64 Plums and Plum Culture 



For these reasons it has seemed best to use this name 

 to designate the entire group. 



The general characters of the Wayland group, 

 especially those of pomological importance, may be 

 pointed out as follows: 



Trees fairly strong growers, with long, smooth, bending, 

 willowy branches, the bark usually dark colored* ; leaves large 

 to very large, oval or sometimes slightly obovate, with taper 

 points, glabrous above and finely tomentose beneath, espe- 

 cially on the larger veins, margins rather finely appressed- 

 serrate, petioles with two to six glands ; flowers appearing 

 comparatively late, in long, dense clusters of characteristic 

 form. The buds are especially characteristic ; clear white ; 

 fruit usually strikingly spherical, or only a trifle ovoid or 

 ellipsoid, medium size, either bright transparent cherry red 

 or else whitish transparent yellow, quite different from the 

 opaque yellow of Kelsey or Coe Golden Drop, dots usually 

 large, whitish and conspicuous, bloom white, stone medium 

 size, rather turgid, cling. The quality averages high. The 

 flesh is almost always very firm and meaty. 



Considering its origin, this group is comparatively 

 distinct and homogeneous. For instance, the varieties 

 are much more alike than those of the Wildgoose 

 group, and much more distinct from other varieties 

 of other groups than are the Miner-like varieties. To 

 be sure, the group is not free from puzzling or equiv- 

 ocal forms. There are some varieties which it is hard 

 to locate. Bailey put Leptune into the Miner group; 

 and Berckmans, who introduced Kanawha, said, "This 

 is beyond question a form of Prunus americana." 

 Still, confusion has been much less frequent in this 

 group than in almost any other class of native plums. 



These varieties are particularly adapted to certain 

 climates, especially in the middle and southern states. 



'Certain varieties are described by nurserymen in the extreme south- 

 ern states as having light colored bark. This may be due to the well- 

 known fact that all species of trees have much lighter colored bark at 

 the south than at the north. 



