THE PLUMS OF NEW YORK. 1 15 



States, the Myrobalan seems to be almost the universal choice, the excep- 

 tion being a few propagators who claim that the Japanese sorts should be 

 worked on the peach, especially for sandy soils, and a few others who are 

 using Americana stocks for the American species. 



In the Atlantic states south of Pennsylvania and in the Gulf states 

 to the Mississippi the preferences are very diverse, with the majority of the 

 nurserymen in this region favoring the peach, Myrobalan following as a 

 close second choice. For light soils it would seem that the peach is always 

 to be preferred for this great region. The opinions expressed by the veteran 

 plum-grower, J. W. Kerr of Denton, Maryland, on this subject are worth 

 printing in full. He says: 



" In this locality for all varieties of the Domesticas that unite thor- 

 oughly with it, the peach is preferable as a stock. There are, however, 

 a good many varieties of Domesticas that refuse to unite firmly with the 

 peach. For these the Marianna or the Myrobalan gives best results. For 

 all of the Japanese plums the peach has proved most satisfactory, when 

 the trees are propagated by root-grafting on the whole-root plan. 

 Nearly forty years of experimenting and testing stocks of various kinds 

 gives me a decided preference for the peach as a stock for native plums ; 

 results doubtless would be different in colder climates and soils than this, 

 but long and critical experience has conclusively demonstrated the supe- 

 riority of this stock when used as indicated for the Japanese." 



In the interior region between the Atlantic and Gulf States and the 

 Mississippi, the Myrobalan is used almost exclusively for the European 

 plums and most largely for the other species. Several nurserymen from 

 this region, however, state that the St. Julien is better than the Myrobalan 

 for the Domesticas and Insititias but object to them because the stocks 

 cannot be obtained as cheaply. The peach is generally recommended 

 for the Triflora sorts and the statement is several times repeated that the 

 Americanas would be preferred for the native species if stocks of this species 

 could be obtained readily. 



In the northern states of the Mississippi Valley, all nurserymen agree 

 that plums must be worked on Americana stocks. In this region the 

 hardy natives only are grown. 



South of the northern tier in the states of the plains the Myrobalan 

 is used almost exclusively for the European species, most largely for the 

 Trifloras, with the peach second for this species, and Americana stocks 

 for the native species. Stark Brothers of Louisiana, Missouri, large growers 



