THE APRICOT 279 



properly be regarded as a plum; being in fact 

 a variety of Prunus cerasifera, as has been abun- 

 dantly proved by numerous seedlings and hy- 

 brids produced on my own grounds. 



Hybrids of this fruit with the apricot and with 

 the Japanese apricot and Japanese plum have 

 been made in various combinations. Here, again, 

 I shall have occasion to go more into detail 

 in another chapter. I mention these various 

 hybrids here to illustrate further the possibili- 

 ties of development of new races of apricots, 

 or of altogether new fruits, through various 

 combinations in which the apricot is one 

 parent. 



To mention only one other quality of the pres- 

 ent apricot that is in great need of improvement, 

 we may note that the fruit usually grows lop- 

 sided and has a tendency to ripen on one side 

 while the other is partly green. There is great 

 call among apricot growers, and especially from 

 canning establishments, for a large, globular, 

 sweet, freestone apricot with a small pit. No 

 apricot now known fully fills the bill. 



There is also opportunity to improve greatly 

 the drying qualities of the apricot. 



All these matters will, of course, receive atten- 

 tion from the plant experimenter who endeavors 

 to improve this fruit at the same time that he is 



