48 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



states. Among these the De Soto, Wolf, and Wyant stand well at the head 

 of the Primus Americana family. That they are better for any use or are 

 better because of perfect fruit, than a dozen others in the state, I am not 

 prepared to say, but they are better known to growers and they have taken 

 well in the western markets when put up in as neat packages as the plums 

 from the south and the Pacific coast. It has been said truthfully of these 

 varieties that they have been fruited in certain localities for a quarter of a 

 century without the total loss of a single crop, and my experience has been 

 that they have borne full crops each year during the past six years when fail- 

 ure at the west has been the rule with the orchard fruits on account of ex- 

 tremes of winter cold and summer heat. While it is true that our best native 

 plums of the Americana and Chickasaw races are more or less punctured by 

 the "Little Turk," the larvae are developed in only a small per cent of the 

 specimens, and the crescent mark on hundreds of the perfect specimens are 

 scarcely distinguishable when they are ready for picking. It has been said 

 that such varieties as the De Soto, Wolf, Wyant, Hawkeye, Maquoketa, and 

 Pottawatomie are so loaded with water during the early stages of growth 

 that the conditions are not favorable for the larvae. Be this as it may, we are 

 able to gather full crops of perfect fruit from some of our native sorts, which 

 we never could do, without treatment, from the Lombard or European sorts 

 we were able to grow prior to our recent test winters. 



As to the size and quality of some of the best of these native sorts Mr. T. 

 T. Lyon can testify as grown the driest season ever known in the west. In 

 quality they can hardly be compared to the European plums, as they differ 

 wholly in texture and flavor. 



I was assured by an expert judge of fruits on South Water street, Chicago, 

 that he preferred well-grown and ripened De Soto plums to the best speci- 

 mens of the plums and prunes of the Pacific coast, for the reason that they 

 had a sprightliness and positiveness of flavor which was lacking in the firmer 

 fleshed European and Asiatic plums. That many buyers share this opinion is 

 evidenced by the fact that the pretty Wi^d Goose varieties from the south are 

 taken in small packages far more rapidly than the' larger, firmer fleshed and 

 sweeter sorts of European origin. Even for culinary use the fruit dealers of 

 Chicago will assure the inquirer that our native ^ilums are gaining ground. 

 They are also gaining favor with the growers for market on account of their 

 perfection of foliage, hardy fruit buds, and relative exemption from rot and 

 injury from curculio. 



The Miner, Blackman, and other Chickasaw varieties first tried on the 

 prairies, blossomed profusely without getting a crop of fruit. This was caused 

 apparently by the premature ripening of the pollen before the stigmas were 

 ready to receive it, as when mingled with Americana sorts they fruited fairly 

 well, and microscopic observation showed the Chickasaw pollen perfect. 

 Later, we have found varieties that appear in leaf, bud, and wood to be pure 

 Chickasaw, that bear annual crops, but not as fruitful as our best Ameri- 

 canas. Of thote the Maquoketa, Forest Rose, and Pottawatomie, for the 

 present, head the list. These are later in season than the Wild Goose and 

 will prove more valuable for home use or market north of the forty-first 

 parallel. 



Thus far in our history our cultivated varieties have come from indigenous 

 variations found in the thickets of the west or south, or from their seedlings. 

 But in the near future we may hope to secure improved sorts by methods 



