1 



THE PLUMS OF NEW YORK. 273 



carmine, covered with thin bloom; dots numerous, small to medium, light brown, 

 clustered about the apex; stem rather slender, glabrous, parting readily; skin thick, 

 tough, astringent, semi-adherent, removing a thin layer of pulp when detached; flesh 

 deep yellow, juicy, coarse, fibrous, nearly melting next to the skin, becoming firmer 

 toward the center, sweet at first but astringent near the pit, with a strong flavor; in- 

 ferior in quality; stone adhering, of medium size, oval, turgid, bluntly pointed at the 

 base and apex, with slightly roughened surfaces; ventral suture acute, ridged; dorsal 

 suture a narrow, shallow groove. 



MARIANNA 



Prunus cerasifera X ? 



i. Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 28. 1886. 2. Card. Man. 29:148. 1887. 3. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 38. 

 1889. 4. Neb. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 56. 1889. 5. III. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 63. 1890. 6. Cornell Sta. Bui. 

 38:66, fig., 71, 83, 86. 1892. 7. Tex. Sta. Bui. 32:479, 480 fig. 1894. 8. Rev. Hort. 278. 1894. 

 9. Rural N. Y. 54:600. 1895. 10. Mich. Sta. Bui. 152:210. 1898. n. Bailey Ev. Nat. Fruits 

 208, 213. 1898. 12. Vt. Sta. An. Rpt. 13:336-369. 1900. 13. Waugh Plum Cult. 36, 232. 1901. 

 14. Ga. Sta. Bui. 67:277. 1904. 15. 5. Dak. Sta. Bui. 93:67. 1905. 



Marianna has little or no value for its fruit. It is illustrated and dis- 

 cussed at length in The Plums of New York for two reasons. First, because 

 it has long been an enigma which has baffled both horticulturists and 

 botanists; second, because it is extensively used as a stock upon which 

 other kinds of plums are propagated. In 1884, a plum of unknown species 

 was introduced to the trade. Some said the new variety belonged to Prunus 

 cerasifera and others that it was an offspring of some native species. The 

 characters of the first named species are so apparent in Marianna that 

 all are now agreed that this variety is from either a self or a cross-fertilized 

 seed of Prunus cerasifera; if the latter the other parent must have been 

 some native species, the particular variety possibly being Wild Goose, 

 one of the Munsoniana plums. Its behavior on these grounds, its robustness 

 and semi-sterility and its not fitting exactly into any known species, mark 

 it as a hybrid. A curious character peculiar to this variety is that it grows 

 very readily from cuttings and for this reason it is a cheap stock for plums 

 of all kinds and is used even for peaches and apricots. Besides rooting 

 readily, the Marianna does not sprout and may be budded as late or later 

 than the peach. It is chiefly used in propagation in the South, but, for 

 reasons stated in the discussion of stocks in Chapter II, the Marianna 

 is not now employed by nurserymen as largely as formerly, though there 

 are still conditions in which it is the best of stocks. The tree is a handsome 

 ornamental at any season of the year and its broad, spreading top makes it a 

 good shade tree. 



