PLUM 



PLUM 



2715 



PLUM. The tree and fruit of many species of Prunus. 

 A few kinds are grown for the ornamental flowers and 

 others for colored or variegated foliage. Prunes are 

 cured dried plums. 



It is probably more difficult to give specific practical 

 advice for the management of the plum than for any 

 other common fruit, for the reason that it represents 



3068. Plum. Peter Yellow Gage. 



several distinct species which are not equally adapted 

 to all parts of the country, and the same remarks will 

 not apply to them all. There is no country in which 

 the domesticated plum flora is so complex as in North 

 America, for not only are the specific types of Europe 

 and of Japan grown, but also species that are peculiar 

 to this continent. In the northeastern states and on the 

 Pacific slope the European or domestica types are the 

 leading plums. In these same areas and also in the 

 South and in parts of the mid-continental region, the 

 Japanese plums also are now popular. In the cold 

 North, in the great interior basin, and also in many 

 parts of the South, various native types now consti- 

 tute the leading cultivated plums. These native plums 

 are developed from wild species of the country, and 

 they are unknown in cultivation (except in botanical 

 or amateur collections) in any other part of the world. 

 These have been developed chiefly within fifty and 

 sixty years, although a few varieties are older than this. 

 For a history of this evolution, see Bailey, "Sketch of the 

 Evolution of our Native Fruits;" also, as well as for 

 culture and varieties of plums in general, Waugh, 

 "Plums and Plum-Culture," and Hedrick, "The Plums 

 of New York." See Prunus. 



The plums cultivated in North America may be 

 arranged in the following groups: 



1. Domestica or European types, Prunus domestica. 

 Native to western Asia, comprising the common or 

 old-time plums, such as Green Gage, Lombard, Brad- 

 shaw, Yellow Egg, and the like. They are the leading 

 plums from Lake Michigan eastward and north of the 

 Ohio, and on the Pacific slope. Figs. 3068, 3069 are of 

 this species. The Damsons (Fig. 3070) are small- 

 fruited forms of this general species-type. Of late years, 

 hardy races of Prunus domestica have been introduced 

 from Russia. These have value for the colder parts 

 of the plum-growing regions. Figs. 3071, 3072, show 

 representative forms of the Russian type. 



2. The Myrqbalan or cherry-plum type, Prunus 

 cerasifera. Native to southeastern Europe or south- 

 western Asia. The seedlings are much used for stocks 

 upon which to bud plums; the species is also the parent 

 of a few named varieties, as Golden Cherry; and 

 DeCaradeuc and Marianna are either offshoots of it or 

 hybrids between it and one of the native plums, 

 probably hybrids. 



3. Japanese types, Prunus salicina (P. triflora). 

 Evidently native to China. The type seems to be gener- 



ally adapted to the United States, and is of great value 

 to both the South and North. This species first 

 appeared in this country in 1870, having been intro- 

 duced into California from Japan. For historical 

 sketch, see Bulletin No. 62, Cornell Experiment Sta- 

 tion (1894); also Bulletin No. 106 (1896); Hedrick, 

 "The Plums of New York." Fig. 3073 shows one of 

 these plums; also Fig. 3074, as to tree forms, which 

 are very variable in the different pomological varieties. 



4. The apricot or Simon plum, Prunus Simonii. 

 Native to China. Widely disseminated in this country, 

 but little grown except in parts of California. Intro- 

 duced about 1881. 



5. The americana types, Prunus americana, P. nigra 

 (Figs. 3075, 3076), and P. mexicana. The common wild 

 plum of the North, and extending westward to the 

 Rocky Mountains and southward to the Gulf and 

 Texas. Admirably adapted to climates too severe for 

 the domestica plums, as the Plains and the upper Mis- 

 sissippi Valley. 



6. The Wild Goose and Chickasaw types, Prunus 

 hartulana, P. angustifolia, P. Munsoniana (Figs. 3076, 

 3077). A variable type of plums, comprising such kinds 

 as Wild Goose, Wayland, Moreman, Miner, Golden 

 Beauty, Newman, Caddo Chief, Lone Star, and many 

 others. The species involved in this group are not yet 

 clearly defined botanically, and what part the hybrid 

 and intergradient forms play in the evolution of 

 cultivated varieties is yet largely to be determined. In 

 adaptability they range from Michigan to Texas, east- 

 ward and westward, but are essentially fruits of the 

 great interior basin. 



7. The Beach plum, Prunus maritima. Native to the 

 coast from New Brunswick to Virginia. In cultivation, 

 represented by the unimportant Bassett's American? 

 also as an ornamental plant. 



8. The Pacific Coast native plum, Prunus subcordata, 

 wild in California and Oregon. Sparingly brought into 

 cultivation, ehiefly in the form known as the Sisson 

 plum. 



The welding of these many stocks will undoubtedly 

 produce a wide range of fruits in the future, of which 

 we yet see only the first promise. The experiments of 

 Hansen in South Dakota in hybridizing P. Simonii and 



3069. Plum. Felleaberg or Italian prune. ( X W) 



P. americana, P. salicina and P. americana, P. Besseyi 

 with plums, and others for a marginal climate, as well 

 as the experiences of other workers in combining many 

 of the species, all point to a wealth of plums for a 

 continental area. 



The plum of history is Prunus domestica. It is to 

 this species that general pomological literature applies. 

 It gives us the prunes (see Prune). These plums may 



