PLUM VARIETIES 281 



home. Chief among these is the black knot, 

 a fungous trouble that is hard to control and 

 that in some sections renders the growing of 

 these plums almost an impossibility. The 

 curculio too, a native insect, takes particular 

 delight in jabbing its eggs into the fruit of the 

 European plums. In some seasons it is almost 

 impossible to grow this fruit to perfection on 

 this account. On the other hand, there are 

 sections where these insects and diseases do 

 comparatively little damage. On the Pacific 

 Coast the plum is as much at home as it is in 

 Europe — more so if possible, for probably 

 nowhere in the world are such fine specimens 

 of the fruit produced. 



Prunes are simply varieties of European 

 plums. A prune is only a plum that has been 

 dried, and certain sorts are so well adapted 

 to this purpose that they are called prunes 

 even in the fresh state. As a rule they are 

 characterized by firm flesh and tough skin 

 and contain a relatively high per cent, of 

 sugar. A nice juicy Wild Goose plum would 

 not amount to very much in the prune line, for 

 after it is dried there is little left except skin 

 and bones. The so-called Japanese plums, 

 which have recently been introduced into our 

 country, are in fact natives of China, no wild 

 plums occurring in Japan at all. These sorts 

 have long been cultivated in Japan, however, 



