6oo 



A STUDY OF 7 HE NATIVE PLUM. 



F. The Beach-Plum (Primus maritima, Wangen- 

 heim). The beach-plum is a straggling, more or less de- 

 cumbent bush, reaching from 3 to 6 or even 12 feet in 

 height, growing in the sands of the sea-coast from New 

 Brunswick to Virginia, and perhaps extending farther 

 toward the southwest. The flowers are rather large for 

 the size of the plant, and are borne on prominent stalks 

 in clusters. The fruit in the best forms is about a half 

 inch in diameter (see fig. 9, page 603), deep, dull purple 

 when ripe, and covered with a dense bloom ; the flesh is 

 brittle, sweet and juicy, entirely free from the stone ; the 

 skin is thick and tough, and usually leaves an acrid taste 

 in the mouth when the fruit is eaten. Upon the Jersey 

 coast the fruit is ripe the middle of August. Priinus 

 maritima is in cultivation as an ornamental plant, it 

 being very showy when in bloom and interesting in fruU. 

 It succeeds well under cultivation in the interior states. 

 As a fruit plant it has given rise to but one variety. Bas- 

 set American, shown in fig. 10 (page 604). 



G. Prunus subcordata, the wild plum of the Pacific 



and worthless substitute has been sold in large quanti- 

 ties. In order to avoid confusion the original Blackman 

 has been rechristened Charity Clark. There are, there- 

 fore, two Blackman plums, one of which is practically 

 unknown to cultivation, but which has been renamed ; 

 the other is barren, and will soon pass from sight. 



Unclassified Varieties. The following varieties are 

 not yet referred to their proper species : Allen Yellow, 

 Berry, Champion, Charles Downing, Cherokee, Col. 

 Wilder, Cook Choice, Couler, Crescent City, Diamond, 

 Dr. Dennis, Dunlap, Early Honey, Ellis, Esther, Excel- 

 sior, Hammer, Houston County, Hughes, lola, Irene, 

 Ithaca, James Vick, Jewell, Jones, Miles, Milton, Mrs. 

 Clifford. Muncy. Munson. New American. Okaw, Piram- 

 Rare-Ripe. Raymond, Rockford. Rocky Mountain Seed, 



coast, was introduced to cultivation in 1889 by T. V. 

 Munson. It is a straggling, much-branched shrub, grow- 

 ing from 3 to 10 feet high, and has subcordate roundish 

 or round-ovate, tomentose leaves and large pedicelled 

 flowers, which appear with the leaves. The red fruit 

 sometimes grows three-fourths of an inch long. It is 

 eaten by both Indians and whites, but its value in culti- 

 vation has not yet been determined. 



H. Hybrids. It is not known to what extent the na- 

 tive species of plums hybridize with each other or with 

 foreign species, and nearly all the definite attempts at 

 crossing are so recent that results have not been obtained. 

 The only apparently authentic hybrids have come from 

 the union of the Wild Goose and the peach. Mr. Kerr 

 has what appears to be an undoubted hybrid. One other 

 apparent hybrid is the Blackman. The genuine Black- 

 man has never been widely disseminated, but a spurious 



ling, Round, Silas Wilson, Smiley, Tenneha, Tomling- 

 son. Van Deman, Wady Early, Winnebago. 



CULTIVATION OF NATIVE PLUMS. 



The chief difficulty in the growing of native plums is 

 the fact that some varieties do not fertilize themselves. 

 This peculiarity appears to be due, not to any imperfec- 

 tion of the flowers, but to the comparative impotency of 

 pollen upon flowers of the same variety. Imperfect flow- 

 ers are occasionally observed, but they are apparently 

 peculiarities of the individual trees or particular seasons. 

 The impotency of pollen appears to be characteristic of 

 certain varieties, as, for example. Wild Goose, Miner, 

 Wazata, Minnetonka, Itaska. Other varieties of the same 

 species are fertile with themselves, as Moreman, Newman, 

 Wayland, Golden Beauty, Mariana, Deep Creek, Pur- 

 ple Yosemite. In order to insure fertilization mixed 

 planting is practiced where the impotent varieties are 



