380 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



a commercial orchard fruit. For this climate our improved natives 

 are the most satisfactory and profitable to plant. They never winter 

 kill, are almost free from decease and bring us paying annual crops. 

 We now have over 200 varieties of these improved natives to make 

 our selections from, and if intelligently made, we can pick plums over 

 three months in each fruiting season. I know of no tree fruit in this 

 State that yields so abundantly or is so profitable as these fine native 

 plums. I do but little trimming on my trees, but we cannot give them 

 too much cultivation, and during fruiting give them plenty of well- 

 rotted manure; by thorough cultivation and plenty of manure we can 

 increase the size and quality to a wonderful extent. Nearly all our 

 best native plums overbear, hence the fruit should be well thinned out 

 while yet small. If this is well attended to the balance of the fruit 

 will mature large, fine specimens, and after being carefully hand-picked 

 and put in neat baskets, avoiding more than one variety in a basket, 

 we shall have little trouble in selling them in any market at remunera- 

 tive prices. In making our selections of varieties we should select so 

 we may have fruit during the entire fruiting season. The very earliest 

 are Milton, Wild Goose and Whitaker. The best for medium seasons 

 are Wyant, Ohas. Downing, Hawkeye, Stoddard, Hammer, De Soto, 

 Gaylord, Wolf, Beauty and American Eagle. Miner, Champion, Golden 

 Beauty and Fairchild are the most desirable for a late market. If our 

 horticulturists had planted these splendid natives in place of foreign 

 trash the past 20 years plum orcharding in Iowa today would be out 

 of the experimental stage, and commercial orchards would be as plen- 

 tiful and profitable as they are in more favorable climes. That Iowa 

 has produced so many valuable, large native plums in rapid succession 

 the past 10 years seems a little strange, but if we trace effects back to 

 cause we shall discover such results are not from any haphazard 

 chance, but from a deep scientific cause. Our soil and climate has 

 doubtless much to do in producing this superior fruit, but I feel confi- 

 dent that in the long selection and culture by prehistoric man as well 

 as our present efforts along this line of higher development, lies the 

 true cause. However, I will leave this for another paper. — A. B Den- 

 nis, Iowa, in Prairie Farmer. 



SEEDLING PLUMS. 



Some of the Prairie Farmer readers have requested our method of 

 raising seedlings of plums. There are two objects in raising seedlings : 

 One is to get stock upon which to graft or bud valuable varieties; the 

 other is to get valuable new sorts, as new varieties can only be origi- 



