Prof. Budd says: "No varieties of the plum are grown except of an Asiatic race, which seems perfectly hardy. The fruit is superior to our best wild plums in solidity of flesh but not in flavor. The normal form seems red, but yellow and black ones are seen here on every street in reality. I think it will prove valuable if not destroyed by the curculio. I say this, as it ripens very early in the season. The fruit of all the varieties is oblong, with a deep and peculiar structure on one side like some peaches. Some of the choice varieties of this race ripen, it is said, later in the season."