Although _Prunus besseyi_ has received attention from horticulturists less than a quarter-century it has aroused much interest, best indicated by the fact that now a considerable number of varieties of the species are under cultivation and there are more than a score of hybrids disseminated in which it is one of the parents. Indians, trappers and early settlers have long used the wild fruit under the name of Western Sand Cherry, Bessey's Cherry and Rocky Mountain Cherry. Among pioneers this cherry was held in high esteem for sauces, pies and preserves and, where there was a dearth of cultivated cherries, was eaten with relish out of hand. The flesh is tender, juicy and, while astringent as commonly found, plants bearing aromatic and very palatable cherries are often found growing wild while some of the domesticated plants bear very well-flavored fruits. All speak of the Sand Cherry as wonderful in productiveness and as having remarkable capacity to withstand the vicissitudes of the exacting climate in which it grows. A valuable asset of _Prunus besseyi_ is its great variability. Fruit from different plants varies in size, color and flavor suggesting that, under cultivation, amelioration will proceed rapidly. The plants of this species root freely from layers or root-cuttings and are therefore easily propagated and multiplied. But it is in its hybrids that this western cherry has proved most valuable in horticulture. There are now hybrids under cultivation between this species and the Sand plum (_Prunus augustifolia watsoni_), the Hortulana plum (_Prunus hortulana_), the Simonii plum (_Prunus simonii_), the Japanese plum (_Prunus triflora_), the American plum (_Prunus americana_), the Cherry plum (_Prunus cerasifera_), the Sweet Cherry (_Prunus avium_), the peach (_Prunus persica_), the apricots _(Prunus armeniaca_ and _Prunus mume_), and the common plum _(Prunus domestica_). It would almost seem that this species is the "go-between" of the many and varied types of the genus Prunus. It is true that few of these hybrids yet shine as orchard plants but, given time, it seems certain that some will prove valuable in general horticulture and that many will be grown in the special horticulture of the northern Mississippi Valley and the adjoining plains to the west. Credit must be given to Professor N. E. Hansen of the South Dakota Experiment Station for most of our present knowledge of hybridism between this and other species.[10] In his work with this species Hansen has also found that _Prunus besseyi_ makes a very good stock for peaches, apricots, Japanese and native plums and that, while it does not so readily consort with the true cherries, yet it can be used as a stock for them. On the other hand larger fruits of the Sand Cherry can be grown when it is budded on stocks of the Americana. [10] See bulletins 87 (1904), 88 (1904), 108 (1908) and 130 (1911) from the South Dakota Experiment Station, Brookings, S. D. MINOR SPECIES