STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 69 



Damson. Hudson River Purple Egg, Coe's Golden Drop, Italian 

 Prune, Stanton, and Monarch as emljracing a list large enough and 

 covering varieties worthy of trial for test purposes for any one 

 desirous of embarking in the business. 



Otbcrs could be added of nearly equal value, but these out of 

 fifty varieties now being fruited have been selected, while many 

 more have been discarded for lack of sufllcient productiveness, 

 ■weakness in constitution or other causes that unfitted them for con- 

 tinued cultivation. Some of them were imported from England 

 and France, while some others imported at the same time here 

 served to swell the number of those of no value in the commercial 

 orchnrd. 



Please bear in mind that, as a rule, the light colored sorts are the 

 most tender, hence, when hardiness is an essential factor, we 

 shou'd sa}' plant largely of those of dark color. 



Many sorts can be grown with be^t results by top grafting or 

 budding on other sorts. Plant Lombards and work over the sec- 

 ond year. This method we advise best for both Reine Claude, 

 Coe's Golden and French Damson. 



So far, reference has been had to only European varieties, or 

 those known as such or their seedlings. There is, however, a class 

 of plums now attracting attention over a wide spread section of onr 

 country that seem to have a foliage so tiiick and rugged as to be 

 able to resist the attack of all forms of fungi, and fruit buds that 

 will resist winter's cold to 20° below zero with productiveness 

 unsurpassed by any of the old European sorts. I refer to the 

 Japan plums of which already quite a large family has been intro- 

 duced which are being tested quite generally from the Pacific to 

 the Atlantic, but as the name Botan — which, as I understand, is 

 the name apjjlied to one family in Japan, of which there are many 

 differing more or less in some respects — has been attached to many 

 as they have been disseminated in this country, I apprehend that 

 much trouble will follow the question of nomenclature. 



At the suggestion of a friend in the Depaitmeut of Agriculture 

 .at "Washington, 1 obtained the Burbank, which, so far, has shown 

 itself to be the most hardy and productive of all, and where there 

 may be dangers from spring fx'ost doing damage to early opening 

 buds I should commend this in preference to any of the others 

 •so far tested, as it is later in unfolding and opening its protection 

 to the fruit germs. We have had branches of this variety that 



