132 LUTHER BURBANK 



THE CALIFORNIA WILD PLUM 



Almost every imaginable flavor is to be found 

 among the California wild plums (P. subcor- 

 data) . Some are quite sweet, some are sour, 

 others are distinctly bitter. A few are delicious. 

 The fruit usually is small and round, about the 

 size of the wild plums of the Mississippi Valley; 

 and of brilliant red color, or sometimes yellow, 

 and rarely purple. 



Strange as it may seem, the best fruit is pro- 

 duced abundantly where the trees are growing 

 on rather poor, almost desert soil. 



The trees in different localities (and the same 

 is true in a measure of each tree in the same 

 locality) seem to have an individuality of their 

 own, a somewhat characteristic condition with 

 our California wild trees and shrubs. Some of 

 these plum trees grow large and tall, with a 

 straight, upright habit. Others form spreading 

 bushes of low, compact growth that often bear 

 abundantly when only a foot or two high, 

 bending to the ground with their burden 

 of fruit. 



Under cultivation this plum has improved, 

 and some selected seedling varieties are of very 

 superior quality. Some of these plums when 

 cooked have a flavor closely similar to that of the 



