74 



Date — see Phoenix dactylifera 



Date Plum — see Diospyros virginianus. 



Dewberry — see Rubus caesius. 



Diospyros (Ebenacese). 



A subtropical fruit belonging to the ebony family. 



D. Kaki Linne. The Japanese persimmon is now widely distrib- 

 uted in California. The tree is hardy, productive and ornamental. With 

 its large, glossy leaves during the summer, and its high colored fruit cling- 

 ing to the twigs after the leaves have fallen, it is always a striking tree. 

 The Japanese names of a few varieties, with descriptions, follow : 



1. Among. Large, round, flattened slightly, orange color. 



2. Hachiya, Large, oblong-conic ; dull orange, specked and streaked ; 



with firm flesh of a brownish yellow, flecked with red. 



3. Hyakume. Said to be the largest known variety. 



4. Kurokumo. Large, round, flattened near stem. 



5. Masu. Large, of excellent flavor. 



6. Minokaki. A large, oblong, high-colored, nearly seedless variety. 

 7- Tana-nashi. About three inches in diameter either way, very 



symmetrical, smooth, translucent skin, and of superior quality. 



8. Yeraon. Very productive, of delicious flavor, the commonest and 



most valuable variety known . 



9. Zingi. Of medium size, specially valuable for drying. 

 10. Goshonaki. Fruit flat, medium size, yellowish. 



D. Virginianus Linne. Date plum, or American persimmon, Rhode 

 Island, southward. Foliage large, smooth and glossy, flowers pale yellow, 

 fruit the size of a crabapple, of a reddish yellow. 



El^agnus (Elaeagnse). 



E. longipes. "An interesting fruit. The bush is of low-spreading 

 habit, densely clothed with foliage, and it comes into bearing as quickly as 

 a red currant. Its yield is simply wonderful, the berries being literally 

 crowded upon the under side of the branches. The fruit is borne upon 

 slender stems about an inch and a half long, of cinnabar color, with num- 

 erous small light gray dots, and about three-quarters of an inch long by 

 half an inch in diameter. It is tender and juicy, with one large, long, 

 shapely pointed seed in each berry, but so acid as to render it unfit for uses 

 as a dessert fruit, but useful for tarts — in fact for all the purposes for which 

 the cranberry is used." — J. T. Lovett. 



Eriobotrya (Rosaceae). 



E. japonic a. The loquat, a beautiful evergreen tree native to China 

 and Japan, was first named by Joseph Hooker, Photinia eriobotrya. It has 

 received otner names, like P. japonica and Eriobotrya japonica, and is now 

 generally known under the latter name, though the first has priority. 



It is perfectly hardy on the California coast south of Marin county, and 

 may be grown further north if given slight protection. 



[to be continued.] 



