424 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[November, 
25° to 32°, which simply keeps them dormant. 
But if, on the other hand, the plants are not 
frozen when snow covers the glass, it becomes 
necessary to remove the snow in three or four 
days after falling, else the plants will become 
Fig. 1.— MUSKINGUM PEAR. 
blanched, and made so tender that they will be 
unable to resist severe weather that may follow. 
The Beach or Sand Plum. 
There grows along our coast, from Maine to 
the Gulf, a species of plum which does not seem 
to have received much 
attention from culti¬ 
vators. It is the Beach 
Plum, Prunus mari- 
tiina, and is called in 
some localities the 
Sand Plum. It is 
found growing close 
to the sea among the 
blowing sands of the 
beach, and often at a 
distance of twenty 
miles inland. When 
found at a distance 
from the sea it is so 
much changed in ap¬ 
pearance by the differ¬ 
ence of soil and situ¬ 
ation that it has been 
taken for distinct spe¬ 
cies, and the plant has 
been described by 
botanists under half a 
dozen or more differ¬ 
ent names. The tree, 
or rather shrub, is 
seldom more than 
five feet high, oftener only two or three, and has 
numerous stout branches, which are usually 
prostrate, and more or less covered by the 
shifting sand. The color of the stem is a very 
dark purple, almost black, and the young 
shoots are brown, dotted with orange. The 
shape of the leaves is shown in the engraving; 
they are smooth on the upper surface and 
somewhat downy below; they are much finer 
on the plants that grow upon the beach than 
upon those found inland. The fruit is from 
half an inch to an inch in diameter, glob¬ 
ular, and varying in color from crimson to 
dark purple, and having a fine bloom. The 
shrub flowers in May and June, and ripens 
its fruit in September. The fruit varies in 
different plants, not only in color and size, 
but in quality—some specimens being quite 
pleasant to the taste, and others very harsh 
and acerb. It is highly prized by those who 
live near the shore for making preserves, 
and it is often seen offered for sale in the 
markets of seaport towns. As this fruit 
presents so great a tendency to vary in its 
wild state, -we are surprised that no attempts 
have been made to improve it by cultiva¬ 
tion. If a good variety could be pro¬ 
duced it would be valuable. The wild 
plant is very ornamental when in fruit; 
the specimen from which the fragment was 
taken for the engraving was loaded with fruit, 
which in different stages of ripeness, and 
with its fine bloom, was an attractive shrub. 
Our principal object in calling attention to 
this plum is the promise it holds out of being 
useful as a stock on which to bud or graft 
the cultivated varieties. It would flourish 
upon the poorest soils, and it is very likely 
that it would prove a dwarfing stock. 
The Muskingum Pear. 
We have in our garden six trees of this 
admirable variety of pears, and have watched 
their bearing for four years. It has more good 
qualities to recommend it for general cultiva¬ 
tion, as an early fruit, than any pear of its sea¬ 
son with which we are acquainted. The tree 
is a vigorous grower, makes a handsome head, 
and in good soil bears uniformly large crops 
every year. The illustrations (figures 1 and 2) 
give a very good idea of the appearance of a 
tender, melting, juicy, of a sweet, high, aro¬ 
matic flavor. August 15th to September 10th. 
Native of Ohio. We find it perfectly hardy 
here, and a great grower. And it is probably 
well adapted to a much more northern locality.” 
THE BEACH BLUM. 
specimen of medium size, entire and in section. 
Cole describes the fruit thus: “Rather large; 
roundish to obovate; greenish yellow, with 
many dark specks, and much russet, seldom a 
brownish blush; stem long, medial, in a narrow 
cavity; calyx slight, open, in a slight or with 
no depression; flesh yellowish white, very fine, 
Fig. 2.— SECTION OF MUSKINGUM PEAK. 
In Southern Connecticut the fruit begins to 
ripen early in August, and lasts through the 
month. It holds on to the tree with great tenacity, 
and will rot upon the stem if it is not picked in 
season. If the fruit is picked just before it be¬ 
gins to turn yellow, there is no tendency to rot 
at the core. It ripens throughout at the same 
time, and is as nice eating as an epicure could 
desire. It is in season 
for four weeks, com¬ 
ing in just after the 
Madeleine and lap¬ 
ping on to the Bart- 
letts. It might well 
be substituted for the 
Bloodgood, which is 
a much smaller fruit, 
with a shorter season, 
and, in our yard, of 
inferior quality. The 
wood also is diseased, 
and this we believe is 
a common fault of 
this much lauded 
variet 3 r . It also might 
take the place of the 
Dearborn’s Seedling, 
which, though an ex¬ 
cellent fruit, is of 
small size. The 
Muskingum bears so 
abundantly every 
year, that we think 
it would make an 
excellent variety for 
market cultivation. It is very fair, remarkably 
solid, and cooks well. Connecticut. 
[We seldom publish an article like the above 
without receiving many letters of inquiry, and 
we would say that the Muskingum Pear is to 
be found in the catalogues of all large nurseries, 
and that we have no trees for sale.—E d.] 
