50 Plums and Plum Culture 



creek or river banks, in deep, rich, comparatively 

 moist soil, sometimes under the partial shade of taller 

 timber, but sometimes also in the open sun. The rea- 

 sons why the plum is thus confined to the creek banks 

 are the same that account for all other trees having a 

 similar distribution in the prairie states. It is princi- 

 pally because recurring prairie fires and grazing herds 

 of buffalo formerly killed out all the young timber as 

 fast as it started on the uplands. Nevertheless, the 

 Americana plums really prefer deep, rich, compara- 

 tively moist soil, just such situations as they found 

 in their native state. Still, they flourish on almost 

 any soil and with almost any exposure, and withstand 

 drouth on windy uplands as well as any tree. 



The pomological characteristics of this group are 

 as follows: 



Tree usually rather low-headed, spreading, with a 

 thick, thorny, bushy top ; rather slow-growing, though 

 young trees and water sprouts often make a phenome- 

 nal growth; branches stiff and strongly set, rather 

 crooked, dark colored. The tops are very difficult to 

 manage on young trees, and it is always a serious 

 problem to form a good head, especially where trees 

 are exposed to strong winds. (See further under prun- 

 ing, Page 276); leaf large, oval, thick and rough, occa- 

 sionally pubescent (var. molUs), but usually without 

 covering, with large jagged double teeth on the mar- 

 gins (this character is very distinct) and usually with- 

 out glands on the petiole; flowers medium to large size, 

 white; the calyx without glands on the margin; fruit 

 of various forms, but usually more or less oval, very 

 often slightly compressed, rather frequently slightly 

 oblique-truncate at the ends; cavity usually shallow or 

 very shallow; suture seldom more than a line; color 

 mostly dull reds over yellows, the yellow sometimes 

 showing more than the red; dots nearly always very 



