NEW PLUMS AND PRUNES 137 



plums that they purchase in June and July are 

 of the same varieties sold in the dried state as 

 prunes. 



The European plums have been used in the 

 production of eight of my introduced prunes and 

 have contributed to these the characters neces- 

 sary for drying and shipping. 



The European plums produce new forms 

 readily from seed, so that it is scarcely neces- 

 sary to cross them with other species to obtain 

 seedlings with rather distinct new characters. 

 Furthermore, it is difficult to make productive 

 varieties when crossed with other species. My 

 experience has been that they do not cross read- 

 ily with the Asiatic plums, Prunus triflora,, Pru- 

 nus Simontij and Prunus tomentosa, nor very 

 readily with any of the native American plums. 



On the other hand, the common European 

 plum crosses readily with the French species, 

 Prunus cerasifera., the Cherry plum or myrob- 

 alan, often producing most valuable new 

 varieties. 



This French Cherry plum is a small, slender 

 tree. It is usually quite productive, but no seed- 

 lings of large size or superior quality have ever 

 been produced directly from it, and the fruit of 

 its seedlings are not only lacking in quality but 

 in size and firmness of flesh. 



