Fruit Growing 47 



regularly and heavily. Can I graft French primes on the Silver freest 

 Will Silver prune trees take other grafts, such as apricots or apples? 



The Silver prune is often unsatisfactory for reason of shy bear- 

 ing. It is perfectly feasible to graft over the tree to the French 

 prune and this has been done for years by different growers. Apri- 

 cots will usually take on the plum stock, but are apt to over-grow 

 it or else be dwarfed themselves, but the apricot is often worked 

 upon a plum stock. Apples have no grafting af^nity whatever for 

 the plum. 



French or Italian. 



In the prune -groiving district around Salem, Oregon, Italian prunes 

 are grown exclusively for drying purposes. French prunes were con- 

 sidered ivorthless. Here in Sutter county, California, a great many French 

 prunes are groxvn and we are advised to plant them, but would rather 

 plant the Italian prune. Wliich ivould you advise us to set out in this 

 part of the State? 



The Italian or Fellenberg prune was grown to some extent in 

 California 40 years and abandoned; it was not so sure in bearing 

 as the French, and it was not the type of prune which we had 

 ambition to excel with. The prune which we grow as the French 

 is the true prune or plum of Agen. We should plant it and let the 

 Oregon people have the Italian. 



Myrobalan Seedlings. 



/ am sending tivo small plums which I am told are Myrobalan plum. 

 I desire to grow seedlings on which later to bud and graft French prunes. 

 If these are Myrobalan plums, will trees from them be as good as trees 

 from pits that were imported? 



The fruits are Myrobalan plums, and their seedlings would be 

 suitable for the French prune, providing the trees which bear them 

 are strong, thrifty growing trees. There is great variation in the 

 colors of the Myrobalan seedlings, from light yellow to dark red, 

 and it is the satisfactory grovv'th of the tree rather than the char- 

 acter of the fruit which one has to bear in mind when growing 

 seedlings from selected trees instead of depending so largely on 

 imported seedlings. 



Drying Plums and Prunes. 



/ have plum trees of various kinds that are loaded with fruit. I do 

 not know if any are of the variety used for drying as prunes: I knoiv 

 nothing of the process of making or drying prunes. One man suggests 

 that I dip them for four or five minutes in a 3 or 4 per cent solution 

 of lye and then place them in the sun. 



Dipping your plums is right providing they are very sweet, as 

 they will dry like prunes without removing the pit. If they are 

 plums that are commercially used for shipping, without enough 

 sugar to dry as prunes, the pit must be removed. Drying in this 

 way, you do not need to use lye, which is simply for the purpose 



