PLUMS AND PRUNES 



and has been asked to take his knife and cut 

 one of the plums in two. The surprise then 

 shown, sometimes deepening into an apparent 

 distrust of their own senses, has been one of 

 the most delightful and one of the most prized 

 compliments Mr. Burbank has ever received. 



There are two main lines in plum life as 

 known in the fruit-growing regions of this 

 country, one leading to the plum proper, the 

 other to the prune. Mr. Burbank gives this 

 definition, which has been adopted as practi- 

 cally covering the ground: "Any plum which 

 will dry in the sun without spoiling is 

 a prune." 



The reason why the plums which thus 

 become prunes take on this dried shape is 

 because of their large sugar- content, which 

 enables them, like raisins, to preserve them- 

 selves, as one might say, in their own sugar. 

 The object of Mr. Burbank has been not only 

 to make prunes which are larger in size than 

 the old ones, but which are relatively richer in 

 the amount of sweetness. 



The prune has become one of the important 

 items in the dietary of the nations, perhaps 

 even more highly appreciated abroad. The 



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