THE SUGAR PRUNE 145 



The other variety, named the Splendor, is 

 about ne-third larger than the common French 

 prune and contains something like 5 per cent 

 more sugar; its quality and flavor are also 

 superior. It has, moreover, the drying qualities 

 of the prune, and it was freely predicted by 

 many who knew it that it would soon completely 

 displace its French progenitor. 



But unfortunately it had one single peculiarity 

 that placed it at a disadvantage; namely, the 

 propensity of the fruit to cling to the tree when 

 ripe. 



It dries into a first-class sweet prune, but it 

 dries on the tree, and that is an insuperable de- 

 fect, because the prune grower demands that the 

 fruit shall fall naturally to the ground. He does 

 not wish to be obliged to take the trouble even to 

 shake the tree. 



So the unfortunate propensity of the new 

 prune to hold to its moorings, so to speak, greatly 

 marred its value. 



AT LAST A SUPERLATIVE PRUNE 



In the year 1899, however, after almost twenty 

 years of continuous and laborious effort, I was 

 finally able to present a prune which met the 

 expectations of the most sanguine ; a prune which 

 combined all the good qualities of its progenitors 



