NEW PLUMS AND PRUNES 121 



American cultivated plums, and no larger than 

 the wild ones from Europe. 



But they possess the important characteristic 

 of hardiness. For this reason, it has been neces- 

 sary to use them in many cases to combine 

 with more tender species in order that the 

 new varieties might become standards in the 

 colder sections of the United States and other 

 countries. 



Six important American species have been 

 used in these experiments: They are known as 

 the American plum (Prunus americana), the 

 Wild- Goose plum (P. hortulans), the Chicka- 

 saw plum (P. angustifolia) , the western Sand 

 Cherry (P. Besseyi] , the Beach plum (P. mari- 

 tima), and the California wild plum (P. sub- 

 cor data). 



These were the native wild plums of the 

 Middle, Eastern, and Western States and the 

 Rocky Mountains south to the Gulf of Mexico. 

 Most of them are unusually hardy. Cold does 

 them no harm even in the northernmost part of 

 the central division of the United States. 



As to quality of fruit, these wild plums differ, 

 but all the cultivated varieties have attractive 

 flavors, and these flavors have been blended vari- 

 ously in no fewer than fourteen new varieties 

 that I have thought worthy of introduction. 



