rOMOLOCJICAL DniSIOX U. S. DEl'T. OF A(;iHCrLTll!E. 15 



found growing Avild in North America. Already a preliminar}' 

 report has been issued upon this subject, which I presume has 

 been received by all the members of this Society. The Avork upon 

 tlie complete monograph is progressing, but it is necessarily very 

 slow, as the preparation of the illustrations is exceedingly ditticult 

 and the field work necessar}' also requires much time. At the 

 present time we are nearly ready for publication, and the greatest 

 obstacle we meet is in obtaining the necessary appropriations to 

 defray the cost of publication. All the species will be represented 

 of life size and in life colors, including the fruit, wood, leaves, 

 flowers, seeds, etc., so that any person of ordinary intelligence may 

 identify such of the wild grapes as may grow in his vicinity. The 

 text will contain not only accurate scientific descriptions, but 

 cultural notes and suggestions as to the hybridization, etc., for the 

 purpose of enabling those who desire to experiment to proceed 

 more intelligently than without such aid. 



The berries have, so far, yielded the most easily to the hand of 

 man, but the tree fruits are also well worthy of more attention 

 than has been bestowed. The whole genus Prunus, as represented 

 in North America has been only recently and l)ut slightly 

 improved, and this merely by the selection of chance wildings. 

 The few native plums thus o])tained give promise of much greater 

 tilings in the future, and to this end it is my purpose to monograph 

 this genus and not onh' describe and illu^strate each native species 

 but try to show what might be done by crossing them with each 

 other and possibly with the common cultivated plum of Europe, 

 P. domestica. 



When we think of it, it is really surprising how little is known 

 of even our commonest fruits. Who can tell the season of the 

 Baldwin apple in Massachusetts, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas ; or 

 when the Concord grape will ripen in northern Michigan, Kansas, 

 and Florida ? If ten of the leading strawberries ripen in Connec- 

 ticut in a certain order will they do the same in Virginia and 

 California? Why are the same varieties of the orange thicker- 

 skinned and more acid in flavor grown in California than in 

 Florida? These are only specimens of thousands of such ques- 

 tions which are not only of interest to the scientific pomologist but 

 which would be of practical value to the grower if answered 

 from relial)le data. A beginning has been made, as no doubt 

 nearly all of you know, by issuing circulars calling for information 



