is left, and since fruits, at best, must 

 receive much handling from the orchard to the 



