The rapidity with v 

 lari^ely on their pusii 

 whith they are m 

 branches, which aii_ t 

 tion of food, heal >i 

 weaker side branches 



PRUNING 



vhich wounds heil depends very 



turn un the tree and the wa> in 



.1 ^\ unl ilong the main 



li 1 ill V lilies for distribu 



II I I iiK ih m those on the 



I 1 I h wound sits to the 



hi 111 h the more quickly 



will it heal Fig 197J If a 



stub IS left several inches 



long (Fig 197j) it seldom 



PRUNUS 



1445 



therefore, where they make great display, but their short 

 season of bloom and the very ordinary foliage of most 

 of them have limited tlie iilaiitiiiL; ..'f the ornamental 

 kinds. Some of the oriiani. ninl -|u,i,s are not grown 

 on their own stocks, but mc v.oiki ,i ,,ii slocks that can 

 be grown easily and ehe:i|'l\ aiiii <>1' wiiidi seeds can be 

 obtained in abundance. The cominonest stocks for the 

 ornamental kinds are the plum {!'. domesticn), peach 

 and sweet cherry. On the plum are grown the dwarf 

 almonds and the double-flowering aud fancy-foliage 



1972 The healing 



back to th 

 by that time the decayed he 

 into the tissue of th 

 a limb should be cut at rig! 



the limb itself and beyond tip -•. I 



better plan, however, to make il. .n; : lallelt 

 direction of the branch or trunk iliai r^ m mh^. and 

 to it. This wound may have a --'nn. whai lai-L'i i- ^ 

 ficial area, but it is much nearer lii.. m.im-. ,. ,,i i|, 

 ing food supply and therefore iHcnmes eox-ered 

 .[uickly. L. h. 



PKtTNUS (ancient Latin name of plum). Rositcea;. 



rr.lM, ('HERRY. rEAf^ir. APRTl'OT, ALMOND, etC. AbOUt 



7.") species "f i.'iih tlnr-.r. .1 .ir white-flowered shrubs and 

 surdl frees .,!..■. i , . i i,i|ti..n, but most abundant in 



the Ttcrtli u II : I. vs. alternate, simpii 



ally serrati , : . i,- i i - 1. ring, sometimes preceding 



the leavi-^, i iii. i .li: nv i,r in clusters, perfect, the 

 pistil single, the stiiTiieiis numerous and perigynous, the 

 petals and calyx-lobes 5: fr. a drupe, usually 1-seeded 

 by the abortion of one of the two ovules. Fig. 1976. The 

 genus as here outlined includes several well-marked 



hybridizati.jn. Ai I" i i- is polymorphous, 



but the general e\|":: iifusion is increased 



rather than deerea^i i| k. ilp lii.m iu make two 

 genera from it. iMany 'of tlie forms that appear to be 

 very distinct in their extremes, connect by insensible 

 gradations in intermediate ranges. The dominant East 

 American sjieei,-.;, for example, .shade off into marked 

 forms in tie- \\ i i ml >.iiiiii«-est (see Waugh, I2th Rep. 



Vt. Kxp. S!:, |. .'I J-i , 



Horti.uliui I I I I ioneof themostimportantof 



allgenera. Il Mil III. ii.ne-fniits,— peaches, plums, 



cherries, a|.rie.,i~. ali Is. It is also prolific of orna- 

 mental suli.iecis, as dculile-tlowered, variegated-leaved, 

 colored-leaved and weeping f.irms. Jlost <,f the culti- 

 vated species are hardy in the latitiido of Philadelphia 

 and many are hardy in Ontario, All are of easy culture. 

 Nearly all the spe'cies are spring-flowering. Only P. 

 acirja, amongst the cultivated kinds, blooms as late as 

 midsummer. They are very useful for spring gardens, 



plums. The myrobalan pluiA {P. cerasifera) h 

 times used for the same purpose. Peach stocks 

 used for the same species, as a rule; and they i 



yed, particularly in the South, for 

 bearing plums. The sweet cherry {P. Aviu 

 stock for the various kinds of double-flower 

 and fancy-leaved cherries. It is an iniiinrl 

 the growing of these grafted Priinusi ^ ti 

 sprouts from the stock as i 

 particularly true of the dw; 

 are usually stron: . r limwIi 

 from the i 

 better to propa^ 

 cuttings in ease 

 be had. Owu-rimh il |, 

 grafting with a lung ei<M 

 In North America tin- 

 contemporaneous evoluti 

 pecies. !se\ 

 have been described, an 

 cially over a wide range 

 Mississippi valley and 



Ige of the sub.iect, the reader 

 lit station literature, particularly 

 nid Goflf. See, also, "Evolution 



For fuller inl'..i 

 of the genus, see 

 Peach. Plum. Pr^ 



