1871 



THE WESTERN POMOLOGIST. 



47 



every month in the year. Most of the more tender 

 roses such as liybrid perpetuals, withstand our win- 

 ters without protection. But talcing up my fruit 

 record where I drop|)ed it in my first communica- 

 tion I will now speak of the Plum. 



The crsp this year was about an average, in 

 quantity. In quality excellent as usual. The plum 

 tree as a general rule proves perfectly healthy in 

 Oregon, and is very productive, rarely failing of a 

 crop. The curculio is unknown here, and nothing 

 troubles the fruit except the birds and yellow-jack- 

 ets. The plum is so easily and abundantly raised 

 that it sells quite low, bringing this year from 3 to 8 

 cents per R. Of late years a great many plums are 

 dried and the quantity is rapidly increasing. We 

 are now planting mostly tho.se kinds which are best 

 adapted to that purpose, suchasthePeacli Plum, Co- 

 lumbia, Coe's Golden Drop,Bradshaw, Wasliington, 

 and the German and Italian prunes. They are all 

 of large size and most of them part freely from the 

 stone. About a mile above Oswego on the west 

 bank of the Willamette river, is situated the largest 

 plum orcliard in Oregon. It contains over 1500 

 trees, 1000 of them Peach Plum. The proprietors, G. 

 W. Walling & Co., formerly marketed the product 

 of this orchard in a fresh state, but now they dry 

 most of the fruit. Years ago it was not uncommon 

 for them to receive $80 for tlie fruit of a single 

 tree of the Peach Plum variety. The fruit being 

 very early, very large, very handsome and often 

 brought 25 to 30 cents per R>. Messrs. Walling & 

 Co. also have large Pear and Cherry orchards as 

 well as one of the most extensive nurseries in the 

 State — their specialities being the Plum and Cherry. 

 Their Cherry trees of this season's growth, in size, 

 beauty and uniformity exceed anything of the kind 

 I ever saw. The Peach is variable and uncertain 

 in this country— sometimes doing well and at others 

 proving an utter failure. Sometimes the trees are 

 affected with the leaf-curl, and sometimes they die 

 outright without any apparent cause, and then 

 again they will bo healthy for a few years and bear 

 fine crops of excellent fruit. This year we had a 

 medium crop of the finest quality. I never saw 

 finer Crawfords in my life than were brought to 

 the Portland market tliis season. The crop brought 

 to the producers from 5 to 12 cents per pound, and 

 was retailed at 10 to 25 Wishing you and your 

 readers a merry Christmas and hajipy New Year, I 

 subside for the present. 



For the Western Pomologist. 



Sheperdla, or Buffalo Berry. 



By .Josei'u L. Bodd, Shellsburg, Iowa. 



' The Buffalo Berry {Sheperdia Argeiika) is a native 

 fruit of the Northwest, in quality almost equal to 

 the Huckleberry. The shrub is hardy, very orna- 



mental, and bears good crops of really delicious, 

 mildly acid fruit. Its leaves are oblong, silvery 

 white on both sides, borne on dullish white branch- 

 es with many thorn-like. branchlets. When only a 

 single stem is allowed to grow from the roots, it 

 soon develops into a small tree eight to ten feet high. 

 Upon the lawn, such a little tree covered with its 

 shining white leaves, amid which are clustered 

 masses of red fruit, as an ornament is hardly sur- 

 passed. Were such a beautiful shrub, bearing such 

 fine fruit, imported from China or some other far 

 distant country, and sold at five dollars each, it 

 would be far more common in our yards than now. 

 In the garden as a fruit, in the yard for ornament, 

 in the hedge-row for fruit, ornament and use com- 

 bined, the Shepherdia is bound to become well and 

 fiivorably known. While it will not become strong 

 enough for a field hedge, for low, well kept yard 

 hedges, combining ornament and use it has no supe- 

 rior among our hardy plants. 



SECTION OK BRANCU AND FRUIT. 



When the Shepherdia is grown from seed it will be 

 found to bear better in hedge than when in isolated 

 positions. Being dioecious in flowers the staminate 

 and pistillate plants are in hedge intermingled. If 

 fruit is wanted, as grown upon the lawn, care must 

 be taken to plant both staminate and pistillate 

 plants. In nursery the plants flower when about 

 three years old, when every plant can be soon 

 marked. The male plants have flowers with a four- 

 parted calyx and eight stamens. The fertile plants 

 have flowers without stamens, with urn shaped 

 calyx enclosing only the ovary that develops into 

 the berry. To prevent mistake, we will state that 

 in the northern United States, is found a species of 

 Shepherdia with ovate leaves, green above and 

 whitish and downy beneath. This species is a 

 straggling shrub neither ornamental or useful, fruit 

 worthless. The right kind may be known by its 

 silvery-white leaves, and is kept for sale in many of 

 our nurseries. 



