142 LUTHER BURBANK 



ing. But, in a very large number of cases, prunes 

 that have every other essential quality fail when 

 subjected to this final test. It is not too much 

 to say that I have developed hundreds of new 

 varieties gf prunes that were well nigh perfect as 

 to quality, but which had no commercial value 

 whatever because they failed to stand the acid- 

 or to be literal the alkali- test. 



So the experimenter is always confronted with 

 the possibility of failure at the very last, even 

 when his efforts seem to have met with complete 

 success at the earlier stages. With the utmost 

 solicitude, therefore, he must watch the fruit as it 

 passes through the potash bath. 



Jf the skin peels from the fruit instead of 

 cracking, that particular variety is worthless, no 

 matter what its other good qualities. 



Moreover, the cracks in the skin must be very 

 small and numerous. If they are too far apart 

 by the hundredth of an inch the prune will have 

 a rough appearance that mars it from the com- 

 mercial standpoint. If the skin is too thin, so 

 that in gathering and handling the fruit is 

 bruised, it can never make a commercial prune. 

 But, on the other hand, the skin must not be too 

 thick as then it would not be properly cut by the 

 lye. In a word, there must be the most nicely 

 balanced qualities of the skin of the fruit, and 



