MY EXPERIENCE WITH SEEDLING PLUMS. 4O7 



trees bore fruit some larger than the other two, hut the form and 

 color of the fruit was the same. 



The De Soto seedlings were the greatest success, as a number of 

 them bore fruit double the size and retained all the fine qualities of 

 De Soto, the fruit 6f several of the trees being a golden yellow 

 without a tint of red. The trees differed greatly in form and 

 foliage and had little resemblance to De Soto, The tree I re- 

 gard as the best is very vigorous, a wide spreading tree which 

 seems to be a distinct type, the fruit being large and fine. In the 

 way of a novelty one De Soto seedling was late in ripening and 

 was of medium size and only fair in quality, but it was a beautiful 

 sight to see its load of charming, glossy, dark colored plums. 

 Black Ben Davis in color is no comparison to them. Many of the 

 De Soto seedling plums were too small to be of value. 



We decidedly gained a point on our Wolf seedling plums, in 

 size and quality. Two of the Wolf seedlings bore the largest 

 plums we have ever picked from our cultivated native varieties. In 

 color they are red, in shape nearly round, and are almost freestones. 

 The most of them had rather thick skin, which might be considered 

 curculio proof. i 



The Wyant is another variety we have improved in tree, size 

 of fruit and quality. The trees are more vigorous, and have a better 

 upright growth, while the foliage- is somewhat different. One of 

 my Wyant seedlings is a perfect freestone, and we regard it as the 

 best plum we ever ate, unless our taste and judgment deceives us. 

 Only a few of our Miner seedlings bore fruit, and those that 

 bore were not very promising ; still there was one that bore very 

 large fruit, was later than Miner and was nearly a freestone, but 

 was too astringent to be called good in quality. I had about six 

 seedlings that were late ; and some of them were as late as Miner. 

 Should they prove valuable, they will be good fertilizers for Miner 

 and would give us more late plums. 



Every promising seedling was numbered, and when we cut our 

 scions we had seventeen varieties for propagation. 



To the average man, the years it requires to originate fruits 

 and give them a thorough test is not interesting, but to the man 

 who wants to see a new creation bloom and bear fruit every year 

 of his life there is a concealed pleasure unknown to the selfish 

 world with but one idea, and that is dollars and cents. We fully 

 realize the years of patience it takes to do this work, the anxiety 

 we live in from year to year and the disappointments we must 

 encounter, but with a firm determination and tenacity of a bull dog 

 the work will be made a success. 



