308 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



hence worthless, unless, as some have been led to hope, this defect can be 

 remedied by the adjacent pliintinfT of other pollen-producing varieties — a 

 hops which as yet lacks the confirmation of actual autheTitic experience. 



The native plum of the north {Prtnius Ainericnna ) is indigenous from 

 about latitude 38*^ northward, far beyonl the limits of the United States. It 

 is quite at home in the lowest lands and along the margins of streams whore 

 the lowest range of the thermometer is known to occur. It is always abund- 

 antly, if not excessively, productive; and even in the regions in which the 

 domcstica varieties are most liable to the attacks of the curculio, this species 

 mainly escapes; while in the specimens which bear the mark of the "Little 

 Turk," the larva3 very generally fail, to develop. 



D. B. Wier, of Illinois, advances the hypothesis, which he insists is borne 

 out by his own experience in tiie growing of this fruit, that while the curcu- 

 lio freely punctures this class of plums, the larvoe very rarely develop; and 

 upon this circumstance he bases the conclusion that the growing of our 

 native species would probably result in the extermination of the Little Turk. 



Although this sp.^cies in its wild state can not be said to be of high quality, 

 its productiveness, hardiness, and freedom from disease, seem to liave direc- 

 ted attention to it as a possible source of improved varieties. So far as is 

 known, the only improvement as yet has been by selection. Even by this 

 mode several desirable varieties have already been discovered; some of them, at 

 least, possessing qualities which in value nearly approach the popular varieties 

 of the domestica species. Among these may be mentioned De Sota, Wolf, Roll- 

 ingstone, and Wyant, which are on trial and being disseminated by the Iowa 

 Agricultural College; also Miner, Bassett, Climax, Forest Garden, Rockford, 

 and oLher promising newer sorts in process of propagation and introduction. 

 To the foregoing may be added Weaver, introduced several years since, and 

 Pottawatomie, now just introduced. The last two are said to be productive 

 in Iowa, where they originated. la Michigan, with but a limited trial, Wea- 

 ver shows a lack of productiveness. 



There is little occasion to doubt the success of plums of this Americana 

 species throughout the northwest, at least eastward of the Rockies, except, 

 possibly, where the failure shall arise from a lack of the needful moisture in 

 the soil. 



In his General Notes on Foreign Plums, in bulletin of 188ii, Professor Budd 

 says : 



The varieties of really good plums, for dessert and culinary purposes, grown in Rus- 

 sia will be. a matter of surprise to visitors. Even as far north as Moscow and Kazan 

 plums of fine size and quality are grown in great abundance. We have introduced a 

 number of tine sorts wliich we are propagating and sending out for trial. Thi-ir suc- 

 cess with us will not hinge on their hardiness or teudancy to produce fruit, but on tlieir 

 relative exemption from attacks of the curculio. We have much reason to believe 

 that such sorts as the i<ed and Yellow Arab, Moldavka. Hungarian, Lone: Blue, Long 

 Red. Long Yellow, and Skorospelka will not be in.jured by tlie Little Turk to a greater 

 extent than our native sorts, as, like th in, they start the fruit late, and it is developed 

 with great rajjidily. In no line of our experimental work do we expect more useful 

 results than in our trial of the best Russian plums. 



Altliough the foregoing was published more than two years since, it is not 

 known that any of these plums have even yet fruited in this country. The 

 effect, therefore, if any, of so wide a departure in longitude, and the probably 

 more marked result of a transfer southward of 14° of latitude, are yet to be 

 determined ; and since the professor fails to clearly indicate the premises up- 

 on which his expectations have been based, there is no apparent alternative 



