PROMISING NEW FRUITS. 



covered with bloom; calyx small, segments reflexed; stem short, 

 stout; apical point, short, stout; surface moderately smooth; color 

 brownish yellow, covered with a bluish white bloom ; skin thin, ten- 

 der; seeds plump, broad, of medium size and number; flesh yellow - 

 i>h. translucent, with yellow veins, crisp, meaty, tender, moderately 

 juicy; flavor sweet and rich, with but slight astringency; quality 

 good to very good. Season medium to late, September 15 to Novem- 

 ber 1, in northern Texas. Tree more spreading and stocky 7 than 

 Josephine but less productive. It has thus far endured the winters 

 as far north as Farmingdale, 111., and is considered worthy of testing 

 throughout the native persimmon belt. 



The specimen illustrated on Plate XLYIII was grown by T. V. 

 Munson & Son, Denison, Tex. 



LOXESTAR PERSIMMON. 

 [PLATE XLVIII.] 



The Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki) , which was recorded in 

 America by Prince as early as 1828, though reintroduced by the 

 Department of Agriculture in 1863, apparently did not attain a per- 

 manent foothold in the United States until about 1875, when it was 

 introduced in the form of grafted trees both by the Department and 

 by private parties^. Numerous plantings have been made from time 

 to time by growers in California and the Gulf States, with varying 

 success both as to endurance and productiveness of trees and desir- 

 ability and marketability of fruit. The early vernation and blossom- 

 ing habit of this species, which starts into growth under the influ- 

 ence of short periods of warmth in winter and early spring, render 

 it much more susceptible to injury by late spring frosts in the South 

 than the widely distributed native persimmon (Diospyros virginiand). 

 This sensitiveness to warmth in winter apparently constitutes the 

 most important limiting factor* of its cultural range. 



Several of the well-known imported varieties are abundantly pro- 

 ductive and yield fruit of such conspicuous size and brilliant color 

 as to render them very attractive in the market. Most of these, 

 however, retain their characteristic astringent flavor until the fruit- 

 is fully ripe, and, in fact, so soft as to be incapable of transportation 

 or handling in commerce. This makes necessary the harvesting and 

 shipment of the fruit while still hard, so that it reaches the market 

 in an inedible condition, though attractive and tempting in appear- 

 ance. The result is that notwithstanding the warnings to the pur- 

 chaser against eating the fruit before it is soft, which are given by 

 the growers and dealers, and which in some cases have even been 



A Short Treatise on Horticulture, by William Prince, New York, 1828, p. 37. 



