76' 



THE ECONOMIC PLANTS OF JAPAN— II. 



country as a fruit, though it is said to' make good jam. 

 Nor does it receive any great share of attention in 

 Japan. The fruit is, however, esteemed good, and more 

 especially the unripe fruit, which is pickled in salt as 

 described in the case of other plums. It is also boiled 

 in honey and served as a delicacy. The plant is worthy 

 of culture in the west, more particularly for ornament. 



Prunus Japonica, Thunb. i^Prunus domestica, 

 Thunb.). Jap. , /V^'7C'^^-^/wt'. This small shrub should not 

 be omitted in an account of Japanese plums. It is, how- 

 ever, grown for ornament as well as for its fruit. There 

 are several forms, the ornamental ones having double 

 flowers. The varieties vary also in the size of the 

 leaves and in vigor of growth. The fruit is a small long- 

 stemmed plum of a sweet and agreeable flavor, but it is 

 too small to attract the attention of fruit-growers here. 

 The flowering forms are well-known in America. 



Prunus Mume, Sieb. and Zucc. Jap., Ume^ Miune. 

 The fruit-bearing varieties of this species do not take a 

 high rank ; in fact, the fruit appears to be an incidental 

 product rather than the main aim of their culture. 

 This is the parent of the hundreds of varieties of the 

 flowering plum, and the trees are cultivated for their 

 flowers. The Japanese entertain a love for their plum 

 flowers which is akin to passionate adoration. They 

 are cherished alike in the poorest hut and in the princly 

 mansion. No door-yard is too small or park too grand 

 to afford space for the humble, cheerful, fragrant plum 

 flower. The early varieties begin to bloom soon after 

 New Year in the latitude of Tokio, and from then until 

 the end of March a succession of bloom is kept up by 

 the different varieties. The flowers vary in color from 

 white through innumerable shades to dark red, and 

 from single to very double. 



As stated, the fruit is generally secondary to the blos- 

 som, but there are, nevertheless, several varieties which 

 are grown, partly at least, for the fruit. They have 

 been divided into two classes, based upon the size of the 

 plums, namely, large-fruited and small-fruited. The 

 following named kinds belong to the large-fruited 

 class ; Yoro, Hana-ka-mi, Bungo, Katayama-bungo, 

 Kashiwagi, Naniwa-rinshiu, Yatsu-busa, Aujiku. 

 Among the small varieties the following may be named ; 

 Gariobai, Kobai, Robai, Ko-mume, Yoshino-ko-mume, 

 Toko-mume, Kaga. 



As a a matter of fact, nearly all of the flowering 

 kinds also yield some fruit, especially those with single 

 and semi-double flowers. All of these plums which have 

 come under my observation have been perfectly round, 

 and have varied from less than an inch to an inch and 

 a-half in diameter. In color, they are mostly green or 

 greenish-yellow, though some are white and others red. 

 They are all short-stemmed, and cling closely to the 

 branches, like the peach. The majority are cling- 

 stones, and in the matter of quality they cannot com- 

 pare with the varieties of Prunus ti-ijlora, being rather 

 acid and lacking flavor. They are mostly gathered 

 while green, and are made into ume-bcshi by the simple 

 process of pickling in salt, as already described. 



The stone fruit which, in point of importance, follows 

 next to the plum, as indicated by culture and general 

 esteem, is the 



Peach. Jap., Moino, hsai-niomo. The peach is an 

 introduced tree. It was probably brought to Japan 

 from China, and its importation took place at a very 

 early date, as is shown by its having spread to all parts 

 of the country, and by the number of its varieties of 

 local origin. Peaches are not grown largely, and they 

 are not shipped to distant markets, as is the case in the 

 United States. For a brief season, fruit grown near-by 

 may be found on the fruit stands in local markets, and 

 it is also peddled about the streets for a short season in 

 late summer. Like the plums, peaches are always gath- 

 ered too early, while still green and crisp, and of course 

 they are sour. What they would be if allowed to ripen 

 is, therefore, merely a matter of conjecture. The 

 Japanese do not like ripe peaches. They associate their 

 softness with decay, and hence the reason for gathering 

 them so early. But another reason for picking them 

 before they are full grown may be found in the fact 

 that they are invariably greatly injured by insects, and 

 the crop would be a total loss to the growers if not 

 picked green. 



A codlin moth, Carpocapsa Persicn, which has recently 

 been named and described by Prof. Sasaki, of the agri- 

 cultural college at Tokio, is extremely destructive to the 

 peach. Ninety per cent, of the crop is infected by the 

 larva; of this one moth. In some districts in the Chiba 

 prefecture, which adjoins Tokio on the northeast, 

 peaches are grown to some extent, and are sold in 

 Tokio, the nearest large market. Most of them are 

 eaten out of hand green, as they are. They are, 

 apparently, not so popular as the plum for purposes of 

 pickling. 



The Japanese never bud their peaches. Propagation 

 always takes place either from seed, or by means of 

 grafting. They can teach us nothing in regard to prun- 

 ing, care and general culture of the peach. Some for- 

 eign varieties have been introduced, but they are as yet 

 little known, and it is doubtful if peaches of any kind 

 will ever be considered of much value in Japan. 



The following are among the leading varieties : 

 Wase-momo, an early peach ; Nakate-momo, medium 

 peach ; Okute-momo, late peach ; Kan-momo ; Natsu- 

 morao, summer peach ; Aki-momo, fall peach. Two 

 varieties, the Sumitsu-to and Han-to, have been imported 

 from China. In addition to these, two kinds, the Koshi- 

 gaya and the Matsobushi, are chiefly grown in the 

 neighborhood of Tokio. Each takes its name from a 

 village where it is supposed to have originated. 

 Further inland three other kinds, Sa-momo, Gogatsu- 

 momo and Nen-momo, are most common. 



The Nectarine. — This fruit is rarely seen in Japan. 

 The onlv variety I have seen was a large, handsome 

 fruit which I found in the latter part of August, 1888, 

 on a fruit seller's stand in a town named Sakata, on the 

 coast of the Sea of Japan. The dealer did not know its 

 name, and it was not ripe enough to judge correctly of 



