172 FRUIT-GROWING 



fruit. Certainly there is much to be desired in 

 this field of investigation. 



The Japanese plums at the present time are 

 grown chiefly on peach roots, and as a result 

 they sometimes fail from the same causes that 

 render most of our peaches short lived. If a 

 really satisfactory stock for Jap plums can be 

 found it will do much to render the plantings of 

 this tree more permanent than can be claimed 

 for them to-day. "Where plums of any sort are 

 to be grown in a sandy soil, however, the peach 

 stock gives excellent results — perhaps better 

 than any other root system, even that of the 

 European plum. Many American varieties are 

 worked (grafted) on native seedlings and such 

 a combination results in an excellent tree in the 

 sections where American plums are mostly 

 grown. This area is in the Central West and 

 in the South, where the European and Jap 

 kinds fail to reach their greatest perfection. 



In New York, Michigan and the Pacific Coast 

 country, where European plums are grown in 

 such a manner as to " out-Europe ' ' Europe, 

 the favorite stock at this time is the Myrobalan 

 — a form of European plum that has been used 

 as a stock for generations. In the matter of 

 growing cherries there is also difference of 

 opinion regarding the best stock, some nursery- 

 men adhering to the use of the Mahaleb while 

 others favor the Mazzard. Both of these are 



