HORTICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS AT SAN ANTONIO. 



11 



lings of the South China type in the Mexican peach orchard are very 

 susceptible to this disease, while those of the Spanish group are much 

 more resistant. It should be noted in connection with these new 

 varieties of the Spanish race that they are much more prolific than any 

 grown in the test orchard except those of the Honey type. In fact, 

 they are so far superior in production that it is doubtful whether a 

 grower can afford to plant any of the older varieties mentioned rather 

 than the new seedlings, even if the latter should prove to be slightly 

 inferior as to quality. Furthermore, as the better varieties of the 

 Spanish group are much more satisfactory to ship because of their 

 large size, thicker skin, and firmer flesh, they may prove to be better 

 suited to commercial production, though the fruit is distinctly more 

 acid than that from the South China varieties. 



PLUM. 



Of all the fruits tried at the experiment farm, the plum is the 

 most reliable producer and appears to be the best adapted to San 

 Antonio conditions. The trees flower somewhat later than peach 

 trees and consequently escape much of the late frost injury. Table V 

 shows the varieties that have been under trial sufficiently long to 

 justify tabulating. Of these, 12 varieties were set out in the spring 

 of 1906, and the remaining 4 in the following spring. 



Table V. — Varieties of plums tested, showing the class to which each belongs, the number 

 of years fruited, and the character of the crop, San Antonio Experiment Farm, 1906 to 

 1913, inclusive. 



Variety. 



Class. 



Origin. 1 



Fruited. 



Years. Size of crop. 



Abundance 



Bartlett 



Burbank 



IOagle (Beauty) 



El Paso 



Excelsior 



Golden Beauty 



Gonzales 



Indian Chief 



Lone Star 



McCartney 



Pottawattamie 



Terrell 



Transparent (yel- 

 low) 



Wickson 



Wooten 



Japanese . . 

 Hybrid . . . 

 Japanese . . 

 American. 



do.... 



Hybrid 



American . 

 Hybrid . . . 

 American . 



do.... 



do.... 



do.... 



Hybrid . . . 



American . 

 Hybrid . . . 

 American . 



Prunus triflora 



Prunus trifloraX Prunus simonii 



Prunus triflora 



Prunus angustifolia 



do 



Prunus trifloraX Prunus munsoniana. 



Primus hortulana 



Prunus trifloraX chance seedling 



Primus munsoniana 



Primus angustifolia 



do 



Primus munsoniana 



Prunus trifloraX (?) 



Prunus angustifolia 



Primus trifloraX Prunus simonii. 

 Prunus munsoniana 



Good. 



Fair. 



Good. 



Fair to good. 



Good. 



Fair. 



Do. 

 Good. 



Do. 

 Poor. 

 Good. 

 Poor. 

 Fair to good. 



Do. 

 Do. 



Fair. 



i The origin of the plums was obtained from "Plums of New York," by U. P. Hedrick, assisted by R. 

 Wellington, O. M. Taylor, W. H. Alderman, and M. J. Dorsey. 



The most successful plums in the test, orchard quality and produc- 

 tivity considered, are the Gonzales, Burbank (fig. 4), Wickson, 

 Eagle, and Terrell varieties. The Transparent and Wooten are Ameri- 

 can sorts, and, although they yield good fruit for home use, they are 

 not as valuable to the average grower as those of the Japanese class 

 or some of the hybrids. 



