PLUMS AND DAMSONS. 



163 



neously. The period and sequence of all fruits 

 are greatly modified by the particular season, 

 but the Japanese Plums seem to be particularly 

 unstable in these respects. 



Ever since we began the study of these Japa- 

 nese Plums we have been puzzled to account 

 for the great differences in opinion respecting 

 the merits of individual varieties and the wide 

 discrepancies in descriptions of them. Some of 

 these discrepancies are traceable to a confused 

 nomenclature; but we now believe that many 

 of them are due to the fact that the same tree 

 may bear unlike fruit in different years. Some 

 of the trees which we have had under the 

 closest observation during two or three crops 

 seem to have behaved in this way. For ex- 

 ample, in our last report we thought that the 

 Chase is identical with the Chabot. This year, 

 however, the fruit of the same trees of Chase 

 was indistinguishable from Abundance ; and 

 yet, between Abundance and Chabot there is 

 normally a difference of two to three weeks in 

 the period of ripening, and there was this differ- 

 ence on our own grounds this year. 

 From this year's study, therefore, 

 we are obliged to say that the 

 Chase is the Abundance. 



Some objection has been raised 

 to the supplanting of the Japanese 

 names with new names. We are 

 convinced, however, that the drop- 

 ping of the Japanese class-names 

 and adjectives is legitimate in the 

 interest of perspicuity. Most of 

 the Japanese names have been 

 loosely applied, and it is impos- 

 sible, in many cases, to determine 

 any one variety to which the name 

 may be said to belong. To use the 

 old name of Botan, for example, 

 would result in perpetuating a 

 confusion, since any person who 

 had a Plum under the name of 

 Botan, no matter what it was, would 

 feel justified in sending it out. 

 When, however, the different kinds 

 of Botans are given specific names, 

 the person must distinguish his variety before it 

 can be put upon the market. The same remarks 

 may be made for the Japanese names, Hattankio, 

 Yosobe, Sumomo, and Wassu. ( Wassu is probably 

 a misspelling of Wasse, or Wase, meaning early.) 

 There are two or three Japanese names, of which 

 Maru and Satsuma are examples, which have 

 been applied to one particular variety; and in 

 these cases we have held to Japanese vernacular. 



It is usually unsafe to make a general recom- 

 mendation of varieties of any fruit. The value 

 of a variety lies not only in its intrinsic merits, 

 but in its adaptation to the personal likes of 

 the grower, and to markets, soils, and other 

 extrinsic conditions. However, as a guide in 

 the choice of varieties, I will mention those 

 kinds which now seem to me to be most valu- 

 able for general uses and conditions. In the 

 first list I place those which seem to be worthy 

 of general planting; in the other list are those 

 of secondary value, and those which must be 

 further tested before they can be confidently 

 recommended. The varieties are named in the 

 order in which they ripened at Ithaca in 1899: — 



First list. 



Second list. 



Engre 



Berger 



Lutts 



Kerr 



Red June 



Ogon 



Abundance 



Georgeson 



Bur bank 



Hunn 



Chabot 



Hale 



Satsuma 



Wickson 



Fig. 961.— Japanese Plum. Abundance. 



We have said that the varieties are arranged 

 in the order of ripening at Ithaca in 189 9: 

 but, as already indicated, this order is not 

 uniform year by year. By season of ripening, 

 we mean the date at which the first consider- 

 able numbers of fruits are fit to be eaten from 

 the hand. Ordinarily, the varieties should 

 be picked for market three or four days, or 

 even a week, earlier than the dates here given. 



