VARIETIES OF PLUMS FOR MINNESOTA. 133 



fair and impartial judgment the person making the award should 

 have the privilege of examining the fruit growing upon the trees 

 and then again when it is in its best condition for testing as to quality 

 and estimating its worth commercially. 



I think we should be cautious and conservative in naming 

 varieties or recommending too many kinds of plums for cultivation 

 in our state. At the last state fair there were on the exhibition 

 tables 910 plates of plums, representing over one hundred 

 named varieties and over sixty seedlings, that I examined and tested 

 as to quality, etc. Now, for me to say what is and what is not 

 worthy of recommendation would be mere presumption ; for there 

 may be many that will be found equal if not superior to some of 

 those already designated for recommendation by this society. I can 

 say, judging from their appearance and behavior on the show table, 

 there were some five or six kinds possessing qualifications that indi- 

 cate them worthy of trial. A few of the seedlings were quite at- 

 tractive in color and showed good shipping qualites. We are apt 

 to judge a new fruit by its condition at the time we make the ex- 

 amination, unless we are very well acquainted with its characteristic 

 possibilities. The fruit may or it may not be in its best condition 

 for showing all its good points of excellency ; in which case we may 

 give an erroneous judgment. We find on comparison that of the 

 named varieties on exhibition there were forty-six of the Americana 

 group, six of Hortulana, two Angustifolia, one Triflora, one Nigra, 

 one Domestica and one Cerasifera. 



Our conclusions drawn from this exhibition show that the 

 Americana plums are what the people of this state should plant for 

 home and market purposes, but if there are those who desire to plant 

 the other types or groups of plums to gain knowledge ( dearly 

 bought) of what is possibly adapted to the climatic influences here 

 and can afford to meet with disappointment and loss, they can do so ; 

 but the farmer and small planters of our state wishing to grow a 

 profitable crop should leave this class of work to the experiment 

 stations to develop, and when they have discovered anything of 

 value and the trees are propagated and placed upon the market in 

 quantity and at reasonable prices then it will be expedient for them 

 to plant these newer varieties. 



The following varieties, all belonging to the Americana group 

 of plums except one, can be relied upon as worthy of cultivation for 

 home or commercial use, extending through the fruiting season : 



At the state fair I put this question to Messrs. O. M. Lord, M. 

 Penning and Dewain Cook : If restricted to only four varieties of 

 the plum to cultivate for profit in Minnesota, which of the many 



