26 THE PLUM 
sun and then packed in boxes to be sent all over the country, and 
even to remote parts of the world. For plums not only keep a 
long time if they are properly dried, but they do not lose their 
flavor as many other fruits do. 
Perhaps it never occurred to you that the stewed prunes you 
had for supper a few days ago were plums on a tree in California 
last summer ! 
The Japanese are very fond of plums and have cultivated 
them until they have many wonderful varieties. Think of a 
plum as large as an apple and sweeter and juicier than a peach! 
People in America are beginning to import some of these won- 
derful Japanese trees and it may not be many years before plums 
as large as apples will be as common as our ordinary purple plum. 
A plum orchard in blossom is a beautiful sight. Every branch 
and twig has its little bunch of pure white flowers looking as 
though a snowstorm had visited them in the night. And when 
the petals fall the breezes blow them about like snowflakes, danc- 
ing and fluttermg along until, like the snowflakes, they settle 
upon the ground and in a few days disappear. 
Drawing 
1. Draw a whole plum showing exact shape and size. 
2. Draw a vertical section and a cross section and show 
how the stone lies in the plum. 
3. Draw the stone and show the ridges. Put these in 
correctly. 
4. Draw a leaf from the plate, and show edge and veins. 
