8 
PART SECOND. 
PRUNES. 
It may be useless on our part to point out Ihe importance of the Prune interest in 
California, and to demonstrate through figures, statistics and the like, of what vast im- 
port is to our State this infant industry, tolwhich development such a large area of our 
great State is so well adapted. 
So far, in California, a variety of tbe Prune D'Ente or D'Ageu, called here, on account 
of its small size, " Petite Prune D'Ageu," has beeu almost exclusively cultivated. This 
Petite Prune, which is exceedingly sweet and well flavored, makes an excellent prune if 
properly dried or cured; but some objections are made concerning its small size and, in 
snme cases, light color, when compared to the much larger and darker product of the 
French. These two defects, whatever be the general qualities of that prune, a>e serious 
ones; and it was the main reason why we did advise the planting and testing of the 
best known sorts cultivated in the renowned prune districts of Europe. We have ourselves, 
for the last five or six years, investigated in the most thorough manner this prune 
question, imported from the very prune districts of France Ihe best kuown types of that 
famous prune, going there under the name of D'Ente or Robe De Sergent; anil found out 
that our Petite Prune is a true type of the D'Ente, its botanical characters being identical, 
and the fruit as richly flavored and sweet as that of its French ancestor. We furthermore 
ascertained that there was no such thing as a " Grosse " or " Petite " prune D'Ente or 
D'Ageu, and that such names had been used, and wrongly so, in this State; and, finally 
succeeded in narrowing down this prune question to a simple question of "size,'' the 
fruit of the D'Ente in France attaining a much larger size than that of the California 
D'Ente, or Petite Prune. But the last three years' experience has demonstrated to ns be- 
yond a doubt that we are able to grow in California as large and fine prunes as are grown 
in the valley of the Lot, the home of the French Prune, in Frauce, if planting the same 
sorts and taking care of them and pruning them in the same manner. Undoubtedly the 
soil and climate have much to do regarding the size and quality of Prunes, aud it cannot 
be reasonably expected that iu certain sections of our State, as sweet and large prunes can 
be grown as iu other sections more favorably adapted to that class of fruit. We ex- 
hibited at the meeting of the State Horticultural Society at San Francisco, on the 31st of 
August. 1888, the largest D'Ente or French prunes and also St. Catherine prunes, grown 
on our imported stock, that were ever growu iu this State, some D'Ente prunes weighing 
as much as If ounces. Pruning, we found out, lias much to do with the size of the 
French or D'Ente prune; not so with that other renowned prune, the St. Catherine. 
The D'Ente trees that we offer are of two kinds: grafted trees, and trees " true from 
the root." For grafting purposes we use the Myrobolan stock— not that we think that it 
is the best slock for that prune, but it is presently the stock a la mode. Everybody wants 
it, and we have to please our patrons. We believe the Myrobolan to be well adapted to 
the soil of our mountains and iu localities much exposed to winds, but we have doubts as 
its being as well adapted to the soil of our valleys. 
Our other stock, or D'Ente "true from the root," is neither budded nor a seed- 
ling. It is propagated in this way: Sprouts growing at the foot of old and large trees, 
themselves true to the root, are taken off and planted close together in a propagating bed 
to root them well, and the ensuing spring planted in nursery rows, where they are trained 
like other trees. 
Iu the snow horticultural belt of our mouutaius — that portion of our mountains 
where it suows in winter, but which is also adapted to the growth of fruit trees, and 
extending from 1,200 to 3,000 feet— the great impediment to the successful growth of 
stone fruits is the "Gum" — that mysterious disease peculiar to stone fruit tiees and 
so severe, iu that belt, on budded or grafted stock. It is tliere, more particularly, that 
this type " true from the root," a splendid gum resistant stock, should be planted iu 
preference to grafled stock; for, thanks to that stock, pruue-growiug might become 
possible and profitable in the very midst of our mountains, and it is a fact that mount- 
ain-grown prunes are exceedingly sweet and highly flavored. Still, as the type " true 
from the root" is uot inferior to the grafted type of the D'Ente propagated in California 
