ON THE FOUR BEST PRUNES 



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 57 to the pound last year when cured 

 while his Sugar prunes averaged 39 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 contains 

 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 less than half 

 the cost of producing the French prune. 



The Sugar prune has a great advantage over 

 the other varieties in ripening early in August, 

 three weeks before the French prune, and about 

 a month earlier than the Imperial. It ripens at a 

 time when the weather is hot and dry, so that it 

 can be cured bright and glossy in a short time and 

 before there is any danger from fall rains. 



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