Winter Meet ins::. -77 



"is 



having failed but one year. That year every variety failed from a 

 peculiar cause. The weather had just been warm enough for several 

 days to bring the buds on all varieties just to the opening point. 

 Then came a very warm day with a very high wind. All blooms wev'i 

 opened in a day and all blew ofif of the trees. There was no poiliniza- 

 tion, neither were there any plums of any variety that year. I have 

 W'ildgoosc, Wolf, Miner, Pottawattamie, Blue Damson, Golden 

 Alammoth, Shipper's Pride, Abundance, Burbank, Golden Beauty 

 i.nd Marianna all growing mixed up together in rows 12x14 feet apart. 

 Now, I do not know which is the best pollinizer. A well known au- 

 thority on this subject says: "The Wildgoose, though capable of 

 fertilizing almost any other variety which it reaches, is absolutely 

 useless in fecundating its own blossoms. What is true of Wildgoose 

 is true of almost all other plums derived from native species and of 

 nan}' others." And that probably solves the whole question of 

 "fertilization." One variety may not fecundate its own blossoms, but 

 is perfectly potent to fecundate other blossoms. In another orchard 

 I have Forest Rose, Spaulding, Bradshaw and Hawkeye. I get good 

 results from Forest Kose and Spaulding, but little from Bradshaw. 

 Hawkeye is a very slow grower and has borne but little fruit. The 

 following would be my choice of varieties to plant for market and 

 home use in this locality: Wildgoose, Charles Downing, Forest Rose, 

 Wolf, a few Pottawattamie, Newman, a few Burbank and Abundance 

 and a large per cent, of damsons, both Blue Damson and Shropshire 

 Damson. I am trying some varieties, but am not ready to make a re- 

 port concerning them. I would not plant Marianna and but few 

 Japanese of any kind. Now, Mr. Chairman, if this little article will 

 provoke a discussion on the subject of plums or create any enthusiasm 

 for growing plums its mission will have been accomplished. And the 

 only regret I have is that I cannot be present to take part in any dis- 

 cussions during your meeting. 



PROFITABLE JAPANESE PLUMS. 



(E. L. INIason, Trenton, Mo.) 



In the \ icinity of Grundy county only a few varieties of Japanese 

 plums have been generally planted and of that number the Abundance 

 and Burbank have attracted the most attention and are the most 

 widely introduced. In looking up the history of these varieties 1 

 find as follows: "'The Abundance was imported from Japan by 

 Luther Burbank in 1884, and first sent out as Botan, re-named Abun- 



