LUTHER BURBANK 



The brilliant purple, crimson, and pink shades 

 shown by some of the modern hybrids are a trib- 

 ute to the Japanese members of their ancestral 

 stock. 



But while the Japanese plums have these sig- 

 nal merits they are not without their faults. Many 

 of them are small and most of them lack flavor. 

 Freestone qualities have not been developed in 

 the slightest degree. Many of them lack timeli- 

 ness of bearing; others bloom so early that the 

 crop is often destroyed by late spring frosts or 

 heavy rains. 



Moreover the Japanese often eat plums that 

 are hard and green, preserving them by pickling; 

 therefore they sometimes neglect to appreciate 

 the sweetness and flavor of the fruit. 



These, obviously, are defects that the plant 

 improver must bear constantly in mind when he 

 sets out to separate and recombine the traits of 

 his company of plums. 



The Chinese, near neighbors of the Japanese, 

 developed plums of a different type. The Jap- 

 anese plum is known as Prunus tri flora; it per- 

 haps originated or was developed in Korea, South- 

 ern Siberia, and Northern China. But the Chi- 

 nese apricot-plum, known to the botanist as 

 Primus simonii, must have originated in some 

 semi-tropical climate. It has form and color sug- 



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