230 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



LARGE PERSIMMONS. 



From the Rural World . 



Our native persimmon is destined to become a highly prized fruit 

 in the near future. When it is once developed as it can be, we shall 

 all wonder why so good a fruit has so long remained unnoticed. But 

 until improved varieties are produced, can we realize a profit from this 

 fruit as it is ? From an experiment with the common varieties lam 

 confident we can. A few trees on my grounds annually bear heavy 

 crops of medium-sized persimmons. Early in the past season I thinned 

 the fruit on one tree, taking off about three-fourths of what had set. 

 What remained on the tree became the wonder and admiration of all 

 who saw them, and justly so, for they were quite large and a clear yel- 

 low color with a beautiful blush on one side. A number of the larger 

 specimens measured full 61 inches in circumference. This variety 

 ripens early, and when eaten before frost touches the fruit it is indeed 

 most delicious ; frost seems to injure the flavor. A friend said that in 

 Kansas City he saw the common persimmons selling for 10 cents a 

 quart. Then what would these have brought'? They appeared more 

 like some tropical fruit than what we know as simply ''persimmons.'^ 



John E. Mohler, 



Warren sburg, Mo. 



KEEPING A RECORD OF THE TREES. 



From the Rural World. 



I often read of the importance of dairymen keeping a record of 

 the milk and its quality obtained from each cow; why could not such a 

 rule be applied to horticulture? I commenced just such a record 

 about two years ago, and although not near complete yet, I find it very 

 useful indeed. Outside of my commercial orchard I have a plot planted 

 for experimental purposes, containing over 100 sorts of apples, over 

 40 sorts of pears, besides a large assortment of peaches, plums, cher- 

 ries, etc. I keep a complete record, which was commenced two years 

 ago. 



In the apple orchard, for instance, I put down the date of bloom- 

 ing, of ripening, besides hardiness, productiveness, etc.; those subject 

 to scab and so on, are recorded on a scale running from one to ten. I 

 also leave a space for remarks where marked qualities, etc., are recorded,, 

 but do not consider the record of any variety complete unless its record 



