SANTA ROSA 257 



a large scale with the least possible delay. Mr. 

 Dutton had seen something of my work, and he 

 came to me in March, 1881, and asked if I could 

 furnish him twentj^ thousand prune trees ready 

 to set out the coming fall. 



At first thought I was disposed to answer that 

 no one on earth could furnish twenty thousand 

 fruit trees on an order given in March for deliv- 

 ery in the fall of the same year. But, after think- 

 ing the matter over for a few minutes, I decided 

 that the project was not quite so hopeless as it 

 seemed. 



If almond seedlings were used for stock, and 

 prune buds June-budded on these stocks, the 

 thing might be accomplished. 



Mr. Dutton agreed to furnish what financial 

 aid was needed during the summer to pay for 

 help and to purchase the required number of 

 almonds for planting. So the bargain was 

 closed, and I entered on the task with enthusiasm. 

 What made the project seem feasible was the 

 knowledge of the fact that almonds, under proper 

 conditions, sprout almost at once like corn, un- 

 like nearly all other stone fruits. I estimated 

 that could the almonds be secured at once, and 

 bedded in coarse sand for sprouting, they would 

 furnish seedlings that could be planted in nursery 

 rows in time for June budding. 



I— Bur, Vol. 8 



