The breeding of hardy fruits has been the leading work of the Department of Horticulture of South Dakota State College ever since the fall of 1895. Many requests have been received for bulletins containing the record of this work. Many of these are out of print and are no longer available. This bulletin contains a complete record of plant introductions from the beginning of the work up to 1927.

Fully 10,000 native plum seedlings have been grown at this Station in an endeavor to improve the fruit in size and quality. A record of the early plum work was made in South Dakota Bulletin No. 92, “Plums in South Dakota.” These select native plums were given South Dakota numbers for propagation. Some pure native plums should be included in every plum orchard to insure abundant pollination.

South Dakota Numbers 8-22, inclusive-—From the 1907 list. New native plums. South Dakota Numbers 8-22, inclusive. About 6,000 native plum seedlings have been fruited and some trees of fifteen of the best varieties have been propagated and are now ready for limited trial elsewhere. All bear fruit large to very large in size, and good quality; trees productive and with good foliage.

South Dakota Numbers 23-45, inclusive—From the 1908 list. Choice pure native plums. All bear fruit, large to very large in size and good to very good in quality; trees productive and with good foliage.

There were some really fine native plums among these South Dakota numbers but there was very little or no call for them after the new hybrid plums appeared. Out of all of these native plum seedlings the following have been named: Wastesa, Yuteca, Zekanta, Huya and Topa. The general experience with all these pure native plums favors the Wastesa as being the outstanding one for superiority in quality. Yuteca is extra large.

A considerable number of seedlings have been grown from the pure native plums collected from various parts of South Dakota. The only one named so far is the Teton. The lack of available land has prevented much further work with the pure native plums but the work is still under way. There are many choice plums at various points in the state, the trees of which should be marked and brought into cultivation. We need especially some more yellow plums. Many select native South Dakota plum seedlings have been planted in the State Orchards at Watertown and Eureka.

The western Sand Cherry, Prunus Besseyi, is a native of South Dakota, especially in the western half of the state. A detailed report of the experiments in taming this native fruit is given in South Dakota Bulletin 87, “The Western Sand Cherry”, June, 1904. In the present Bulletin are noted the Sioux, Tomahawk and South Dakota No. 5 Sand Cherries. Many thousands of Sand Cherry seedlings have been grown in the course of this work of taming this, one of the favorite fruits of the Sioux Indians of South Dakota. The second generation of Sand Cherries at this station consisted of 5,000 plants and the third generation of 25,000 plants. In the course of ten trips in five years the Sand Cherry trail has been followed into North Dakota, northwest Minnesota and north into Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

The work is still under way, Sand Cherries being selected at every opportunity with the seventh and eighth generations now under trial. A large number of seedlings have been selected and are propagated for further work under numbers by budding on native plum roots. The effort is to improve the fruit in size and quality and decrease the size of pit. These select Sand Cherries can be propagated by layering. The budded plants are rather expensive for the amount of fruit obtained, some years up to about three pounds per plant, so an effort is being made to breed this improved type true to seed. The Sand Cherry hybrids, such as Opata and Sapa, are much more popular than any of the named Sand Cherries owing to their great superiority in size and quality of fruit.

Wherever the Sand Cherry hybrids are grown, it will be well to have a few pure Sand Cherry seedlings and pure native plums near by to provide abundant pollination. Every garden in the state could use to advantage some of these seedling Sand Cherries as they are very productive and the fruit is useful for sauce or preserves.

All the sand cherry hybrids such as Opata, Sapa, Sansota, Cheresoto, and Wachampa should be kept in bush form with many stems close to the ground. As they bear heavily on one year old wood, try to have an abundance of this wood coming on by pruning back the shoots that have borne several years. The sand cherry hybrids should not be trimmed up with a high stem as some practice with ordinary plums.

All the sand cherry hybrids fruit very freely on one-year-old budded trees in nursery row. All plums and sand cherry hybrids do best in mixed orchards of several varieties. This mixed planting insures perfect pollination of the blossoms. Plums blossom earlier than sand cherries and the hybrids are usually in between. The best plums for pollination are usually the pure native plums. Wastesa is one of the best pure native plums. If pure wild plums are close by, they will furnish abundant pollen. For late blooming plums or sand cherry hybrids, it would be well to plant some pure sand cherries also to insure perfect pollination. In addition, if there are no bees in the neighborhood it would be well to keep bees as they help in the pollination.

In the fall of 1895, a lot of pits of wild plums (Prunus nigra) were obtained from Thomas Franklend, Stonewall, Manitoba, who gathered them from wild plum trees in the vicinity of Stonewall, a few miles north of Winnipeg. The pits were planted at Brookings, and out of many seedlings, two were selected and propagated under the names Winnipeg and Assiniboin as noted in Bulletin 130. These have been tested at various places in the North, especially in their native region, and have won favor. Here at Brookings the Manitoba plums are characterized by small size of tree, but extremely early season of fruit. In fact, they are the earliest of all native plums, but are not needed for the main market here since at Brookings larger and better plums can be raised owing to our later season.

In an endeavor to improve the fruit in size and quality a number of hybrids of the Manitoba wild plum with choice plums from California have been made. None of these hybrids are as large as Waneta so will probably be planted mainly in the North. The trees are productive and the large red fruit is of excellent quality. The names are all of Indian tribes at the far North, especially Manitoba. The three named so far are the Cree, Pembina and Ojibwa.

Many seedlings of the Sand Plum of Kansas, (Prunus Watsoni), have been raised. They are interesting trees of dwarf habit bearing profusely of good fruit which varies greatly in size and quality. The Kaw and the Kiowa, two of the hybrids with the Wolf plum, are worthy of trial in the south since they ripen after all other plums are gone but early enough to escape frost year after year. These new plums should probably not go much north of Brookings as they may not ripen; but for the southern part of the state, they are worthy of trial as a distinct new departure in plums. The names are given in honor of old Indian tribes in the Sand plum region.

The following synopsis is a classification of the varieties described in this bulletin. The seed or female parent is mentioned first, the pollen, or male parent, second.

Select Native Plums (Prunus Americana): Watesa; Yuteca; Huya; Topa; Zekanta; Teton.

Select Manitoba Plums (Prunus nigra): Assiniboin; Winnipeg.

Hybrid Japanese Plum x Native Plum: Tecumseh (Shiro x Surprise).

Japanese Plum x Native Plum: Waneta; Kahinta; Tawena (Apple plum x Terry plum); Oziya (Red June plum x DeSoto plum).

Native Plum x Chinese Apricot Plum): Hanska; Inkpa; Kaga; Toka (seedling native plum x Prunus Simoni[i]).

Chinese Apricot [Plum] x Native Plum): Tokata (Prunus Simoni[i] x De Soto plum).

Sand Plum x Native Plum: Kaw; Kiowa (Sand Plum, Prunus Watsoni x Wolf plum).

Manitoba Native Plum x Hybrid Japanese Plum: Cree (Manitoba native plum x Combination plum); Pembina (Manitoba native plum x Red June plum).

Japanese Hybrid Plum x Manitoba Native Plum: Ojibwa (Shiro x Manitoba Native plum).

Select South Dakota Sand Cherries (Prunus Besseyi): Sioux; Tomahawk; No. 5; and several other numbers.

Sand Cherry x Japanese Plum: Sapa; Wachampa; Etopa; Eyami; Enopa; Ezaptan (Sand Cherry x Burbank’s Sultan plum); Tom Thumb (True to Seed No. 2), (seedling of Ezaptan); Opata; Owanka; Okiya; Cikana (Sand Cherry x Gold plum); Skuya; Wohanka; Wakapa (probably Sand Cherry x unknown Japanese plum).

Sand Cherry x Native Plum: Cheresoto; Sansoto (Sand Cherry x DeSoto plum).

Sand Cherry x Plum: Champa (Sand Cherry hybrid, a seedling of Sioux) open pollinated; Oka (seedling of Champa) open pollinated, probably with Japanese plum.

Sand Cherry x Purple-leaf Persian Plum: Stanapa (purple-leaved) semi-dwarf; Cistena (purple-leaved) dwarf; Purple C., not named.

Sand Cherry x European Apricot: Yuksa (Sand Cherry x New Large Apricot).

Sand Cherry x Peach: Kamdesa (Sand Cherry x Opulent Peach).

Sand Cherry x European Sweet Cherry: Seedlings not named, all short-lived.

Sand Cherry x Chinese Apricot Plum: Tokeya (Sand Cherry x Prunus Simoni[i]).

Assiniboin Plum: Introduced 1908. A very early variety grown from native pits (Prunus nigra) received from Stonewall near Winnipeg, Manitoba. A favorite in Manitoba for general cultivation. A annual bearer of good fruit. The early blooming is characteristic.

Champa Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1912. Champa is the Sioux Indian name for “cherry”. A seedling of the Sioux, one of the pure sand cherry seedlings. The bush is of strong upright growth for a sand cherry, the original plant is about 5 feet.
   In quality for table or culinary use, the Sioux seems to be the best out of many thousands of sand cherry seedlings grown at this Station. But the Champa exceeds the Sioux somewhat in size and appears to be the largest sand cherry to date. Color, glossy black; pit small; long rather than round. These pure sand cherries should be gotten on own roots as soon as possible by layering, as budding is expensive. Some of those who have the Sioux and Tomahawk sand cherries are doing this. A unique method, which was introduced by C. W. Gurney of Yankton, S. D., is by “high buds”; that is, budding two or three feet from the ground on native plum stock, thus giving a neat round-headed plant, very fruitful and ornamental for the home garden.
   These plants should be set a little deeper than they stood in the nursery, making it easier to make layers.
   Sand cherries are for dry climates and dry soils; in faint soils and climates they mildew and are unproductive. The drier the soil the better the sand cherry seems to like it and the more the sand cherry is at home Hence, it deserves a place in the small fruit garden of the western settler. Champa has proven productive in many places. It makes a low bushy tree. I consider this of value for ornamental planting, owing to the great abundance of flowers in spring. The flowers are white with pink tinge.

Cheresoto Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1910. Sand Cherry x De Soto plum pollen. In the fall of 1907 thirteen seedlings of this pedigree were under propagation in the station nursery. All these trees made strong growth in the nursery, some five feet in height, stocky, well branched and formed abundant fruit buds the first year. These seedlings have borne heavily the past season (1910) and some of them combined the bad qualities of both parents in quality of fruit and large size of pit. However, others show promise of value as a late market plum as they fruited heavily here this year when native plums were almost a total failure. The fruit is longish with a minute bristle or prickle at apex which it no doubt inherits from the sand cherry. The size is about one and three-eighths inches in diameter; color black when fully ripe, with blue bloom; flesh cling, yellowish green, sprightly, pleasant; skin thin and free from acerbity. The fruit is a perfect mingling of the sand cherry and DeSoto in looks and flavor, having the size of the DeSoto and the color of the sand cherry The habit is that of a vigorous plum tree.

Cikana Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1912. Cikana is the Sioux Indian name for “small”. Of the same pedigree as Opata but much later in season. This pedigree is: Female parent, the Dakota sand cherry (Prunus Besseyi); male parent, the Gold plum. The Gold is a very large hybrid Japanese plum originated by Luther Burbank and for which three thousand dollars was paid when first introduced.
   Fruit a glossy black, round, one inch in diameter; skin very thin, free from acerbity; flesh green, slightly red at pit, very pleasant; quality very good for the table. The Cikana would make a good substitute for the black California sweet cherry when cooked. When cooked with pits in, it cooks soft in about half an hour and the black skin gives the sauce a beautiful rich red color. The flavor is milder than that of Ezaptan.

Cistena Purple-leaf Sand Cherry. Hybrid: Introduced spring 1909 as Purple A. Female parent, Dakota Sand Cherry; male parent, the Purple-leaved plum of Persia, Prunus Pissardi. A beautiful shrub, following the Sand Cherry in stature of plant and glossiness of leaf, but the foliage has the rich purple-red color which gives its Persian sire such wide popularity.

Cree Plum: Introduced 1917. Pedigree: Manitoba wild plum x Combination plum pollen. In 1901 when the Combination was introduced by Luther Burbank, it was considered the best in quality of 25,000 seedlings.

Enopa Sand Cherry Hybrid: Of the same pedigree as Sapa. Enopa is Sioux Indian for “second”. Size one and one-sixteenth inches in diameter, round, dark red with green flesh; skin thin, free from acerbity, flavor pleasant. Enopa is inferior to the sister variety, Sapa, both in size and quality. Fruit round, dark red with blue bloom, with very minute prickle at apex.

Etopa Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1908. Of the same pedigree as Sapa. Etopa is Sioux Indian for “fourth”. First sent out in the spring of 1908 as one-year-old trees. These bore freely in 1909 in several places. Of the same pedigree as Sapa and much like it in color of skin and flesh. Like Sapa, the fruit is excellent in quality and remarkable for the intense black, purple red color of skin, flesh and juice. Skin thin, free from acerbity. Mr. A. P. Stevenson of Dunston, Manitoba, wrote in 1909: “Etopa ripened some very fine fruit on September 12, 1909. I think a lot of this variety, it is the best yet fruited here.”

Eyami Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1908. Of the same pedigree as Sapa. Fruit round, one and three-sixteenths by one and five- sixteenths inches in diameter; dark red with semi-transparent skin; skin thin; flesh green, pleasant; pit large; inferior both to Sapa and Opata. Tree productive.

Ezaptan Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1911. A number of seedlings of the same pedigree as the Sapa, with much the same character of fruit, but differing somewhat in tree, have been developed. Perhaps several are needed for better pollination in mixed orchards. One of them, the Ezaptan (Sioux Indian for “fifth”), is remarkable for its earliness and heavy bearing. Color of fruit in 1909 of a dark purple and with less grayish overcast than that of Sapa; perhaps averages smaller than Sapa but this will be better determined with further experience. Quality delicious, color black purple-red from skin to pit the same as Sapa.

Hanska Plum: Introduced 1908. Hanska is the Sioux word for “tall”. The name is given in allusion to the extraordinarily rapid growth in nursery, three-year-old trees attaining a height of twelve feet; two- year-old trees are too heavy, to ship well. The female parent is a seedling of the wild northwestern plum (Prunus Americana); the male parent is the very large, firm-fleshed, fragrant apricot plum of China (Prunus Simoni[i]), and popular in the orchards of California. The Hanska fruited first in 1906 and 1907 on two and three year old trees in nursery row. In fruit, the Hanska closely resembles its Chinese parent in form, color, fragrance, quality and firmness of flesh; the size, however, is smaller, being only one and one-half inches in diameter so far but will probably increase as this was from two and three year old trees in nursery row. The pit is very small.
   As exhibited at the South Dakota State Fair three years in succession, the fruit of this variety has been much admired for its beautiful color, which is bright red with heavy blue bloom, firm yellow flesh, good quality and rich fragrance; fruit in 1909 was one and one-half to one and nine-sixteenths inches in diameter. When cooked, the strong apricot flavor is brought out to perfection, entirely unlike any native plum. The flat shape also distinguishes it from all the other hardy plums grown in the Northwest.
[Also see a catalog description from a Minnesota nursery in 1918 & for my limited first-hand experience with growing Hanska in Georgia, click here. -ASC]

Huya Plum: Introduced 1908. Huya is the Sioux Indian for “eagle”. This is State Fair No. 36 noted in Bulletin 93. A large, very productive wild plum.

Inkpa Plum: Introduced 1909. Inkpa is the Sioux Indian for “apex” or “acme”. Of the same pedigree as Hanska. These varieties are much alike in fruit and rapidity of growth, but further trial is needed to determine which is the best one out of the many seedlings of this parentage.

Kaga Plum: Introduced 1909. Kaga is the Sioux Indian for “pitch a tent.” Of same pedigree as the Hanska. These varieties are much alike in fruit and rapidity of growth, but further trial is needed to determine which is the best one out of the many seedlings of this parentage. Many prefer the Kaga as a better annual bearer than Hanska.

Kahinta Plum: Introduced 1912. Kahinta is the Sioux Indian name for “sweep”. Female parent: the Apple plum, a Japanese variety originated by Luther Burbank of California; male parent, the Terry, a native plum (Prunus Americana), originated by the late H. A. Terry of Crescent, Iowa.
   Three seedlings of this pedigree, all have fruit of excellent quality, approximating that of the peach in excellence. Fruit one and one-half inches in diameter, dark red, roundish, slightly oval, very heavy; the heaviest plum on the ground the very dry season of 1911, weight being about one ounce. Fruit freestone, skin thin, no acerbity; flesh firm yellow, sweet. Later reports show the size larger. The three sister varieties, Waneta, Kahinta and Tawena, are all remarkable for large sized fruit.

Kamdesa Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1908. This is a hybrid of the western Sand Cherry with pollen of the Opulent peach. Kamdesa is the Sioux Indian name for “Daybreak”. This plant is practically -sterile; instead of having one pistil it usually has from two to three and as high as six pistils, so it is an ornamental bush and has no value for fruit. Evidently, this is not the way to get a hardy peach since the resulting hybrid of the Sand Cherry and peach is sterile.

Kaw Plum: Introduced 1917. Pedigree: Prunus Watsoni x Wolf plum pollen. The color is a pleasing bright dark red with firm skin with fine white dots and white bloom and peculiar crisp texture of yellow flesh. The quality is pleasing to all who have tried it.

Kiowa Plum: Introduced 1917. Pedigree: Prunus Watsoni x Wolf plum pollen. Much like the Kaw. Perhaps only one will be needed.

Ojibwa Plum: Introduced 1917. Pedigree: Shiro x Manitoba wild plum (Prunus nigra) pollen. Since the Shiro, one of Luther Burbank’s plums, is a complex hybrid of four species, the Ojibwa will be a mixture of five different species of Prunus: Nigra, Angustifolia, Cerasifera, Triflora, Simoni. Flesh yellow, of good flavor; skin thin and free from acerbity. This tree seems to be especially worthy of a trial at the North. The Ojibwa is not nearly as large as the Waneta but should go considerably farther north. The original tree has been very productive. At first sight, the pointed shape would make it look like a select pure native Manitoba plum, but the skin is too thin to be a pure Manitoba.
   F. L. Skinner, Dropmore, Manitoba, Canada, writes under date of January 19, 1922: “I had a splendid crop from your Ojibwa plum this year.”

Oka Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1924. This is not really a cherry but is a good substitute for a cherry. It is a Sand Cherry hybrid, a seedling of Champa. Black red flesh, rounder than Sapa and color brighter on outside. The original one-year seedling tree bore fruit in 1923, the year after planting, and again in 1924. Plant of bushy habit but taller than the Tom Thumb Cherry. I received a letter from a Canadian friend asking that I develop a cherry that would dry up and stay on the bush until the farmers found time to pick them. I thought this was a tall order for one day, but shortly after I went out into the seedling nursery and found the plant, which I have named the Oka Cherry. The fruit dried into a sweet prune-like fruit and later can be cooked up into excellent sweet sauce. So after all I find this Oka Cherry filling the demand of my Canadian friend, although I would not recommend leaving the fruit on the trees too long as they are too tempting.

Okiya Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1908. Of the same pedigree as Opata. Fruit dark red, roundish; flesh green, excellent quality; fruit much like Opata but averages smaller.

Opata Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1908. Opata is the Sioux for “bouquet”. One-year-old trees from buds sent out in spring of 1903 bore freely the following year in many places. The excellent quality of the Opata makes it worthy of wide popularity for table and culinary use. Female parent, the Dakota Sand Cherry (Prunus Besseyi); male parent, the Gold plum, a very large hybrid Japanese variety originated by Luther Burbank and for which three thousand dollars was paid when first introduced. Opata is a plum tree in habit of vigorous growth and forms fruit buds freely on one-year-old shoots in nursery; foliage large and glossy. Fruit, one and three-sixteenths inches in diameter, dark purplish- red with blue bloom; weight one-half ounce; flesh green, firm; flavor very pleasant, combining the sprightly acid of the sand cherry with the rich sweetness of the Gold plum. Excellent for eating out of hand. The thin skin can be chewed and eaten, as it is entirely free from acerbity. Pit very small; season extremely early. Our best Opata fruits in 1909 were one and five-eighths inches in diameter. A very strong grower in nursery and orchard and an early and heavy bearer. At this station in 1909, Opata was fully ripe when the Manitoba No. 1 plum, although dull red, was not ripe enough to eat. Opata is now widely grown in many states from Oklahoma north into Canada.

Oziya Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1912. Oziya is the Sioux Indian name for “to refresh”. Female parent, Red June, a large early Japanese plum; male parent, DeSoto, a well known native plum from southwestern Wisconsin. Oziya was the earliest large plum in 1911, remarkable for its large size and very bright red color; flesh light yellow and of excellent quality. The original tree and the few trees propagated from it bore heavily the past season, the best specimens measured one and five-eighths inches in diameter. This plum should be of value for market as an extra early plum. Oziya plum jam is really remarkable for its bright cherry color and superb flavor; the skin cooks soft and disappears entirely and there is no trace of the native plum acerbity.

Pembina Plum: Introduced-1917. Pedigree: Manitoba wild plum x Red June plum pollen. The Red June is one of the earliest and best Japanese plums, imported many years ago from Japan. Many favorable reports have been received as to size and quality of fruit and early productiveness of tree of the Pembina.

Sansoto Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1910. Female parent, Sand Cherry (Prunus Besseyi); male parent, DeSoto, a well known standard variety of native plum (Prunus Americana) from southwestern Wisconsin. In the fall of 1907 thirteen of the seedlings of this pedigree were under propagation in the station nursery. All these trees made strong growth in the nursery, some five feet in height, stocky, well branched and formed abundant fruit buds the first year. These seedlings have borne heavily the past season (1910) and some of them combined the bad qualities of both parents in quality of fruit and large size of pit. However, others show promise of value as a late market plum as they fruited heavily here this year when native plums were almost a total failure. The fruit is round. The size is about one and three-eighths inches in diameter; color black when fully ripe with blue bloom; flesh cling, yellowish green, sprightly, pleasant; skin thin and free from acerbity. The fruit is a perfect mingling of the sand cherry and De Soto in looks and flavor, having the size of the De Soto and the color of the sand cherry. The habit is that of a vigorous plum tree. These sand cherry hybrids appear to be all later in bloom than the plum, which is characteristic of the sand cherry.

Sapa Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1908. Sapa is the Sioux Indian for “black”, and alludes to the color of the skin, flesh and juice of this remarkable hybrid. This represents a new departure in stone fruits for the prairie Northwest. The fruit has the rich dark purple-red skin, flesh and juice of its sire, the Sultan. The Sultan is one of Luther Burbank’s Japanese plums of the Satsuma type, and is perhaps a cross with some other species. The female parent is one of the selected seedlings of the northwestern sand cherry (Prunus Besseyi), a favorite fruit of the Dakota Sioux Indians. The tree is plum-like in habit, forming fruit buds freely on one-year trees in nursery. One-year trees sent out in the spring of 1908 bore freely in 1909 in many places. Specimens of the Sapa grow[n] in Minnesota took first prize as a seedling plum at the Minnesota State Fair in 1909. In 1909, the best Sapas at Brookings were one and three-eighths inches in diameter, weight five-eighths ounces, on one-year-old trees set the preceding year and bearing a heavy crop. The rich purple color of the skin is dulled at first by being overspread with a thin gray, which disappears as the fruit attains full ripeness. Season extremely early. The Sapa bears freely on one-year shoots in the nursery and along with Opata has attained wide popularity.

Sioux Sand Cherry: Introduced 1902, A large Sand Cherry selected from many thousand seedlings. Not as large as some of the later seedlings but noteworthy for its mild flavor. The plants sent out were budded on native plum roots.

Skuya Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1908. The pedigree is recorded as: female parent, Red June, a large early Japanese plum; male parent, De Soto, a well known native plum (Prunus Americana) originated in southwestern Wisconsin. But in fruit and leaf, the Skuya is more of a Sand Cherry-Japanese plum hybrid. The Skuya first fruited in 1907 upon a tree very severely cut for budsticks. Fruit dark red and yellow. Quality excellent and delicious. The pit is very small. Skuya is the Sioux Indian for “sweet”.

South Dakota No. 5 Sand Cherry: From the 1907 list: Plants of South Dakota No. 5 Sand Cherry budded on native plum roots were distributed. These budded plants of select Sand Cherry have done well on high upland at the Experiment Station at Mandan, North Dakota. Some years the average crop per plant is about three pounds. A large Sand Cherry of good quality.

Stanapa Purple-leaf Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1909. Sand Cherry x Purple-leaved Persian plum pollen. An event for landscape gardeners. By crossing the Dakota sand cherry with pollen of the Purple-leaved plum of Persia (Prunus Pissardi), we have a number of beautiful shrubs following the sand cherry in stature and glossiness of leaf, but with the rich purple-red color of foliage which gives the Persian sire such wide popularity. In the spring of 1909, three of these seedlings were first introduced as Purple A, Purple B, and Purple C. Last year (1910) Purple A was named Cistena (Sioux Indian name for “baby”). Further experience shows that Purple B is also worthy a name since the color is as bright and the growth equal if not superior. The name now given to Purple B is Stanapa, which is made up from two Sioux Indian words meaning “purple leaf”. These purple-leaved sand cherries will probably win great favor for single specimens or groups on the lawn or for dwarf ornamental hedges, owing to their brilliant coloring.

Tawena Plum: Introduced 1924. Pedigree: Apple plum, a Japanese variety, crossed with pollen of the Terry, the largest native Prunus Americana plum. A full sister to the Waneta and Kahinta, and originated at the same time. Not quite as large as Waneta, fruit more round, an immense bearer. This has been much admired at our State Fair exhibits and the introduction has been urged. The name is an anagram (rearrangement) of the name Waneta. Carl A. Hansen, Brookings, reports Tawena as a model tree the first year in nursery, branching better than either Waneta or Kahinta.

Tecumseh Plum: Introduced 1918. A fine extra large plum. We have several of this pedigree, which is Shiro crossed with pollen of Surprise. As Shiro is one of Burbank’s hybrid Japan plums combining four species, Surprise pollen makes this an amalgamation of five species. It should go south rather than north. The season is very early.

Teton Plum: Introduced 1912. For many years pits and scions of pure wild plums have been collected in various parts of South Dakota. both by correspondence and personal field work. The best success in this line was in 1904 in exploring along the Missouri near Campbell, in Campbell county. This tree was found in a small plum thicket a short distance from the Missouri river. The fruit was one and three-eighths inches in diameter, color a good clear red; flesh of good quality. Later in the season scions were cut from three of the trees in this thicket. The trees bore heavily the past season. One of them has been named Teton in honor of the Indian tribe living in that vicinity. This plum is practically a freestone; the skin is thick but cooks readily. It is the best representative of the pure native plum of this state found up to date.

Toka Plum: Introduced 1911. Some 15 varieties of the same pedigree as Hanska, Inkpa and Kaga have been developed, all of which bore a heavy crop in 1909, when native plums were almost a total failure. They are all very much alike in character of fruit but differ somewhat in tree. In observing these seedlings closely in the nursery and orchard, one cannot help noticing that some are spreading, while others are very upright in habit, much like the Prunus Simoni[i] itself. One is of such erect strong, stocky growth, really a model nursery tree, that it seems worthy of trial. Field notes state: “Simoni habit in nursery. The nicest looking tree in nursery end orchard.” Toka is the Sioux Indian for “adversary”. An early and heavy bearer.

Tokata Plum: Introduced 1912. Tokata is the Sioux Indian for “go forward”. Female parent is the large, firm-fleshed, fragrant apricot plum of China (Prunus Simoni[i]), popular in the orchards of California; male parent, DeSoto, a well known native plum (Prunus Americana) from southwestern Wisconsin.
   The four varieties sent out from this Department: Hanska, Inkpa, Kaga, Toka, show that the firm flesh and rich fragrance of the apricot of China can be combined successfully with the native northwestern plum (Prunus Americana). A reciprocal hybrid of these four is the Tokata, since the native plum in this case is the male instead of the female parent.
   The fruit is regular in form, roundish, slightly oval, with apex flat. In 1911 the size was one and three-eighths x one and seven-sixteenths inches in diameter. The skin is of a rich dark orange red, slightly mottled with numerous orange dots suffused in the skin covered with light lilac bloom. The flesh is of a rich orange red color, very firm and with the rich Simoni flavor when fresh from the tree. Pit free. When cooked a few minutes in sugar syrup the sauce has the rich Chinese apricot flavor, which is superior to any of the native plums and to the ordinary California plums as received in this market. Tree of good upright habit.
   As to how far north this variety can be grown remains to be determined by experiment, but it can scarcely be expected to go outside of the natural successful range of the DeSoto plum.

Tokeya Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1907. The female parent is one of the select second generation seedlings of the Western Sand Cherry (Prunus Besseyi), a favorite bush fruit of the Dakota Sioux Indians. The male parent is Prunus Simoni[i], a peculiar fruit tree from China, allied to the apricots and plums; grown in California; fruit very large, fragrant, firm fleshed, sometimes marketed as a California plum. Fruited first in 1906 on trees one year old in nursery row, size one and one-fourth inches in diameter. Fruit in 1908 one and three-eighths inches in diameter, dark red, flesh green, of good quality; pit very small. Fruit in 1909 one and one-eighths x one and one-fourth inches in diameter; weight seven-sixteenths ounce; skin dark brownish red, skin is thin, bitter, improving with maturity; flesh green, pleasant acid.

Tomahawk Sand Cherry: Introduced 1902. A large Sand Cherry selected from many thousand seedlings. Not as large as some of the later seedlings but noteworthy for its mild flavor. The plants sent out were budded on native plum roots.

Tom Thumb Sand Cherry Hybrid: From the 1916 list. The first step in a project of breeding plums true to seed to avoid the necessity of budding and grafting. True to Seed No. 1 is a seedling of Opata. True to Seed No. 2 is a seedling of Ezaptan which is of the same pedigree as Sapa. This plan may not be desirable as the trees would need to be isolated when in bloom, either by tenting the trees or planting them far from other trees. Some of them will no doubt revert, others will come true. To complete this work, seedlings should be raised and only those saved that come true.
   From the 1921 list: Trees of this series have not been sent out since. True to Seed No. 2 has been watched closely the past five years. It is practically a Sapa in fruit, but the plant is a low bush, having much the same habit as its granddam, the native Sand Cherry. Bears freely on one-year shoots in nursery, from the ground up, and annually thereafter. Probably the plant should be propagated by layers to save the expense of budding. What has been done in this seedling is really to reduce the choice black-purple flesh plum-sand cherry hybrid to the stature of a small fruit. They can be planted close together like currant bushes. What more can be done, the future must disclose.
   In the 1922 list the name Tom Thumb cherry was given to the True to Seed No. 2. The Tom Thumb has won popularity in Manitoba and Saskatchewan for its early and continuous bearing, and for resistance of the blossoms to frost in the spring.

Topa Plum: Introduced 1908. Fruit large, handsome; tree low. A good native plum. Topa is the Sioux Indian for “four”.

Wachampa Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1910. Of the same pedigree as Sapa. Fruit one to one and one-fourth inches in diameter; much like the Sapa in every respect. It averages larger and more vigorous in tree than Sapa; one of the strongest growing trees of the Sand Cherry hybrids. Trees one year old from bud planted in 1993 bore a heavy crop in 1909: The fruit keeps well on the table after picking.
   From the 1910 list: The union of the Dakota Sand Cherry and the Sultan plum gives us Sapa, Etopa and several others which with their rich flesh and juice and cherry-like pit will compare favorably with the purple red-fleshed sweet cherries from California. But they run too large to be rated as cherries. Shall they be called cherries or plums? Another desirable seedling of the same pedigree as Sapa and much like it, but a stronger grower and with smaller fruit, about one inch in diameter, has proven a very heavy bearer the past season on three-year-old trees transplanted at one year of age. It has been named Wachampa (Sioux Indian for “blood cherry”).

Wakapa Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1908. The recorded pedigree is Red June, a large early Japanese plum x DeSoto, a well known native plum, Prunus Americana, However, the botanical characters are those of Sandcherry hybrids. The Wakapa is a sister to the Skuya and Wohanka.

Waneta Plum: Introduced 1913. This variety appears to combine the best points of the native and the Japanese plum. It is probably the largest of over 10,000 seedlings. The size here at Brookings in 1912 was two inches in diameter; weight two ounces. Good red color, skin free from acerbity, flavor delicious. The female parent is the Apple plum, a large Japanese variety originated by Luther Burbank of California; the male parent is Terry, the largest native (Prunus Americana) plum, originated by the late H. A. Terry of Iowa. The Waneta plum was exhibited at the South Dakota State Fair at Huron in September, 1912, by the Horticultural Department of this Station.
   The Waneta is the largest of all the Hansen Hybrid plums. The tree is a very strong grower in nursery and an early and persistent annual bearer of delicious plums of large size. The Waneta combines in large measure the most desirable points of the native and the Japanese plums. At the 1920 Iowa State Fair at Des Moines the Waneta and the sister variety, Kahinta, were by far the largest plums on exhibition.

Fig. 4—WANETA PLUM This variety appears to combine the best points of the native and Japanese plum.

Wastesa Plum: Introduced 1908. Wastesa (Sioux Indian name for “delicious”). This is State Fair No. 16 mentioned in Bulletin No. 93. Large, almost free stone, excellent. It is the best of the State Fair seedlings mentioned in Bulletin No. 98 and is considered the best in quality of all the pure native seedlings in this lot of 10,000 seedlings. The characteristic ragged leaf indicates that Wastesa is a seedling of Wyant, one of the best native plums of northern Iowa.

Winnipeg Plum: Introduced 1908. A very early variety grown from native pits (Prunus nigra) received from Stonewall near Winnipeg, Manitoba. A favorite in Manitoba for general cultivation. An annual bearer of good fruit. The early blooming is characteristic. A sister variety to the Assiniboin but the Assiniboin appears to have become more prominent in Manitoba gardens.

Wohanka Sand Cherry Hybrid: Introduced 1909. Of the same pedigree as Skuya; fruit one inch in diameter, round, dark red; flesh green, red at pit, pleasant, sprightly subacid; pit small, round, nearly free; skin very thin, free from acerbity. In tree both Skuya and Wohanka are more like some of the sand cherry hybrids and we are raising some seedlings to determine this. In either event, the size will not make Wokanka as promising as the Opata or Sapa. Very strong, vigorous, stocky, spreading.

Yuksa Sandcherry Hybrid: Introduced 1908. This is a hybrid of western Sand Cherry with pollen of the New Large Apricot of Europe. This hybrid of the South Dakota Sand Cherry with a European Apricot produces an abundance of flowers, but is sterile. Evidently, this is not the way to originate a hardy apricot.

Zekanta Plum: Introduced 1908. Zekanta is the Sioux Indian for “yellow plum”. A large yellow native plum, of good quality. Some seasons it reddens somewhat with full maturity.