ROSE FAMILY 



5/(z;«c«J-.— Fifteen to twenty, inserted on the calyx tube ; filaments 

 thread-like ; anthers purplish, introrse, two-celled ; cells opening 

 longitudinally. 



Fisiil.—OvA^y one, superior, in the bottom of calyx tube, one- 

 celled ; ovules two. 



j^?«z7.— Drupe, oblong-oval, an inch to an inch and a quarter 

 long with a tough, thick, orange red skin, free from bloom, yellow 

 flesh adherent to the stone. Stone oval, compressed. August, Sep- 

 tember. Cotyledons thick and fleshy. 



The Canada Plum is a northern tree, which is distributed 

 through the valley of the St. Lawrence and westward as far 

 as Lake Manitoba ; its range e.\:tends southward into New 

 England, New York, and the north-western states. It is 

 found in the neighborhood of streams in rich alluvial soil 

 and along the borders of the forest. 



The tree is stnall and its branches are very stiff and rigid. 

 They have a fashion in their second year of putting out 

 branchlets which are spines, to ail intents and purposes, 

 though they become leafy. 



Whoever played when a child under a wild plum tree will 

 always remember the "hollow green plums " that frequently 

 hung on the branches or were scattered over the ground in 

 May. They were of full size, pale green, leathery to the 

 touch and hollow, with the exception of a few fibrous bands. 

 They were, indeed, a puzzle to childish eyes, but later we 

 learned that they are caused by a fungus and that they are 

 called plum pockets. This disease also attacks cultivated 

 plums ; the young ovaries, just after the fruit sets, svi'ell, 

 often reach the size of full grown plums, become hollow and 

 soon fall to the ground. 



The fruit of the Canada Plum is sold in large quantities in 

 the markets of Canada and the northern states ; it is eaten 

 raw or cooked and is made into preserves and jellies. 



The Prunus americana, or ^Vild Plum, is a southern rather 

 than a northern tree. Beginning from middle New Jer- 

 sey and central New York its range extends westward to 

 the foot-hills of the Rockies and southward to the mountains 

 of Mexico. It has been very generally confounded with F- 



I20 



