WILD FRUITS OF NEBRASKA. 97 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE WILD FRUITS OF NEBRASKA. 



Plums. — Primus Americana. — Its appearance, habits, abundance, and 

 qualities. — P. Chicasa. — Hybrids. — A late variety. — Cultivation. — Stock for 

 grafting peaches, plums, and apricots. — Hardiness. — TheCurculio. — P.Pumila, 

 or sand-hill cherry. — P. Pennsylvanic. — P. Virginica. — Strawberries. — Fra- 

 garia vesca. — Delicious and abundant. — F. Virginians — Raspberries. — Ru- 

 bus Occidentalis. — R. Triflorus. — R. Strigosus. — R. Villosus. — Hawthorns. — 

 Crataegus tomentosa. — C. Malis. — June Berries. — Amalanchier Canadensis. 

 — A. Alinif olia. — Wild Currants and Gooseberries. — Ribes Hirtellum. — 

 R. Rotundiiblium. — R. Lacustre. — R. Cynosbati. — R. Floridum. — Grapes. — 

 Vitis aestivalis. — V. Cordifoiia. — Re-classification and hybrids. — "Wine. — The 

 Mulberry. — The Buffalo Berry. — Shepherdia Argeutia. — The El- 

 derberry. — The Papaw. — Asimina triloba. — Nuts. — Juglans nigra. — 

 Carya Alba. — Corylus Americanus. 



WILD fruits are a prominent feature of Nebraska. They lux- 

 uriate in its rich soil and almost semi-tropical summers. 

 Among the wild fruits of this State the plum family is a remarka- 

 ble example of how nature herself sometimes ameliorates and im- 

 proves her original productions. 



There are three type species of plums in the State, namely, Pru- 

 nes Americana, P. chicasa, and P.pumila. Of these there is an al- 

 most endless number of varieties. In a plum thicket in Dakota 

 County, covering only a few acres, I counted, while in fruit, nine- 

 teen varieties of Prunus Americana and P. chicasa, varying in size 

 from a fourth to an inch and a quarter in diameter, and in color 

 from almost white and salmon, to many shades of yellow, tinged 

 with green and red, and from a light, dark, and scarlet red, to pur- 

 ple tinged with different shades of yellow. Such instances are fre- 

 quent over most portions of the State, the plums being common in 

 almost every county, especially along the water courses, and border- 

 ing the belts of timber. These plum groves in spring time present 

 a vast sea of flowers, whose fragrance is wafted for miles, and 

 whose beauty attracts every eye. The varieties of the Prunus 

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