288 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



President: We will now listen to a paper from Mr. "Willard of New 

 York, on 



PLUMS AND PLUM CULTUKE. 



Yoli will understand, the subject which is given me, as well as those on which others 

 will speak to you, have been assigned us by the secretary, and I may say that it is with 

 some degree of embarrassment that I take this subject, for the reason that I can only 

 speak from my own standpoint, and if there is anything m what I say in regard to new- 

 varieties, to which exception may be taken, it will not surprise me at all; but on the 

 other hand I shall be very glad to have any gentleman present, if I say anything that 

 they know to be wrong, take the subject up and discuss it and dissect it, and dissect 

 me, if he pleases. 



It has been said that " it is as well to be out of the world as out of the fashion," and 

 this seems today to apply equally to nurserymen as to any other class of business men. 



The people annually want something new — whether of value or not, seems to be a 

 ■ secondary consideration. Xew varieties are in demand, and the man or firm that can 

 not make a showing of them in some shape is regarded as not up to the times and hardly 

 worthy of patronage. The sentiment of the age must be met. The small-fruit growers 

 have the honor of having shown more discernment in anticiiiating the wants of the 

 public in this direction than their more conservative brethren who have confined their 

 efforts more especially to the tree trade; and, as a result, varieties of strawberry, rasp- 

 berry and blackberry have been multiplied almost without limit, each in turn adapted 

 to all sections and conditions, and in point of productiveness far excelling its ancestry; 

 in short, fully fitted to meet the requirements of the 19th century in every respect. 



Truly, we are living in an age of i)rogress; and, while the small fruits have led the 

 way, it is a matter of encouragement that a more lively interest is being awakened in 

 the culture of the apple, peach, cherry, pear, and plum, and in which adaptability, pro- 

 ductiveness, and good quality are carefully studied, while new sorts are yearly being 

 produced and tested to meet the wants of a fastidious people. 



The annoyances to which the plum-grower has been subjected, by reason of the plum's 

 capricious habits and the depredations of insect life, have caused this valuable fruit to 

 have been, until recent years, more or less neglected, while attention has been bestowed 

 more lavishly upon the other fruits; bvit with the advent of the Wild Goose a new 

 impetus seems to have been given to the development of new varieties of plum, and the 

 results have been satisfactory and profitable, with the probability that in the near 

 future the growing of plums for market may become one of the great industries of the 

 country. Under such conditions it may possibly be well, as an association, for us to 

 learn from each other what we can of varieties being brought out and tested of this 

 most excellent fruit in our respective localities. 



Downing tells us of three species of wild plum indigenous to this country — the Chick- 

 saw plum, the Red or Yellow plum, and the Beach plum, while a fourth, which has 

 become naturalized in this country, had its parentage in Asia, and has given us many 

 valuable seedlings that are grown with a remarkable degree of success today over a 

 large portion of our country. It is of this species mainly that I shall speak, mentioning 

 a few varieties that have come under my observation, some of which may be new to 

 you, while at the same time I would not ignore the value of those sorts, having their 

 parentage from our wild plum, that seem specially adapted to sections where the Euro- 

 pean varieties do not succeed, and I am sure it would be a subject full of interest to 

 this body if some party, whose experience may have fitted him to do so, would give us a 

 list of the newer varieties of value from the three first-named sorts. Of some of the 

 new varieties, tested within the past few years, we have found the following good 

 enough to deserve notice: 



The Field — Much like Bradshaw, ripening a little earlier; very productive, inclined to 

 bear early; origin Schoharie county. New York. 



Stanton s Seedling — Fruit medium size; color, dark purple, with a beautiful bloom; 

 very productive: ripens from Sept. 15 to Oct. 1, and has kept two weeks after ripening 

 with no tendency to decay; as a fine canning fruit it has no sujierior, and has fine qual- 

 ity as a table fruit. 



Prince of Wales — A variety imported from England several years since; intensely 

 productive; large, skin reddish purple, with thick bloom; flesh greenish yellow; very 

 attractive, and sells well in the markets, though not of the highest quality. 



Middleburg — Fruit medium to large, dull copper color: in shape and in keeping qual- 

 ities much resembling the prune, keeping a long time without tendency to decay; hardy, 

 and ripening about Sept. 15; a promising market variety. 



