FOUR BURBANK PRUNES 59 



markets as well as extremely profitable when 

 cured. 



The growers at Vacaville, California, the most 

 important early fruit shipping center, became 

 more enthusiastic as they saw the fruiting of 

 these trees, the ease with which the larger prunes 

 can be harvested, and the greater price per ton. 

 About 2,500 new trees of this variety were 

 planted in Vaca Valley in 1913. 



Growers there received $17 to $25 per ton 

 more for Sugar prunes in 1913 than for French 

 prunes grown on the same farm at the same time. 

 One of the growers reports that his French 

 prunes averaged fifty-seven to the pound last 

 year when cured while his Sugar prunes 

 averaged thirty-nine per pound. The larger 

 prunes always bring the best prices. 



Not only did the Sugar prunes bring excep- 

 tional prices, the whole crop was dried perfectly, 

 while the French and Imperial prunes, ripening 

 later, were caught by the rains and many of 

 them spoiled. The Imperial prune often dried 

 to almost nothing but skin and stone. 



One pound of green Sugar prunes makes 

 seven and one-half ounces of dry fruit. It con- 

 tains six per cent more sugar than the French 

 prune and is far superior to it in flavor. It is so 

 much more productive that it may be grown for 



