i8o Bulletin 131. 



II. Varieties of Plums in western New York. 



By S. D. Willard. 



An experience of a quarter of a century in cultivating the plum 

 has afforded convincing proof that, upon my soil at least, this 

 fruit is like many others in the fact that the list of varieties 

 adapted to profitab e orchard production is limited in number. 

 Some are tender in the wood, others defective in their foliage,* 

 others maturing at the wrong period or possessed of other weak 

 points that render them unfit to be grown in the commercial 

 orchard of western New York. It will readily be seen that the 

 result of my experience, as demonstrated in testing the various 

 sorts of plums, has been with reference to the one idea of profit. 

 Believeing that the descriptions contained in our fruit works and 

 nursery catalogues, — the latter being in the main copied from 

 writings regarded as authority on these subjects, — are oftentimes 

 misleading to the planter and are followed by ventures that are 

 alike unsatisfactory and unprofitable, I have taken pains to make 

 descriptions directly from life. All enjoy the delicious quality of 

 a favorite product, but how often the question is lost sight of, as 

 to whether it can be grown in quantity and at a price that will 

 enable us to supply it to others at a profit over and above the 

 cost of production ! 



Soil and surroundings have their influence upon the health, 

 vigor and productiveness of a variety; hence it is frequently found 

 that a fruit may be a failure on one soil and a success elsewhere. 

 This feature has been very marked in the cultivation of the 

 strawberry, and it is likewise true of the plum. Careful observa- 

 tion has led me to believe that any tree which has an inherent 

 weakness, either in foliage or wood, is to be looked upon with 

 suspicion when considered as an orchard sort for the average 



* Mr. Willard prefers to grow varieties which are not subject to the leaf- 

 blight fungus, rather than spray for the disease. He has given particular 

 attention to the choosing of resistant varieties, and this will account for his 

 condemnation of certain varieties wh'ch are otherwise desirable. A tree 

 which is serio"sly attacked by the leaf-blight is very likely to be injured by 

 the succeeding winter. — L. h. b. 



