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got home the wine in the jug was in such a condition as not to be fit to drink, from the 
effect of the musty cork. Therefore either a musty barrel, or one that has been in the 
shed a long time, cannot be used; it is better to buy new barrels. You can never 
clean a barrel that has a bad taste well enough to make it fit to contain wine. Barrels 
that have contained whiskey, port wine or native wine are the best; barrels that have 
contained gin or ginger wine are of no use for wine. I think that is all I have to tell 
you, and, if you will follow the directions I have given closely, you will be successful. 
PLUM CULTURE, 
The Prestpent.—We have two questions here regarding plum culture, which 
according to the programme will be answered by our friend, Mr. 8. D. Willard, of 
Geneva, N. Y. 
Mr. Witiarp.—The first question of the two on the programme which I have 
* been asked to answer is, What are the six most profitable varieties of plums for Southern 
Ontario? I may say that I don’t think Iam the proper person to reply to that question, 
as [am not a southern Ontario man, but a New Yorker; and I think there are those 
in this room much better able to answer it. I will, however, answer it from my own 
standpoint. 
The Secretary.—I think the climate is very similar. 
Mr. WixttArD.—The question of plum culture has lately been attracting a great 
deal of attention. My attention was first drawn to it twenty years ago, when visiting 
the Hudson river country, which at that time was really producing more plums than all 
the rest of the United States put together, and those who were raising them were 
getting rich. The fruit was exceedingly large, and they had splendid facilities in 
“getting it on boats for the New York market, but their system of culture was wrong. 
They robbed the land; they sold their hay and straw and put nothing back on the 
land, and the result was, before they knew it, that they could no longer raise fruit with 
profit; and the plum business of the Hudson river is now a thing of the past. But 
seeing their work is what led me to take it up, and during the last twenty years I have 
done something in the way of raising plums. The plum has multiplied very rapidly ; 
new varieties have been springing up here and there to be tested and tried, and it is a 
very wide field in which to work. The list I am about to give does not includé some I 
could raise, because I am not sure they would suit you here. Foremost, as the earliest 
ripening plum, I would put the Bradshaw, which when young is a little tender, but when 
aged is one of the most hardy and productive market plums we have. I have trees of 
that variety from which I have netted as high as $12 or $14 in a single season, and 
that is good enough for me. Following the Bradshaw is the Lombard, which is among 
plums what the Concord is among grapes or the Baldwin among apples. It isa plum 
which can be raised with less trouble than any other variety, always gives good crops 
and always has a market value, for it is known everywhere. Then we have another 
plum called the Gueii, which originated in Lansingburg, N. Y. It is a very hardy and 
profitable market variety; it takes on a most beautiful blooom, and if only well known 
‘will sell well. I have found it one of the most profitable of plums, and it is very 
productive. In time of ripening it follows the Lombard. 
President Lyon.—I think it is said to be curculio-proof, do you stand by that? 
Mr. Wittarpd.—No; I do not believe that of any plum. Then we have what 
is known as the Hudson River Purple Egg. That also had its origin on the Hudson 
river, and was introduced to me by a fruit man who asked me to test it. You will not find 
anything about it in Mr. Downing’s work, for when I sent it to Mr. Downing he said it 
was a plum he did not recognise. But it is one of the best for market purposes. It is 
hardy and productive, and sells well on the market. Then we have the plum known 
as Peter’s Yellow Gage, introduced by Mr. Barry of Rochester. All things considered, 
it is in my opinion the best of all the light-colored class of plums, and yet it is scarcely 
known ; you will not find it in the catalogue of Ellwanger & Barry. It is not one of the 
