22 AGRICULTURAL EXPLORATIONS IN THE ORCHARDS OF CHINA. 



Madison, Wis., and it has been thriving there for at least thirty years, 

 without having suffered in the least from the low temperatures occa- 

 sionally experienced there. (S. P. I. Xos. 16917, 18290, 19489, and 

 20068 to 20071.) 



PLUMS. 



The plum (Prunus sp.) is a fruit which is not very highly esteemed 

 in China. Whether this is on account of its softness and its nonship- 

 ping qualities or whether because of its sourness we do not know, 

 but plums do not form a big item in the fruit production of China. 



The Shantung Province, which is the finest fruit-growing region of 

 northern China, supplies the best plums, large red and yellow ones 

 being even exported to various coast towns. In Peking one is able 

 to obtain plums of one variety as late as the middle of November. 

 This particular plum is yellowish green, with a slight blush on one 

 side, and is of quite a sweet flavor. It is a freestone. (S. P. I. Xo. 

 17913.) There are a few other varieties grown in the neighborhood 

 of Peking, but the writer saw the trees only when the fruit was gone 

 and therefore could not obtain samples. Plums are grown in several 

 places in Manchuria, as in Kw aligning, Liaoyang, and Kirin. In this 

 last place there is a red-fruited variety of medium size, not very fine 

 eating, but excellent for preserves. As the cold gets very intense in 

 Kirin, these plums may prove to be valuable in breeding. (S. P. I. 

 No. 20241.) 



The farthest north, however, that the writer found plums was in 

 Khabarovsk. There, in the garden of Gen. M. Yedenski, he obtained 

 bud wood of a yellow plum of good flavor that is able to withstand, 

 unprotected, winter temperatures of —45° F. (S. P. I. No. 19605.) 



In central China are found peculiar plums. One apparently 

 belongs to the species Prunus trijlora. Another kind produces green 

 fruit which is exported extensively, preserved in sirup or dried. It 

 is of a beautiful green color and is much used in confectionery. 

 The local name is ''Shing mae." It is probably a form of Prunus 

 mume. 



There is another plum winch has the appearance of an apricot, but 

 is sour like the plum. t It is very fragrant, has a downy, dull-yellow 

 skin, and is a clingstone. The stones are peculiarly grooved, looking 

 like wild-almond stones. This plum ma} r be a hybrid between an 

 apricot and a peach, or perhaps a new kind altogether. 



In the Shantung Province there grows a plumcot, called by the 

 Chinese ' 'Lishing," which means plum-apricot. The fruit is large, red, 

 and ver}^ sweet and aromatic. There seem to be about three known 

 varieties of it, and the best ones are said to come from the neigh- 

 borhood of Chino'chowfu, Shantung Province. The few trees of this 

 remarkable fruit that were seen by the writer had all the appearance 



