THE ECONOMIC PLANTS ON JAPAN— IF. 



75 



of which are wrapped about each fruit when it is put in, 

 and they impart their color to the plums. The green 

 fruit is also used in the preparation of vinegar. The 



Fig. 2. SuMOMO Plum. Full Size 

 juice is pressed out, and becomes intensely acid when 

 it is exposed to the air a short time. This kind of vine- 

 gar is commonly used by country people, who make it 

 themselves. 



The following are a few of the varieties of plums 

 grown in the neighborhood of Tokio : Sumomo, a small 

 red plum ; clingstone, rather early, and of fair quality ; 

 illustrated, natural size, in Fig. 2. Shiro-sumomo, a 

 small white plum, belonging to the same class as the 

 above, the color being the chief point of difference. 

 Shiro is the Japanese word for white. Shiro-togari- 

 sumomo, white, pointed ; togari means pointed, and 

 hence the name is literally descriptive of the fruit. 

 This is a larger variety than either of the preceding 

 ones. Hatankio, or Togari-sumomo, red, pointed, large 

 fruited. This is a somewhat common variety, of excel- 

 lent quality. Shiro-hatankio is a white, pointed, large 

 fruited variety, which is illustrated in Fig. i, natural 

 size, together with a twig and some leaves. It is some- 

 what less common in the Tokio market than the preced- 

 ing red variety, but can always be 

 found in Yokohama in its season. 

 Strictly speaking, it is yellowish- 

 white when ripe. Botankio (also 

 name of the class), large, round, |' 

 red plum. There are several va- 

 rieties which differ somewhat in size | 

 and color which are merely called | 

 botankio without the use of de- 1 

 scriptive prefixes. One of these \ 

 of excellent quality, and which is ^\ 

 also a good illustration of the class, 

 is represented natural size in Fig. 

 3. The drawing was made from a 



rather small specimen. The plum is brick red in color, 

 with numerous yellow dots. The tlesh is juicy and the 

 stone remarkably small. Shiro-botankio isa large, round, 



white-fruited variety which differs from the last only in 

 color. Urabeni-sumomo, medium, pointed, scarlet- 

 fleshed. Yonemomo, large, round, scarlet-fleshed. There 

 are still many others, but not having 

 procured detailed descriptions of them, 

 mere enumeration here is of no value, 

 The plums are grown throughout the 

 length and breadth of Japan. 



Prunus domestica, L. Jap., Seiyo- 

 suiiioiiio (literally meaning foreign 

 plum). The varieties of this species, 

 which is our common plum, have been 

 introduced in Japan, but are not gen- 

 erally known, if known at all, beyond 

 the environments of foreign settle- 

 ments, and those regions reached by 

 the Kaitakushi in its attempts to in- 

 troduce and naturalize foreign fruits. 

 The Kaitakushi was the name of a de- 

 partment of the government (common- 

 ly translated Colonization Depart- 

 ment), which, however, was abolish- 

 ed long ago. Its object was to col- 

 onize the northern island with Japan- 

 ese, and to this end large numbers of fruits and other 

 economic plants from the West were introduced, the 

 climate there being somewhat like that of central and 

 northern Europe. 



Prunus TOMENTO.SA, Thunb. Jap., Yustira-unu-. This 

 is a species said to have been brought to Japan from 

 North China. It is only a bush or very small tree, and 

 produces a great abundance of small plums, which ripen 

 early in the summer. The growth is branching and 

 crabbed, for which reason the plant is also used for 

 hedges. The outer bark peels off readily ; the leaf is 

 small, oval, serrate and pointed. The flowers are 

 pinkish-white, showy in early spring, at which season 

 it is a most effective ornamental plant. It blooms be- 

 fore the leaves are out. The internodes of the branches 

 are very short, the flowers almost sessile, and there be- 

 ing two or more at each node the whole branch appears 

 like a close flowered spike of pink. A short branch with 

 its leaves and fruit, all natural size, is illustrated in Fig. 4 



Fig. 3. A Botankio Plum. Full Size. 



p. 77. The fruit is scarcely as large as a cherry, and 

 it is not unlike the morello cherry in color and flavor. 

 It is, of course, too small to be of any value in this 



