Note 111 — Chapter I · EDIBLE PLUMS (continued 2)

The New York Agricultural Experiment Station stands on the site of the old Indian village of Kanadasaga, founded by the Seneca Indians. The records of Sullivan’s raid just after the Revolution show that when this village was destroyed by the Whites there were orchards of apples and plums (see Conover’s Kanadasaga and Geneva (Mss.) Hobart College) crudely cultivated. On the adjoining farm of Mr. Henry Loomis descendants of these old trees still grow. The plums are Americanas, and Mr. Loomis, now in his 94th year, says that when a boy the Indians and Whites alike gathered them, soaked them in lye to remove the astringency of the skins and then cooked, dried or otherwise preserved them.