410 EXPERIMENTS WITH PLANTS 



extraordinary: they may be briefly summed up as 

 follows : 



1. Every possible variety of coloring of skin and 

 flesh has been obtained, from a pure golden yellow to 

 deepest blood -red. Mottled and variegated forms 

 have appeared in abundance. 



2. The shapes vary as much as the colors. The 

 ■'Apple Plum" has the size, shape and appearance 

 of an apple: others are like an inverted pear, while 

 all the intermediate shapes are represented. 



3. The new flavors and aromas defy classification. 

 While the Bartlett Plum tastes exactly like the Bartlett 

 Pear, others suggest a banana, and all degrees of 

 sweetness and acidity are found. Some have the 

 aroma of pineapples, others of apples, and of certain 

 kinds but a few are needed to fill a whole room with 

 fragrance. 



4. The sizes have been increased up to three inches 

 long and two and one -half in diameter. That the 

 hybrid may sometimes exceed either of the parents 

 in size is well shown in Fig. 231. The parents are 

 an American Plum (Primus Americana) shown on the 

 right, and a Japanese Plum {Primus triflora) ^ shown 

 on the left. Among the hybrids which appeared in 

 the first generation of this cross, before any selection 

 had taken place, was the one shown in the center 

 of the figure. The Giant Prune, over two and one- 

 half inches long, is another very interesting illustration 



