PLUM AND PRUNE PROFITS 177 



my newer plums quite outclass it in selling 

 value. 



All of the most successful of my new plums 

 are early bearers and produce large and at- 

 tractive fruit. The purchaser desires a large, 

 high-colored, handsome fruit, and he is not dis- 

 appointed if he finds that it has excellent quality 

 also. 



Then, in order that a fruit shall earn money 

 for its grower, it must be adapted to stand ship- 

 ment to a distant market. Many beautiful plums 

 lack this quality and as a consequence never 

 have been, or can become, valued fruits for com- 

 mercial shipping by the carload. 



But my new plums have been developed with 

 this need constantly in mind. I have recognized 

 that a fruit to become of importance for ship- 

 ping long distances must have a number of 

 qualities that hitherto have not been required in 

 fruit. It must be of texture that will not break 

 down in handling and shipping; it must retain 

 its flavor, or even have improved flavor if picked 

 before it is quite ripe; and it must remain firm 

 and hard, not only throughout the long journey, 

 but during subsequent days, until it can be placed 

 among the retail distributors. 



Very few plums in existence to-day are wholly 

 up to these standards of excellence. The Wick- 



