VII 



The Japanese Plums 



T has been almost exactly thirty 

 years since the Japanese plums 

 were introduced into America. 

 It has been only sixteen years, 

 however, since they began to 

 be distributed among fruit 

 growers, and it was only six 

 years ago that the horticultural 

 public began to get a clear idea 

 of them. In this short time they have received more 

 attention and have been more widely disseminated 

 than any agricultural species ever introduced to this 

 continent. 



The first trees, according to Bailey, were imported 

 from Japan in 1870, by Mr. Hough, of Vacaville, Cali- 

 fornia, at a cost of ten dollars each. These trees soon 

 passed into the hands of the late John Kelsey of 

 Berkeley, California, and were fruited by him about 

 1876. The commercial propagation of these plums 

 42 



