LUTHER BURBANK 



tent of more than 20 per cent, it still will not dry 

 rapidly enough to escape fermentation unless its 

 skin cracks in just the right way. 



A difference of the hundredth of an inch in the 

 average interval between the cracks may make all 

 the difference between a satisfactory prune and a 

 nearly useless one. 



Of course in the pure dry air of many regions 

 of California, under a cloudless sky, a very sweet 

 prune will often dry perfectly without the aid of 

 the alkali bath; but it would not do for the prune 

 raiser to depend upon these conditions as a gen- 

 eral thing. He must control his prune, for he 

 cannot control the weather. 



DIFFICULTIES IN SCHOOLING THE PRUNE 



It is obvious, then, that the plant developer 

 must always bear in mind the two particular 

 features of the fruit's education he has to contend 

 with. 



But it is also understood that there are many 

 other features that cannot be ignored. 



A prune tree, like any other plum tree, must 

 be a good grower and a full annual yielder. The 

 fruit must ripen early in the season while the days 

 are long and warm. It must drop from the tree 

 in exactly the right stage of ripeness that the or- 

 chardist may not be put to the trouble and expense 

 of picking it. The fruit should have a small stone 



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