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THE ECONOMIC PLANTS OF JAPAN— II. 



is, however, believed that Pruniis triJJora, Roxb.* is the 

 parent of all the Japanese varieties which have long 

 stems, and this includes all the best plums of the 

 country. The species is recognized in a small red plum 

 called the Sumomo, which is very commonly cultivated. 

 It is one of the earliest plums to ripen, is nearly round 

 in shape, and usually bright red in color. It is juicy 

 and sweet, and owing to its very small stone it has much 

 flesh for its size. Fig. 2 is a faithful representation of 

 the Sumomo. The tree is of good size, reaching a 

 height of from twenty to thirty feet, the top being rather 

 close in its growth. The short branches are inclined to 

 be slightly thorny, the bark rough, and the young shoots 

 brown. The foliage is dense, the leaves are rather long, 

 with the margin finely serrated. The flowers are long- 

 -stalked, white, and three or more appear in a cluster 

 from each bud. This little plum is a favorite, and in 

 its season is more abundant on the fruit stands than 

 any other kind. In quality it is superior to any of our 

 native American varieties. 



Quite a number of the many other varieties spring- 

 ing from this species are designated by two general 

 names, a fact which is very confusing to a stranger 

 when he begins to study them. These names are bo- 

 iankio and hattankio, or bodankio and hadankio, for 

 they are variously pronounced as regards the sound of J 

 and /. These two names are common and are even oc- 

 casionally heard in this country ; but it is a mistake to 

 suppose that they apply to two and only two varieties. 

 They are names of two ill-defined classes of plums, and 

 are applied rather loosely to several varieties which dif- 

 fer in color and size and somewhat also in shape. The 

 only distinction between the two classes that I have 

 been able to establish is based on the shape. The round 

 plums are designated by the term botankio, while those 

 of an oval or pointed shape are called hattankio. A 

 mistake often made by foreigners, and by some natives 

 also, is to suppose that the distinction is based on color, 

 though it is a fact that most of the botankios are red. 

 The name hattankio is also sometimes given to the alm- 

 ond, while botan is the name of the pseony, and ha-botan 

 means cabbage, and one of the many meanings of kio, 

 or kiyo, is large, or great. If these objects had any- 

 thing to do with the naming of the plums it seems prob- 

 able that botan referred to the rounded shape and not 

 to the color, since their peonies are found in a great va- 

 riety of colors, and that hattankio referred to the resem- 

 blance in shape to the almond. But as already remarked, 

 these names are used very loosely, as it is an easy mat- 

 ter to find several evidently quite distinct varieties of 

 each class for which both grower and dealer can give 

 you no other name than botankio or hattankio, as the 



*] 'runus irifloi a \s a very doubtful species. It is known in col- 

 lections only from one to two specimens from India. If Roxburgh 

 meant to designate the cultivated Japanese plums by this name, it 

 is strange that he should not have left more e.vplicit information 

 concerning it. Professor Tamari, of Tokio. has called the Japan- 

 ese plum, Prunus Hattan (Annals Hort. 18S9, .^o). Maximovvicz, 

 the chief authority upon Japanese plants, seems inclined to refer 

 these plums to Pninus donieitica, the common plum, but there can 

 be no doubt but that they are distinct species. Until the difficulties 

 are cleared up, Prunus Hattan appears to be the best name to use. 

 — Ed. Am. G. 



case may be. Sometimes again these terms may have 

 a prefix indicative of the color, or size, or of the place 

 where it is grown. I dwell upon this in order to correct 

 the notion, which has become somewhat fixed in this 

 country, that these terms each designate a single variety 

 of the Japanese plums. 



Though abundantly grown in some districts, and gen- 

 erally speaking they may be found all over the country, 

 plums are not such favorites with the people as are sev- 

 eral other fruits. Plum trees are rarely planted in or- 

 chard form, as are the pears, for instance, but they are 

 scattered here and there about the dwelling houses, or 

 in the gardens, wherever the situation may appear to be 

 suitable. It is also exceptional to find trees that receive 

 much care or training. The bearing branches are often 

 broken off and carried away bodily. It is not uncom- 

 mon during midsummer to meet a pedestrian with a 

 plum branch, loaded with green fruit, on his shoulder. 

 It may be a present from a friend, or it may be intended 

 for sale, but it shows at all events that the owner has 

 no great regard for his tree. A peculiar trait of the 

 Japanese, which foreigners cannot comprehend, is their 

 love for green stone fruit. The greater portion of their 

 plums, peaches and apricots, is gathered before the 

 fruits begin to ripen, when they are scarcely full grown. 

 A portion, of course, reaches maturity and finds its way 

 to the fruit-sellers in the cities, but it is a comparatively 

 small portion of the crop. And though many of these 

 plums and peaches are then luscious, the grown people 

 do not care much for them ; such fruit is bought and 

 eaten mostly by children. It is a sight calculated to put 

 one's teeth on edge to see a dignified, elderly person 

 munch away with apparent relish at a grass green plum 

 or peach ! I once enquired of a man thus engaged v,'hy 

 he ate his plums before they got ripe. He replied that 

 they had the most taste while green, which was doubt- 

 less true. Another reason for this early gathering of the 

 crop is that the unripe fruit is used in the preparation 

 of a kind of pickle called ume-boshi, literally meaning 

 dried plums. 



For this purpose the fruit is gathered when nearly 

 full grown and packed in casks with layers of salt ; and 

 here it remains for a certain period, generally about a 

 month. Under this process the plums shrink, but they 

 also soften. When they have lain in pickle for the de- 

 sired length of time they are taken out, packed in small 

 boxes, and distributed throughout the country. They 

 are now used as an appetizer, especially early in the 

 morning. In the tea-house the traveler is frequently 

 offered a few of these salted green plums, with a pinch 

 of brown sugar, as soon as he rises from his bed in the 

 morning. They are said to assist in clearing the throat 

 of phlegm. The taste for them is acquired, as the com- 

 bination of acid and salt is not relished the first time it 

 is tried. The town of Odawara, in the Kanagawa pre- 

 fecture, some miles south of Yokohama, is especially 

 netted for its famous ume-boshi. 



Very generally the plums are colored while in pickle 

 by means of the shiso, Perilla ocynioides, the red leaves 



