PLUMS IN LAKE COUNTY, S. D. 413 



and colors up well before g-etting- soft, making- it a marketable 

 variety of value; ripens the first week in September. Not a free- 

 stone, as generally described. 



Wyant. — Also a tree of good habit and hardy. An early, great and 

 sure bearer, not bothered with pockets; size, large, oblong flattened; 

 dark purplish red; pit small and nearly free; quality fine when eaten 

 out of hand, but has a more or less bitter taste when cooked. Fruit 

 hang's well to the tree till ripe ; valuable. 



Ocheeda. — Tree perfectly hardy, with thick leaves ; fruit medium 

 size, yellowish red, beautiful translucent when well grown; quality 

 excellent; clingstone. 



De Soto. — Hardy, of slow growth and upright habit. Excessively 

 productive, nearly always setting more fruit than it can properly 

 mature, and if not severely thinned will run below medium size in 

 dry seasons. In quality it is one of the very best of our native 

 plums, quite free from pockets, but often hurt by the curculio. 



Hawkeye — Fairly hardy, productive, of large size and cracks badly 

 after rains. A little earlier than De Soto. 



Baldwin. — Bore a few samples last season, but have not formed 

 an opinion of it yet. 



Dr. Dennis. — Hardy and a good grower, has borne two crops ; 

 hardly equal to Wolf or Wyant. 



City. — A late freestone plum from Brown county, Minn. Hardy 

 and productive ; lacks attractive color. 



Blackhawk. — Tree satisfactory; fruit large and rough looking ; 

 pit very large; skin thick and tough. Will not sell well with better 

 looking kinds. 



Comfort. — Tree stands well and is productive, but rather late in 

 some seasons. Not equal to the Wolf. 



Van Deman. — Hardy and late; fruit good size. 



Champion. — Tree good and productive, but ripens too late in most 

 seasons to be of value here. 



Early Red (Russian). — Planted about ten years ag^o, now nearly 

 dead; has not been profitable. Fruit fine when you can get it. 



White Nicholas and Long Blue are not any more promising-. 



Surprise, Aitkin, Early r4innesota, Manitoba and American Eagle 

 have not yet fruited here ; but I expect these to rank with the very 

 best. 



Controlling the Cutwokm.— According to Prof. Johnson of 

 Maine experiment station, the cutworm may be controlled by the 

 use of poisonous bait made by mixing 50 pounds of wheat bran with 

 two quarts of molasses and one pound of paris green with water 

 enough to make a thick mash and distributing- it among the plants 

 attacked. 



Effect of Insecticides on Seeds.— It is often desirable to soak 

 seeds in some solution to prevent their destruction by such pests as 

 g-ophers and the like. The Kansas experiment station finds that 

 this soaking is in no way detrimental to the germinating qualities 

 of the seeds. On the contrary there was an increase in the percen- 

 tag-e which germinated. 



